Do you know there are several types of numbers? If you do not know then do not worry in this essay you will be taught two of those. Probably you might be using these numbers daily without knowing their names.
Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers are one of those and are used in Math’s and it is actually a fun activity to distinguish between these two types. These are actually quite similar to numeral adjectives that we have in English.
What are Cardinal Numbers?
A Cardinal Number is a number that tells us how many of something is there, such as one, two, three, four, five etc. We use cardinal numbers to count (e.g., one, two, three).
Examples of Cardinal Numbers
Here are few examples of cardinal numbers:
- There are six coins.
- I have two sisters.
- There are two chairs and one dining table.
- The kid ate nine candies.
- I just have one pencil, the kid said sadly.
- There are eleven birds on the tree.
- Last night I counted twenty stars in the sky.
- Cardinal numbers are used to tell how many marks you obtained; I got eighty marks out of hundred etc.
It does not have fractions or decimals, it is only used for counting. There is an easy trick for remembering it. Cardinal starts with the letter “c” and so does counting. They can be written as words (example: nine) or as numerals (example: 9)
What are Ordinal Numbers?
An Ordinal Number is a number which tells us the position of something in a list, such as first (1st), Second (2nd), third (3rd), fourth (4th), fifth (5th) etc. We use ordinal numbers to rank or order things (e.g., first, second, third). They can be written as words (example: nine) or as numerals (example: 9)
An Ordinal Number tells us the position of something in a list.
Examples of Ordinal Numbers
Let’s see few examples of ordinal numbers:
- I came second in the race.
- In the picture shown the boy is standing at the fifth place.
- The mother cat is on the first position while the pups are at third and fourth position.
- I am sixth in the line.
- Ordinal numbers are used in writing a date; my friend’s birthday is on October twelfth etc.
How to remember: “Ordinal says what Order things are in”. They can be written as words (example: ninth) or as numerals (example: 9th). Now let’s have a look at how to write ordinal numbers. You must have notice above that while writing an ordinal number in the form of numerals, the last two letters from the word were added (e.g. Sixth = 6th).See the following:
- If the numeral ends in 1, add “st” (e.g., thirty-first = 31st)
- If the numeral ends in 2, add “nd” (e.g., thirty-second = 32nd)
- If the numeral ends in 3, add “rd” (e.g., sixty-third = 43rd)
- If the numeral ends in 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 0, add “th” (e.g., fifty-sixth = 56th)
In most cases the “th” is added at the end of the cardinal number to make an ordinal number (example: ten ? tenth). There are few exceptions such as five, “th” is added after removing “e” that makes it fifth.
Learn how ordinal numbers are written in French using a set of given rules.
Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers from 1 to 50
Following is a list of cardinal and ordinal number from 1 to 50 for kids to learn how they are written in words.
| Numeral Cardinal | Numeral Ordinal |
| One | First |
| Two | Second |
| Three | Third |
| Four | Fourth |
| Five | Fifth |
| Six | Sixth |
| Seven | Seventh |
| Eight | Eighth |
| Nine | Ninth |
| Ten | Tenth |
| Eleven | Eleventh |
| Twelve | Twelfth |
| Thirteen | Thirteenth |
| Fourteen | Fourteenth |
| Fifteen | Fifteenth |
| Sixteen | Sixteenth |
| Seventeen | Seventeenth |
| Eighteen | Eighteenth |
| Nineteen | Nineteenth |
| Twenty | Twentieth |
| Twenty one | Twenty-First |
| Twenty two | Twenty-Second |
| Twenty three | Twenty-Third |
| Twenty four | Twenty-Fourth |
| Twenty five | Twenty-Fifth |
| Twenty six | Twenty-Sixth |
| Twenty seven | Twenty-Seventh |
| Twenty eight | Twenty-Eighth |
| Twenty nine | Twenty-Ninth |
| Thirty | Thirtieth |
| Thirty One | Thirty-First |
| Thirty Two | Thirty-Second |
| Thirty Three | Thirty-Third |
| Thirty Four | Thirty-Fourth |
| Thirty Five | Thirty-Fifth |
| Thirty Six | Thirty-Sixth |
| Thirty Seven | Thirty-Seventh |
| Thirty Eight | Thirty-Eighth |
| Thirty Nine | Thirty-Ninth |
| Forty | Fortieth |
| Forty One | Forty-First |
| Forty Two | Forty-Second |
| Forty Three | Forty-Third |
| Forty Four | Forty-Fourth |
| Forty Five | Forty-Fifth |
| Forty Six | Forty-Sixth |
| Forty Seven | Forty-Seventh |
| Forty Eight | Forty-Eighth |
| Forty Nine | Forty-Ninth |
| Fifty | Fiftieth |
I hope these two types of numbers are crystal clear to all of you reading this article and will now be able to distinguish between them.
Keep exploring EnglishBix for quality resources on learning different numbers and now they are written in words.
Quick Links