Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures Online

In this feature (based on WALS feature 89, by Matthew S. Dryer), we look at the order of the cardinal numeral with respect to the noun that it modifies, whether it precedes the noun ('five houses') or follows the noun ('houses five'). Cardinal numerals are words that denote the number of things that are referred to by the noun phrase, and they contrast with ordinal numerals, which specify the rank in some order of objects, as in 'fifth chair' (see Feature 35).