# kahden/kolmen/etc. = "just two/three/etc."?



## Gavril

Päivää,

Can the -n-final form of any numeral (kahden, kolmen etc.) mean “just the two/three/four/etc. of them” in certain contexts?

In an earlier thread, Kirahvi already pointed out the example _Katsoimme kahden veneilijää satamassa. _“We watched a boater on the harbor, just the two of us.” Can one form similar sentences with _kolmen, neljän _etc.?

E.g.,

_Voimme kolmen helposti kukistaa tuon moukan!_
"The three of us could easily take on that brute!"

_He nostivat ankurin ja lähtivät neljän matkaan Lumijoenselälle._
"They weighed anchor and set off, just the four of them, for Lumijoenselkä."

_Yhden voisin syödä tuon piirakan loppuun!_ 
"I could eat that pie all by myself."

Kiitos


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## Hakro

I'd say that _kahden_ is an exceptional form and nowadays it's seldom used. What would you think if I'd say _"Olin kävelyllä kahden vaimoni kanssa."_

More common expressions are _kaksin, kahdestaan, kaksistaan_ or _kahden kesken_. 

Then you can say _kolmisin, kolmistaan_ and _nelisin_, but other similar expressions sound weird, at least to me.



> _Voimme kolmisin helposti kukistaa tuon moukan!_
> "The three of us could easily take on that brute!"
> 
> _He nostivat ankkurin ja lähtivät nelisin matkaan Lumijoenselälle._
> "They weighed anchor and set off, just the four of them, for Lumijoenselkä."
> 
> _Yksin voisin syödä tuon piirakan loppuun!_
> "I could eat that pie all by myself."


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## pearho

I seem to recall _kahden_ in this context being a rare use of the instructive, is that correct?


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## Hakro

You may be right, as _kaksin_ is in normal instuctive case and _kahden_ means (in this context) exactly the same. Our linguists can explain this better, I hope.


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## Finland

Hello!



Hakro said:


> I'd say that _kahden_ is an exceptional form and nowadays it's seldom used. What would you think if I'd say _"Olin kävelyllä kahden vaimoni kanssa."_



Apparently there is regional variation or something, because in my ears "kahden vaimoni kanssa" sounds natural. I could very well imagine saying, in spoken Finnish "me oltiin kahden istumassa keittiössä kun puhelin soi". 

And in my experience, similar forms for viisi and kuusi also exist: viidestään/viisistään, kuudestaan/kuusistaan, but for bigger numbers it doesn't sound natural to me anymore.

HTH
S


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## Hakro

Finland said:


> Apparently there is regional variation or something, because in my ears "kahden vaimoni kanssa" sounds natural. I could very well imagine saying, in spoken Finnish "me oltiin kahden istumassa keittiössä kun puhelin soi".


I remember when _"me oltiin kahden vaimoni kanssa keittiössä..."_, there were my first wife and the second one, and the situation wasn't very comfortable.


> And in my experience, similar forms for viisi and kuusi also exist:  viidestään/viisistään, kuudestaan/kuusistaan, but for bigger numbers it  doesn't sound natural to me anymore.


You're absolutely right.


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## pearho

Hakro said:


> You may be right, as _kaksin_ is in normal instuctive case and _kahden_ means (in this context) exactly the same. Our linguists can explain this better, I hope.



Come to think of it, _kahden_ would then be the instructive on the singular stem, and _kaksin_ the instructive on the plural stem. But as for _yksi_, I don't think _yhden_ (singular stem) is in use, only _yksin_ (plural stem), which is kind of funny.


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