Sprik: Difference between revisions

The definite article is ''dij'', ''dei'', ''den'', ''dei''. The indefinite article is ''ij'', ''ei'', ''ei'', ''ei''. If the next word begins with a vowel, or if the article is the last word of a sentence or standalone statement, ''-n'' will be added to the indefinite article to produce ''ijn'', ''ein'', ''ein'', ''ein''. Many speakers will not decline the articles in rapid or informal speech, instead using the forms ''de'' and ''e(n)'' (rarely written, so the spelling may vary). The indefinite article is also used for the number one, in which case it is always fully pronounced and declined. No other numbers decline. The cardinal numbers one to twenty are ''ij''(''n''), ''tvei'', ''trie'', ''fer'', ''fief'', ''zij'', ''zefin'', ''ijcht'', ''nefin'', ''tijn'', ''ijten'', ''tveten'', ''treten'', ''ferten'', ''fiften'', ''zijten'', ''zeften'', ''ijchten'', ''neften'', ''tveintik''. In the towns, where the digraph ''ch'' is pronounced more softly, it is common to hear ''ijkten'' for eighteen to avoid confusion with ''ijten''. There is no word for zero, but ''nijn'' (“none”) is commonly accepted in such use. The ordinals are regularly declining adjectives, and are used to form fractions as well (so "one half" is ''ij tveidt''.