What Are Ordinal Numbers?

Ordinal numbers are numbers used to indicate the position or order of something in a list or sequence. They are used to rank and order items in a series.

How to Write Ordinal Numbers: 1-10

Most of the numbers get 'th' at the end to change to an ordinal number, except for the first three numbers:

Written

Numeral

first

1st

second

2nd

third

3rd

fourth

4th

fifth

5th

sixth

6th

seventh

7th

eighth

8th

ninth

9th

tenth

10th

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Exceptions in Spelling

Please note that apart from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, the spelling of some of the numbers changes when 'th' is added to them.

five + th → fifth

eight + th → eighth

nine + th → ninth

How to Write Ordinal Numbers: 11-20

Written

Numeral

eleventh

11th

twelfth

12th

thirteenth

13th

fourteenth

14th

fifteenth

15th

sixteenth

16th

seventeenth

17th

eighteenth

18th

nineteenth

19th

twentieth

20th

Exceptions in Spelling

As you can see in the table above, some of the numbers change form when 'th' is added to them.

twelve + th → twelfth

twenty + th → twentieth

How to Write Ordinal Numbers: Compound

For compound ordinal numbers, use this structure:
first part (in cardinal form) + hyphen + second part (ordinal form)

Written

Numeral

twenty-first

21st

twenty-second

22nd

twenty-third

23rd

twenty-fourth

24th

twenty-fifth

25th

twenty-sixth

26th

twenty-seventh

27th

twenty-eighth

28th

twenty-ninth

29th

How to Write Ordinal Numbers: The Tens

For the tens, note that the letter 'y' at the end of the cardinal numbers, turns into 'ie' in ordinal numbers.

Written

Numeral

tenth

10th

twentieth

20th

thirtieth

30th

fortieth

40th

fiftieth

50th

sixtieth

60th

seventieth

70th

eightieth

80th

ninetieth

90th

How to Write Ordinal Numbers: The Hundreds

To write a number from 100 to 999 in ordinal form, start by writing the number of hundreds. If there is nothing left over, add the suffix '-hundredth' to the end of the number. For example, '500' becomes 'five hundredth'.
If there are additional numbers beyond the hundreds, write the word 'hundred' followed by the rest of the numbers in ordinal form.

Written

Numeral

one hundred first

101st

one hundred second

102nd

one hundred third

103rd

two hundred seventy-fifth

275th

three hundredth

300th

five hundred eightieth

580th

nine hundred ninety-eighth

998th

Roman Numerals

Roman numeral system numbers originated in ancient Rome where they used the letters I, V, X, L, C, D, and M to write numbers. Each of these letters represents a number: I for 1, V for 5, X for 10, L for 50, C for 100, D for 500, and M for 1000.
We can put the symbols in descending order from left to right and add numbers together. If we add all of the numbers' values together, we get the total value. For example:

Example

XXVI is 10 + 10 + 5 + 1 = 26

XXXIII is 10 + 10 + 10 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 33

We can also put a symbol with a smaller value on the left side of the one with a larger value and subtract the value of the smaller symbol from that of the larger symbol to get the total value. For example:

Example

IV is 5 – 1 = 4

IX is 10 - 1 = 9

Tip!

Note that none of the Roman numerals can come together more than three times. For example, to show 40, we cannot write XXXX, instead, we use XL which means 10 is subtracted from 50.

Ordinal Numbers: Function

Ordinal numbers are used to indicate the position or order of things or objects in a sequence. Their purpose is to arrange different items in a specific order based on their position or standing. When objects or things are placed in a particular order, the counting procedure requires labeling them with numbers, and ordinal numbers help to tell their precise position or place them in order within a group.
Ordinal numbers are used in many different contexts, from everyday life to sports games, mathematics, and science. They are essential for organizing data, such as ranking sports teams, listing items in a menu or catalog, or describing events in a story or timeline. Let's see some examples:

Example

Steven came third in the race.

The fifth book from the left is an amazing book.

Newton's first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.

Ordinal Numbers Vs. Cardinal Numbers

The difference between cardinal and ordinal numbers is that we use cardinal numbers to count or indicate the quantity of things, therefore, any natural number is considered cardinal. For example:

Example

Three students

Five pencils

But ordinal numbers are used to express the position or order of objects. For instance:

Example

Second car

10th birthday

Ordinal Numbers and Cardinal Numbers Together

Ordinal and cardinal numbers regularly appear together, even to quantify the same object. When a cardinal number and an ordinal number modify the same noun, the ordinal number always comes first, before the cardinal number:

Example

The first two players who ran in the field made the audience to gasp.

The second three players were practically invisible.

We also should know that two ordinal numbers cannot appear back to back. We cannot say 'the first second race', unless there is a word or punctuation between the two ordinal numbers.

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