Breakdown of Oggi è il nostro tredicesimo anniversario.
essere
to be
oggi
today
nostro
our
l'anniversario
the anniversary
tredicesimo
thirteenth
Questions & Answers about Oggi è il nostro tredicesimo anniversario.
How exactly is tredicesimo formed from the number tredici?
To form ordinal numbers from 11 upwards, you take the normal (cardinal) number, drop its final vowel, and add the suffix -esimo. For thirteen, tredici drops the final i to become tredic-, and then we add -esimo to get tredicesimo.
Would tredicesimo change its ending if it were describing a feminine word?
Yes! Ordinal numbers ending in -esimo act just like regular adjectives. They must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Since anniversario is masculine singular, we use tredicesimo. If it were describing a feminine noun, like the thirteenth time (la tredicesima volta), the ending would change to -a.
Why does tredicesimo come before the noun anniversario?
While descriptive adjectives (like colors or personality traits) usually come after the noun in Italian, ordinal numbers are an exception. Words like primo, secondo, and tredicesimo almost always come before the noun they modify, which matches English word order.
Why do we say il nostro tredicesimo instead of just nostro tredicesimo?
In Italian, possessive words like nostro (our) almost always require a definite article like il or la in front of them. The main exception is for singular close family members (like mio padre). Since an anniversary is an event, not a family member, the article il is required here.
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