WebQuest
Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers in English
Process
The numbers in English
A. Cardinal numbers
Cardinal numbers say how many people or things there are.
Examples:
a. There are five books on the desk.
b. Ron is ten years old.
A. 1. Numbers bigger than 20
Use a hyphen between compound numbers.
| Number | Word |
| 21 | twenty-one |
| 55 | fifty-five |
| 99 | ninety-nine |
A.2. Numbers bigger than 100
Use a hyphen between compound numbers and the word and.
Use either the definite article a or one for 100.
| Number | Word |
| 121 | a/one hundred and twenty-one |
| 356 | three hundred and fifty-six |
| 999 | nine hundred and ninety-nine |
A.3. Numbers bigger than 1,000
Use a hyphen between compound numbers and the word and.
Use either the definite article a or one for 1,000.
Separate three digits with a comma (,) → 50,000.
Number | Word |
| 1,121 | a/one thousand one hundred and twenty-one |
| 2,356 | two thousand three hundred and fifty-six |
| 9,999 | nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine |
A.4. The number 0
There are different words for the number 0.
| Word | Explanation | Example |
| Oh | single digits (telephone numbers, codes) | 67890 |
| Zero | measurements (temperature) | -5 °C |
| Nought | figure 0 in British English* | 5 - 5 = 0 |
| Nil | results in sport | The match ended 2 - 0. |
* In American English zero is used.
A.5. Date and Year
| You write | You say |
| 1995 | nineteen ninety-five |
| 2000 | two thousand |
| 2010 | two thousand (and) ten |
| Month | Day | Year | |
| You write | January | 1st | 2010 |
| You say | January (the)* | first | two thousand (and) ten |
B. Ordinal numbers
Add th to the cardinal number to form the ordinal number: six → sixth
Add the last two letters of the written word to the figure. → 4th
Numbers in words: The ordinal numbers 1st → first, 2nd → second and 3rd → third are irregular. Be careful with the spelling of the words for 5th, 8th, 9th, 12th and the words ending in -y.
Cardinal numbers = Ordinal numbers
1 one = 1st first
2 two = 2nd second
3 three = 3rd third
5 five = 5th fifth
8 eight = 8th eighth
9 nine = 9th ninth
12 twelve = 12th twelfth
20 twenty = 20th twentieth
Ordinal numbers
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
B.1. Fractions and decimals
B.1.1. Fractions
Use the ordinal number for the denominator:
1/3 → one third
2 3/5 → two and three fifths
Exceptions:
1/2 → one half
1/4 → one quarter
B.1.2. Decimals
Use the cardinal number for decimals:
3.8 → three point eight
4.25 → four point two five
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