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What time is it

by ailebol, March 21, 2010

Messages: 5

Language: English

ailebol (User's profile) March 21, 2010, 4:35:53 PM

Why the a on kiom? - Kioma horo estas

Matthieu (User's profile) March 21, 2010, 4:57:02 PM

When added to numbers, -a turns them into ordinal adjectives (unua: first, dua: second, etc.).
So Kioma horo estas? literaly means: “How manyth hour is it?” (I don’t know how translate kioma into correct English.)

qwertz (User's profile) March 21, 2010, 5:07:41 PM

I would explain it this way:

There excists 24 hours per day. These hours are lined up in a particular (timelined) order. Put yourself at the 12 p.m. timeline position and forget your position. You will ask:

Kiom~a horo estas?

The hour in the middle of the day is the 12~th hour of the day.

(Like Mutusen mentioned before)

@everybody: Is that correct?

ceigered (User's profile) March 21, 2010, 11:18:45 PM

I think "Manyeth" should be made a word in Mutusen's honour for such great creativity. I'm seriously surprised that I could not find it in the dictionary, it seems like an actual word!

EDIT: Oh wait, it does exist colloquially. Mostly in the English of non-native speakers. But still, that is a cool sounding word, and surprising that "-th" was used in a word virtually coined by non-natives who normally dislike "-th"...

astroly (User's profile) March 22, 2010, 1:29:27 AM

Why the a on kiom? - Kioma horo estas
Kiom is an adverb ; adverb can not qualify a
noun (horo).

Adjective (kioma) can qualify a noun ;
then :
kioma horo estas ?

Kioma is the qualifier of horo.

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