Skip to main content

Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers in English



When learning English, you’ll come across cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers. These two types of numbers are used in different situations—cardinals for counting and ordinals for showing the order or position of something.

What Are Cardinal Numbers?
Cardinal numbers tell us "how many" of something we have. They are used for counting and answering questions like "How many apples?" or "How many people?"

Examples:
  • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
Example sentence: There are 10 students in the class.

What Are Ordinal Numbers?
Ordinal numbers tell us the position or rank of something. They are used to describe the order in which things happen or are placed.

Examples:
  • 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.
Example sentence: She finished in 3rd place in the race.

How to Form Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers are generally formed by adding specific suffixes to the end of a cardinal number. However, the first few ordinal numbers have unique forms.

Basic Rules for Forming Ordinal Numbers:
For 1, 2, and 3, use:
  • 1st (first)
  • 2nd (second)
  • 3rd (third)
For numbers ending in -ty (e.g., 20, 30), replace the -y with -ieth:
  • 20 → 20th (twentieth)
  • 30 → 30th (thirtieth)
For most numbers that don’t end in 1, 2, or 3, add -th:
  • 4 → 4th (fourth)
  • 5 → 5th (fifth)
For numbers ending in 1, 2, or 3 (except for 11, 12, and 13), add -st, -nd, and -rd, respectively:
  • 21 → 21st (twenty-first)
  • 22 → 22nd (twenty-second)
  • 23 → 23rd (twenty-third)
For 11, 12, and 13, use -th (even though they end in 1, 2, and 3):
  • 11 → 11th (eleventh)
  • 12 → 12th (twelfth)
  • 13 → 13th (thirteenth)
List of Cardinal Numbers from 0 to 100
  • 0 - zero
  • 1 - one
  • 2 - two
  • 3 - three
  • 4 - four
  • 5 - five
  • 6 - six
  • 7 - seven
  • 8 - eight
  • 9 - nine
  • 10 - ten
  • 11 - eleven
  • 12 - twelve
  • 13 - thirteen
  • 14 - fourteen
  • 15 - fifteen
  • 16 - sixteen
  • 17 - seventeen
  • 18 - eighteen
  • 19 - nineteen
  • 20 - twenty
  • 21 - twenty-one
  • 22 - twenty-two
  • 23 - twenty-three
  • 24 - twenty-four
  • 25 - twenty-five
  • 26 - twenty-six
  • 27 - twenty-seven
  • 28 - twenty-eight
  • 29 - twenty-nine
  • 30 - thirty
  • 31 - thirty-one
  • 32 - thirty-two
  • 33 - thirty-three
  • 34 - thirty-four
  • 35 - thirty-five
  • 36 - thirty-six
  • 37 - thirty-seven
  • 38 - thirty-eight
  • 39 - thirty-nine
  • 40 - forty
  • 41 - forty-one
  • 42 - forty-two
  • 43 - forty-three
  • 44 - forty-four
  • 45 - forty-five
  • 46 - forty-six
  • 47 - forty-seven
  • 48 - forty-eight
  • 49 - forty-nine
  • 50 - fifty
  • 51 - fifty-one
  • 52 - fifty-two
  • 53 - fifty-three
  • 54 - fifty-four
  • 55 - fifty-five
  • 56 - fifty-six
  • 57 - fifty-seven
  • 58 - fifty-eight
  • 59 - fifty-nine
  • 60 - sixty
  • 61 - sixty-one
  • 62 - sixty-two
  • 63 - sixty-three
  • 64 - sixty-four
  • 65 - sixty-five
  • 66 - sixty-six
  • 67 - sixty-seven
  • 68 - sixty-eight
  • 69 - sixty-nine
  • 70 - seventy
  • 71 - seventy-one
  • 72 - seventy-two
  • 73 - seventy-three
  • 74 - seventy-four
  • 75 - seventy-five
  • 76 - seventy-six
  • 77 - seventy-seven
  • 78 - seventy-eight
  • 79 - seventy-nine
  • 80 - eighty
  • 81 - eighty-one
  • 82 - eighty-two
  • 83 - eighty-three
  • 84 - eighty-four
  • 85 - eighty-five
  • 86 - eighty-six
  • 87 - eighty-seven
  • 88 - eighty-eight
  • 89 - eighty-nine
  • 90 - ninety
  • 91 - ninety-one
  • 92 - ninety-two
  • 93 - ninety-three
  • 94 - ninety-four
  • 95 - ninety-five
  • 96 - ninety-six
  • 97 - ninety-seven
  • 98 - ninety-eight
  • 99 - ninety-nine
  • 100 - one hundred
Numbers in English
Notice that you need to use a hyphen (-) when you write the numbers between 21 and 99.

List of Ordinal Numbers from 1 to 100
  • 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
  • 32nd - thirty-second
  • 33rd - thirty-third
  • 34th - thirty-fourth
  • 35th - thirty-fifth
  • 36th - thirty-sixth
  • 37th - thirty-seventh
  • 38th - thirty-eighth
  • 39th - thirty-ninth
  • 40th - fortieth
  • 41st - forty-first
  • 42nd - forty-second
  • 43rd - forty-third
  • 44th - forty-fourth
  • 45th - forty-fifth
  • 46th - forty-sixth
  • 47th - forty-seventh
  • 48th - forty-eighth
  • 49th - forty-ninth
  • 50th - fiftieth
  • 51st - fifty-first
  • 52nd - fifty-second
  • 53rd - fifty-third
  • 54th - fifty-fourth
  • 55th - fifty-fifth
  • 56th - fifty-sixth
  • 57th - fifty-seventh
  • 58th - fifty-eighth
  • 59th - fifty-ninth
  • 60th - sixtieth
  • 61st - sixty-first
  • 62nd - sixty-second
  • 63rd - sixty-third
  • 64th - sixty-fourth
  • 65th - sixty-fifth
  • 66th - sixty-sixth
  • 67th - sixty-seventh
  • 68th - sixty-eighth
  • 69th - sixty-ninth
  • 70th - seventieth
  • 71st - seventy-first
  • 72nd - seventy-second
  • 73rd - seventy-third
  • 74th - seventy-fourth
  • 75th - seventy-fifth
  • 76th - seventy-sixth
  • 77th - seventy-seventh
  • 78th - seventy-eighth
  • 79th - seventy-ninth
  • 80th - eightieth
  • 81st - eighty-first
  • 82nd - eighty-second
  • 83rd - eighty-third
  • 84th - eighty-fourth
  • 85th - eighty-fifth
  • 86th - eighty-sixth
  • 87th - eighty-seventh
  • 88th - eighty-eighth
  • 89th - eighty-ninth
  • 90th - ninetieth
  • 91st - ninety-first
  • 92nd - ninety-second
  • 93rd - ninety-third
  • 94th - ninety-fourth
  • 95th - ninety-fifth
  • 96th - ninety-sixth
  • 97th - ninety-seventh
  • 98th - ninety-eighth
  • 99th - ninety-ninth
  • 100th - one hundredth

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Days of the Week

We have seven days in a week. The days from Monday to Friday are called weekdays . These are the days when many people go to work or school. Saturday and Sunday are known as the weekend . Yay! It's time for rest, fun, and doing things you enjoy.  Names of the days Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday We always start the names of these days with a capital letter. So it's not "monday" or "friday" – it's "Monday" and "Friday". Weekdays:  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Weekend:  Saturday, Sunday Days of the week/Weekdays Days of the week and weekdays are not the same. Days of the week are all the days from Monday to Sunday—there are seven of them. Now, weekdays are a little different. Weekdays are only the five days from Monday to Friday. These are the days when we have regular routines and responsibilities. So, in short, all weekdays are the days of the week, but not all days of the week are weekdays. We...

Spelling rules for Third Person 'S'

The third person singular is very special in the Present Simple because when we talk about he , she  or it , we add s or es to the base form of the verb. But, remember, there are some rules for when to use s  or es . Adding 's' for most verbs For most verbs, we just add s  to the end of the base form of the verb. Examples: live → lives start → starts enjoy → enjoys rain → rains Adding 'es' for specific verb endings For verbs ending in s , ss , sh , ch , or x , we add es  instead of just s . miss → misses wash → washes search → searches fix → fixes Verbs ending in 'y' If a verb ends in y , and the letter before the y is a consonant, we change the y to i and add es . study → studies carry → carries try → tries fly → flies Exceptions Some verbs have unique spelling changes in the third person singular form. have → has do → does go → goes 

Asking for and giving directions in English

Imagine this: you're in England and you're a bit lost. Do you have the right words to ask for directions? Don't worry! In this lesson, we'll help you learn 15 ways to ask for directions. It's like having a secret code to ask questions when you're not sure where to go. So get ready to learn some special phrases that will make asking and understanding directions in English super simple! Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the nearest subway station? Sure! Go straight ahead, take the first left, and you'll find the station on your right. I'm a bit lost. Could you help me find my way to the art gallery? Of course! Walk down this road, turn right at the second junction, and the art gallery will be on your left. Which way is the post office? The post office is just round the corner. Turn left here and walk about 100 metres, and you'll see it on your right. Could you point me in the right direction for the shopping centre? Absolutely! Walk straight a...