Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

Counting vs ordering: one/first, two/second, three/third

beginner

When to Use

•Cardinal: counting, quantity. I have three books. There are ten people.
•Ordinal: position, order. She came first. It's my second attempt.
•Dates: ordinal. January 1st (first), March 3rd (third).
•Floors: ordinal. The third floor, the 21st century.
•Fractions: ordinal for denominator. One third (1/3), two fifths (2/5).

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Cardinal: one, two, three... Ordinal: first, second, third...

Negative (-)

Same forms

Question (?)

How many? (cardinal) Which one? (ordinal)

💡 Ordinal endings: -st (1st, 21st), -nd (2nd, 22nd), -rd (3rd, 23rd), -th (4th-20th, 24th+).

Examples

✓This is my first visit.

✗This is my one visit.

Use ordinal for position/order.

✓I have two sisters.

✗I have second sisters.

Use cardinal for quantity.

✓She finished third.

✗She finished three.

Use ordinal for ranking.

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• Cardinal: how many? (one, two, three, four, five...).
• Ordinal: which position? (first, second, third, fourth, fifth...).
• Irregular: first (not oneth), second (not twoth), third (not threeth).
• Endings: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, then 4th, 5th, 6th... 11th, 12th, 13th... 21st, 22nd, 23rd...

dates-times fractions-decimals countable-uncountable 📝 numbers-beginner 📝 cardinal-ordinal-quiz

Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

Counting vs ordering: one/first, two/second, three/third

beginner

When to Use

•Cardinal: counting, quantity. I have three books. There are ten people.
•Ordinal: position, order. She came first. It's my second attempt.
•Dates: ordinal. January 1st (first), March 3rd (third).
•Floors: ordinal. The third floor, the 21st century.
•Fractions: ordinal for denominator. One third (1/3), two fifths (2/5).

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Cardinal: one, two, three... Ordinal: first, second, third...

Negative (-)

Same forms

Question (?)

How many? (cardinal) Which one? (ordinal)

💡 Ordinal endings: -st (1st, 21st), -nd (2nd, 22nd), -rd (3rd, 23rd), -th (4th-20th, 24th+).

Examples

✓This is my first visit.

✗This is my one visit.

Use ordinal for position/order.

✓I have two sisters.

✗I have second sisters.

Use cardinal for quantity.

✓She finished third.

✗She finished three.

Use ordinal for ranking.

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• Cardinal: how many? (one, two, three, four, five...).
• Ordinal: which position? (first, second, third, fourth, fifth...).
• Irregular: first (not oneth), second (not twoth), third (not threeth).
• Endings: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, then 4th, 5th, 6th... 11th, 12th, 13th... 21st, 22nd, 23rd...

dates-times fractions-decimals countable-uncountable 📝 numbers-beginner 📝 cardinal-ordinal-quiz

Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗It's the three time I've called.

✗I live on floor five.

✗January 1 (spoken as 'January one')

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗It's the three time I've called.

✗I live on floor five.

✗January 1 (spoken as 'January one')

💡 Practice Tips

Related