[329.] Declension of the Cardinals. Of the cardinals only ūnus, duo, trēs, the hundreds above one hundred, and mīlle used as a noun, are declinable.
a. ūnus is one of the nine irregular adjectives, and is declined like nūllus (cf. [§§ 109], [470]). The plural of ūnus is used to agree with a plural noun of a singular meaning, as, ūna castra, one camp; and with other nouns in the sense of only, as, Gallī ūnī, only the Gauls.
b. Learn the declension of duo, two; trēs, three; and mīlle, a thousand. ([§ 479].)
c. The hundreds above one hundred are declined like the plural of bonus; as,
|
ducentī, -ae, -a ducentōrum, -ārum, -ōrum etc. etc. etc. |
[330.] We have already become familiar with sentences like the following:
| Omnium avium aquila est vēlōcissima Of all birds the eagle is the swiftest Hoc ōrāculum erat omnium clārissimum This oracle was the most famous of all |
In such sentences the genitive denotes the whole, and the word it modifies denotes a part of that whole. Such a genitive, denoting the whole of which a part is taken, is called a partitive genitive.
[331.] Rule. Partitive Genitive. Words denoting a part are often used with the genitive of the whole, known as the partitive genitive.
a. Words denoting a part are especially pronouns, numerals, and other adjectives. But cardinal numbers excepting mīlle regularly take the ablative with ex or dē instead of the partitive genitive.