Ordinal numbers 11th to 31st (ellefti, tólfti...)

Ordinal Numbers 11th to 19th

When stating that an event happens on a specific calendar date, Icelandic uses the accusative case. Ordinal numbers behave like weak adjectives, modifying the understood masculine word dagur (day). For masculine weak adjectives, the nominative -i ending changes to -a in the accusative.

You will frequently see the word þann (the/that) placed immediately before the date, but it is sometimes left out.

NumberNominativeAccusative (Dates)
11thelleftiellefta
12thtólftitólfta
13thþrettándiþrettánda
14thfjórtándifjórtánda
15thfimmtándifimmtánda

(Note: The numbers 13th through 19th all follow the same pattern, ending in *-ándi and changing to -ánda).*

The criminal gets the parole on the eleventh of May.
Glæpamaðurinn fær reynslulausnina þann ellefta maí.
He was at the lawyer's on the twelfth of March.
Hann var hjá lögfræðingnum þann tólfta mars.
The interview is on the thirteenth or fourteenth of April.
Viðtalið er þrettánda eða fjórtánda apríl.

The 20s and 30s

The ordinals for the 20s and 30s use the base words tuttugasti (20th) and þrítugasti (30th).

When forming compound numbers like 21st or 31st, both parts of the number become ordinals, joined by og (and). For example, 21st is tuttugasti og fyrsti.

For calendar dates, both parts take the accusative -a ending. Therefore, tuttugasti og fyrsti becomes tuttugasta og fyrsta.

The case starts on the twenty-first of February.
Málið byrjar þann tuttugasta og fyrsta febrúar.
She goes to the prison on the thirtieth of November.
Hún fer í fangelsið þrítugasta nóvember.
The lawyer called on the thirty-first of December.
Lögfræðingurinn hringdi þrítugasta og fyrsta desember.

Listing Consecutive Dates

If an event like a hearing or investigation spans multiple days, simply list the numbers in their accusative -a form, connecting the final day with og.

The judge worked on the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth of June.
Dómarinn vann ellefta, tólfta og þrettánda júní.
The thief hid on the eighteenth and nineteenth of July.
Þjófurinn faldi sig átjánda og nítjánda júlí.