GRAMMAR • A1–A2
Ordinal Numbers
Learn how to say first, second, third and more!
📚 Learn
We use ordinal numbers to show the order or position of something.
Rule: We usually add -th: four → fourth, ten → tenth, sixteen → sixteenth.
Spelling exceptions: one → first, two → second, three → third, five → fifth, eight → eighth, nine → ninth, twelve → twelfth, twenty → twentieth, forty → fortieth.
Numbers ending in 1, 2 or 3: twenty-first (21st), twenty-second (22nd), twenty-third (23rd). Note: 11th, 12th and 13th are exceptions.
Spelling exceptions: one → first, two → second, three → third, five → fifth, eight → eighth, nine → ninth, twelve → twelfth, twenty → twentieth, forty → fortieth.
Numbers ending in 1, 2 or 3: twenty-first (21st), twenty-second (22nd), twenty-third (23rd). Note: 11th, 12th and 13th are exceptions.
Common ordinal numbers
1st — first2nd — second3rd — third4th — fourth5th — fifth6th — sixth7th — seventh8th — eighth9th — ninth10th — tenth11th — eleventh12th — twelfth13th — thirteenth14th — fourteenth15th — fifteenth16th — sixteenth17th — seventeenth18th — eighteenth19th — nineteenth20th — twentieth21st — twenty-first22nd — twenty-second23rd — twenty-third24th — twenty-fourth25th — twenty-fifth26th — twenty-sixth27th — twenty-seventh28th — twenty-eighth29th — twenty-ninth30th — thirtieth31st — thirty-first
Where do we use them?
📅 Dates: Her birthday is on the twenty-fifth of May.
🏆 Position: She came third in the race.
🏢 Floors: His office is on the tenth floor.
📚 Order: This is the second book in the series.
✏️ Practise
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