One, two, three. These are cardinal numbers.
First, second, third. These are ordinal numbers.
Ordinal numbers normally show the order or sequence of something.
You normally create ordinal numbers by adding TH to the end of a cardinal number.
4 becomes 4th.
7 becomes 7th.
16 becomes 16th.
Also, you need to be careful with the spelling of some ordinal numbers.
Five becomes fifth not "fiveth" There's no VE in it.
Fifth.
Nine becomes ninth.
There is no E in this ordinal number.
The main exceptions are with the numbers 1, 2, and 3
which become first, second and third.
This also happens with ordinals that end in these numbers.
Twenty one becomes twenty first.
Twenty two becomes twenty second.
Thirty three becomes thirty third.
When do we use ordinal numbers?
Ordinal numbers are normally used for dates.
We use ordinal numbers when giving a date.
Her birthday is on the 29th.
Independence Day is celebrated on the 4th of July.
Sequence or order.
We use ordinal numbers when we want to show the order or
position of someone or something in a sequence.
Woodward United finished second in the league last year.
I came third in the race.
This is the first time it has happened.
Floors of the building.
We use ordinal numbers to express the number of a floor in a building.
Our office is on the ninth floor.
Her apartment is on the second floor.
Celebrations.
We use ordinal numbers when we want to say the total number of years we are celebrating.
This is typically for birthdays or anniversaries.
A person's 15th birthday is an important event in Mexico.
We had a huge party for his 21st birthday.
Today is their 20th wedding anniversary.
Centuries
We use ordinal numbers to express the century that something happened.
Shakespeare was born in the sixteenth century.
The Renaissance was a period in European history from the 14th to the 17th century.
Kings and Queens
For the name of a King or Queen in written English, Roman numerals are used.
However, those Roman numerals are said as ordinal numbers in spoken English.
Henry the Eighth
Louis the Sixteenth was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution.
Here is a list of ordinal numbers from 1st to 31st
because they are needed when you give a date in English.
I recommend watching our video about how to say the date in English.
The ordinal numbers from 1st to 31st in English are:
1st (first) 2nd (second)
3rd (third) 4th (fourth)
5th (fifth) 6th (sixth)
7th (seventh) 8th (eighth)
9th (ninth) 10th (tenth)
11th (eleventh) 12th (twelfth)
13th (thirteenth) 14th (fourteenth)
15th (fifteenth) 16th (sixteenth)
17th (seventeenth) 18th (eighteenth)
19th (nineteenth) 20th (twentieth)
21st (twenty-first) 22nd (twenty-second)
23rd (twenty-third) 24th (twenty-fourth)
25th (twenty-fifth) 26th (twenty-sixth)
27th (twenty-seventh) 28th (twenty-eighth)
29th (twenty-ninth) 30th (thirtieth)
31st (thirty-first)
Let us know the day of your birthday in the comments section below.
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Have an awesome day!