Ordinals and Quantity Expressions in Catalan

In Brief

Catalan ordinal numbers agree with the noun they describe: el primer dia but la primera vegada. The quantity words molt, poc and bastant also change form when they accompany a noun, while massa and prou stay unchanged: moltes preguntes, poca aigua, massa gent, prou cadires.

Overview

Ordinal numbers identify a place in a sequence: first, second, third, and so on. In Catalan, the most frequent forms include primer, segon and tercer. Unlike their English equivalents, they behave much like adjectives: an adjective is a word that describes a noun, and in Catalan its ending often reflects the noun's gender and number. That is why “first” can appear as primer, primera, primers or primeres.

Quantity expressions tell you how much or how many there is, or to what degree something happens. This article focuses on five very common words: molt (much, many, a lot, very), poc (little, few, not much), bastant (quite a lot, fairly, or enough), massa (too much, too many, too) and prou (enough). Some accompany a noun—a word for a person, thing or idea—while others can also modify a verb or an adjective.

This is an A2 topic because it builds on basic cardinal numbers such as un, dos and tres. The beginner rule is manageable: make ordinals, molt, poc and noun-related bastant agree; keep massa and prou unchanged. Later sections explain meanings and patterns that you can initially learn to recognise rather than produce.

How It Works

Cardinal or ordinal?

A cardinal number gives a quantity: tres llibres means “three books.” An ordinal number gives a position: el tercer llibre means “the third book.” The noun normally has a definite article such as el or la when you mean a particular item in an ordered set.

Meaning	Catalan	Example in English
quantity	tres llibres	three books
position	el tercer llibre	the third book
quantity	dues plantes	two floors
position	la segona planta	the second floor

The first ten ordinals

Each ordinal agrees in gender (the masculine or feminine class of a noun) and number (singular or plural). The table gives the singular forms. To make the plural, add -s to the masculine form and use -es for the feminine: primers/primeres, segons/segones, tercers/terceres.

Number	Masculine singular	Feminine singular	English
1	primer	primera	first
2	segon	segona	second
3	tercer	tercera	third
4	quart	quarta	fourth
5	cinquè	cinquena	fifth
6	sisè	sisena	sixth
7	setè	setena	seventh
8	vuitè	vuitena	eighth
9	novè	novena	ninth
10	desè	desena	tenth

Notice that the accent in forms such as cinquè and sisè is not retained in cinquena and sisena. Learn the masculine and feminine together rather than producing one by simply attaching a letter.

An ordinal usually comes before its noun in everyday phrases:

• el primer tren — the first train
• la segona pregunta — the second question
• els tercers classificats — the competitors who finished third
• les primeres setmanes — the first weeks

It can also stand on its own when the missing noun is clear: Vull el segon (“I want the second one”) or La Marta ha arribat la primera (“Marta arrived first”). Its ending still agrees with the person or thing understood from context.

Molt and poc: four forms with nouns

Before a noun, molt and poc work as determiners—words that help specify the quantity of a noun. They agree in both gender and number.

Gender and number	With molt	English	With poc	English
masculine singular	molt temps	a lot of time	poc temps	little time
feminine singular	molta feina	a lot of work	poca feina	little work
masculine plural	molts llibres	many books	pocs llibres	few books
feminine plural	moltes coses	many things	poques coses	few things

English switches between “much” and “many” according to whether a noun is countable. Catalan instead uses the same word family and marks the noun's gender and number. Also, there is normally no equivalent of English “of” after these basic quantity words: molta aigua, not molta d'aigua.

When molt or poc modifies a verb, adjective or adverb rather than a noun, it is an adverb—a word that gives information about an action or degree—and it does not agree:

• Treballa molt. — He/She works a lot.
• Dormim poc. — We sleep little.
• És molt interessant. — It is very interesting.
• És poc probable. — It is unlikely/not very probable.

Compare molta música (“a lot of music”), where molta agrees with a feminine noun, with molt bona (“very good”), where molt modifies the adjective bona and therefore stays unchanged.

Bastant: agreement and meaning

In standard Catalan, bastant agrees when it directly quantifies a noun: bastant temps, bastanta paciència, bastants exemples, bastantes preguntes. As an adverb, it remains bastant: És bastant fàcil (“It is fairly easy”) and Hem treballat bastant (“We have worked quite a lot”). Invariable use before a feminine or plural noun may be heard, but using the agreeing forms is the safest choice in careful speech and writing.

Its translation depends on context. Before a noun, bastant can suggest a reasonably large or sufficient quantity. Before an adjective, it often means “fairly,” “rather” or “quite”: bastant car is “fairly expensive,” not necessarily “expensive enough.” When reaching a required minimum is the important idea, prou is normally clearer: Tenim prou menjar (“We have enough food”).

Massa and prou: no agreement

Massa and prou are invariable: their form does not change for masculine, feminine, singular or plural nouns. They can also modify adjectives, adverbs and verbs.

Function	With massa	English	With prou	English
masculine noun	massa soroll	too much noise	prou temps	enough time
feminine noun	massa gent	too many people	prou aigua	enough water
plural noun	massa problemes	too many problems	prou cadires	enough chairs
adjective	massa car	too expensive	prou clar	clear enough
verb	Parles massa.	You talk too much.	Has practicat prou.	You have practised enough.

The difference between molt and massa is essential. Molt describes a large quantity without saying that it is a problem; massa says that a desirable or possible limit has been exceeded:

• Hi ha molta gent. — There are a lot of people.
• Hi ha massa gent. — There are too many people.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
És la primera vegada que vinc aquí.	It is the first time I have come here.	Primera agrees with feminine vegada.
Vivim al tercer pis.	We live on the third floor.	Masculine singular tercer.
La segona pregunta és més difícil.	The second question is more difficult.	Feminine singular segona.
Van ser les primeres persones a arribar.	They were the first people to arrive.	Feminine plural primeres.
Jo demano el segon.	I'll order the second one.	The understood masculine noun is omitted.
No tenim gaire temps, però tenim moltes idees.	We do not have much time, but we have many ideas.	Moltes agrees with idees.
Avui hi ha poca gent al carrer.	There are few people in the street today.	Feminine singular poca with collective gent.
Dorm molt poc entre setmana.	He/She sleeps very little during the week.	Both words modify degree; no agreement.
Hem trobat bastantes opcions bones.	We have found quite a few good options.	Feminine plural bastantes.
La pel·lícula és bastant llarga.	The film is fairly long.	Adverbial bastant stays unchanged.
Hi ha massa gent al tren.	There are too many people on the train.	Massa expresses an excess.
Aquest cafè és massa fort per a mi.	This coffee is too strong for me.	Massa modifies fort.
Tenim prou menjar per a tothom.	We have enough food for everyone.	Prou remains unchanged.
No has estudiat prou.	You have not studied enough.	Prou modifies the action.
Ja n'hi ha prou.	That's enough already.	A frequent fixed expression meaning that a limit has been reached.

Common Mistakes

Copying the English invariable ordinal

• Wrong: la primer vegada
• Right: la primera vegada
• Why: English “first” never changes, but Catalan ordinals agree with the noun. Vegada is feminine singular.

Using a plural ending with the wrong gender

• Wrong: poques llibres
• Right: pocs llibres
• Why: Llibres is masculine plural, so the correct form is pocs. Use poques with a feminine plural noun, as in poques pàgines.

Making an adverb agree with an adjective

• Wrong: una història molta interessant
• Right: una història molt interessant
• Why: Here molt means “very” and modifies interessant, not the noun història. Adverbial molt is invariable.

Treating massa as if it meant only “a lot”

• Wrong for a neutral large quantity: Hi havia massa persones a la festa.
• Right: Hi havia moltes persones a la festa.
• Why: Massa means the number was excessive. Use moltes if you only mean that the number was large.

Adding endings to massa or prou

• Wrong: masses problemes; prous cadires
• Right: massa problemes; prou cadires
• Why: In standard quantity use, both words stay unchanged before every kind of noun.

Inserting de after a basic quantity word

• Wrong: molta de feina; prou de temps
• Right: molta feina; prou temps
• Why: Unlike English “a lot of,” these Catalan quantity words normally stand directly before the noun in this pattern.

Usage Notes

Ordinal position can vary. Before the noun is the most useful everyday pattern: el quart capítol, la primera visita. After the noun, an ordinal can sound like a label or formal sequence marker: capítol quart. Titles, headings and administrative language use this order more readily than ordinary conversation.

For floors, rounds, attempts and editions, Catalan routinely uses ordinals: el segon pis, la tercera ronda, el primer intent, la cinquena edició. For dates, however, only the first day of a month commonly uses an ordinal: el primer de maig. Other days normally use cardinal numbers: el dos de maig, el vint de juny.

Poc is not always as neutral as English “a little.” Tinc poc temps focuses on shortage: “I have little/not much time.” A positive small amount is often expressed with una mica de: Tinc una mica de temps (“I have a little time”). Similarly, pocs amics may suggest fewer friends than expected, while uns quants amics simply means “a few friends.”

Bastant is sensitive to context and tone. És bastant bo may range from “it is fairly good” to “it is quite good.” If you specifically mean that something meets a requirement, add the requirement or use prou: És prou bo per començar (“It is good enough to begin”).

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these patterns at A2, but they explain forms that you will meet later.

Catalan has ordinals beyond tenth, including onzè/onzena (eleventh), dotzè/dotzena (twelfth) and vintè/vintena (twentieth). In practical modern contexts, especially high numbers, speakers often use a cardinal number as a label instead of building a long ordinal: el segle XXI is normally read el segle vint-i-u. Ordinal abbreviations are also common in schedules and rankings, such as 1r for masculine “first,” 1a for feminine “first,” 2n/2a and 3r/3a.

Quantity words can stand without an overt noun when the listener knows what is being counted. The form may still reveal the missing noun: Vols galetes? En queden poques (“Do you want biscuits? There are few left”). Here en is a weak pronoun—a short unstressed word attached to the verb—that replaces the idea “of them,” while poques agrees with the omitted feminine plural galetes.

The same pronoun appears in Ja n'hi ha prou. The verb is the existential expression haver-hi (“there is/there are”), and n' refers back to an amount or thing. Word for word, the structure is close to “there is enough of it,” but idiomatic English translations include “that's enough,” “enough already” and, when said firmly, “I've had enough.” It is worth learning the whole phrase as one unit before studying the pronouns separately.

Finally, quantity can be strengthened or compared: molt més temps (“much more time”), molta menys gent (“many fewer people/a lot less people”), massa poc (“too little”) and prou bé (“well enough” or, depending on context, “quite well”). In combinations such as massa poc, the first invariable word changes the degree of the second rather than agreeing with a noun.

Practice Tips

1. Build four-form sets. Choose one ordinal and one quantity word each day, then pair them with masculine and feminine nouns in singular and plural: primer dia, primera setmana, primers dies, primeres setmanes; poc temps, poca aigua, pocs minuts, poques hores.
2. Ask what the quantity word modifies. In molta música, it modifies a noun and agrees. In molt bona, it modifies an adjective and stays unchanged. Marking the following word as “noun” or “adjective” makes the difference visible.
3. Practise meaning contrasts with one scene. Describe a café as Hi ha molta gent (a lot of people), Hi ha poca gent (few people) and Hi ha massa gent (too many people). Then add Hi ha prou taules (there are enough tables) to keep “enough” separate from “a lot.”

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers — reviews the cardinal numbers on which ordinal forms and numerical ordering build.