"The __ of __ children"
If I wanted to say "the fourth of seven children", would it be el cuarto de siete niños? Also, if I were to say "the third of seven children", would I include the "o" in "tercero"?
Gracias!
2 Answers
Sun Smile, yes and yes.
In the second, o is included because tercero here is being used like a noun. However, if you include niño, then the o is ommitted and it reverts back to an adjective.
Technically, I´m not sure if in the first variant tercero is truly a noun or not, but it is being used this way and therefore, the o is used.
The fourth of...
The third of... sounds like a proportion.
The third of the class that turned in the extra credit assignment...
I would recommend the 3rd child of seven or the 4th child of seven.
El tercer niño de los siete [hijos..if they are related siblings]
Not a native, no idea how it is actually said.
But to answer part of your question: tercero is apocopated to tercer when in front of a masculine, singular noun; not a preposition nor when acting as a noun and not an adjective. already answered
