Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

In speaking and writing, we use number for many purposes.

• to count people or things
  
  
• to put things in order
  
  
• to identify people or things
  
  
• as determiners

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In this lesson, we are going to focus on the common uses of cardinal and ordinal numbers. Cardinal and ordinal numbers are used for counting and  putting things in order.

(When writing ordinal and cardinal numbers, you should use a hyphen for numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine.)

English Number	Cardinal	Ordinal	Ordinal Abbreviations
1	one	first	1st
2	two	second	2nd
3	three	third	3rd
4	four	fourth	4th
5	five	fifth	5th
6	six	sixth	6th
7	seven	seventh	7th
8	eight	eighth	8th
9	nine	ninth	9th
10	ten	tenth	10th
11	eleven	eleventh	11th
12	twelve	twelfth	12th
13	thirteen	thirteenth	13th
14	fourteen	fourteenth	14th
15	fifteen	fifteenth	15th
16	sixteen	sixteenth	16th
17	seventeen	seventeenth	17th
18	eighteen	eighteenth	18th
19	nineteen	nineteenth	19th
20	twenty	twentieth	20th
22	twenty-two	twenty-second	22nd
25	twenty-five	twenty-fifth	25th
30	thirty	thirtieth	30th
40	forty	fortieth	40th
50	fifty	fiftieth	50th
60	sixty	sixtieth	60th
70	seventy	seventieth	70th
80	eighty	eightieth	80th
90	ninety	ninetieth	90th
100	one hundred	one hundredth	100th
125	one hundred twenty-five	one hundred twenty-fifth	125th

Cardinal Numbers – Counting Numbers

Children are first introduced to cardinal numbers when they begin counting objects.


Cardinal numbers are numbers that tell you "how many." They express an amount.
 
We use cardinal numbers to count people or things. They indicate a quantity of people or objects.

Cardinal numbers are whole numbers. They do not contain fractions or decimals.

Ordinal Numbers – Position

Ordinal numbers are numbers that tell you the position of someone or something in a group or list. Ordinal numbers tell order. 

Except for first (1st), second (2nd), and third (3rd), most ordinal numbers end in the letters "th."

• fourth (4th)
• fifth (5th)
• eighth (8th)
• thirteenth (13th)
• twentieth (20th)
• twenty-fifth (25th)

Examples:

We can use ordinal numbers to tell the order people finish in a race or the order they are standing in line.








Ordinal numbers are also used in recipes and instructions. They tell you the order of steps.

Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

We can use cardinal and ordinal numbers together in the same sentence.

Here's an example:



In this sentence, we have used a cardinal and an ordinal number.

Cardinal numbers are used for counting. Cardinal numbers tell us "how many."

In the above example, three (3) is the cardinal number. It tells us how many cars were in the race. There were three cars in the race.

Ordinal numbers are used for putting thing in order. The ordinal number tells the position of Tom's car in the race.

In the above example, second (2nd) is the ordinal number. Tom placed second in the race. His car was the second car to cross the finish line. One car crossed the finish line before his car, and one car crossed the finish line after his car.

To learn more:

For additional information and rules for writing English Numbers, click here:

English Numbers


These were examples and rules of Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers. Now that you know them, it is time to practice! Get our ESL Books.

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