Ordinal Numbers: How and When to Use in English

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Ordinal Numbers

Numeral adjectives (first, second, etc.) are used to list elements in a sequence:
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
31st thirty-first
100th one hundredth
511th five hundred and eleventh
Note: In the written versions, we add st, nd or th to the number.
first → 1st
second → 2nd
tenth → 10th
Fun with Ordinal Numbers!
We use numeral adjectives to express dates. Example:
10th April, 2008 the tenth of April, two thousand and eight (UK)
or April (the) tenth, two thousand and eight
April 10, 2008 April ten(th), two thousand eight (US)
We also express centuries and titles (of Kings, Queens, Popes, etc.) with numeral adjectives:
Charles I (1600-1649)
You: Did you know that Charles the First lived in the seventeenth century?
Friend: Really? You're so clever! The 21st century is a lot more interesting with you in it.
Exercise 1
Complete the sentences below with the correct ordinal number endings. Each answer only requires two letters.

The 4 point in our company charter states that only permanent employees can walk around the office without shoes.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I preferred our 43 president to our 45 president.
Happy 132 birthday, grandma! We can’t believe you’re still alive!
Complete the sentences below with the correct ordinal number endings. Each answer only requires two letters.

The 4th 1 point in our company charter states that only permanent employees can walk around the office without shoes.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I preferred our 43rd 2 president to our 45th 3 president.
Happy 132nd 4 birthday, grandma! We can’t believe you’re still alive!
1 th: Any number that ends in 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 0 (apart from 0 itself) has an ordinal form ending in "-th" (in this case, "fourth"). When written using digits, we write the digit(s) and add "-th" to the end of it. Other examples: 5th, 20th, 77th.
2 rd: All ordinal numbers that end in 3 take the ending "-rd", which represents the end of the word "third" (in this case, "forty-third"). Exception: the number 13 (thirteen) and large numbers ending in 13 take the ending "-th" (the end of the word "thirteenth"). Examples: 23rd (twenty-third), 53rd (fifty-third), 213th (two hundred and thirteenth).
3 th: Any number that ends in 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 0 (apart from 0 itself) has an ordinal form ending in "-th" (in this case, "forty-fifth"). When written using digits, we write the digit(s) and add "-th" to the end of it. Other examples: 6th, 70th, 99th.
4 nd: All ordinal numbers that end in 2 take the ending "-nd", which represents the end of the word "second" (in this case, "one hundred and thirty-second"). Exception: the number 12 (twelve) and large numbers ending in 12 take the ending "-th" (the end of the word "twelfth"). Examples: 62nd (sixty-second), 222nd (two hundred and twenty-second), 112th (one hundred and twelfth).
Exercise 2
Complete the sentences below with the correct ordinal number endings. Each answer only requires two letters.

Personally, I found that my 21 time was the best.
My parents’ 10 wedding anniversary was such an enormous party that they decided not to celebrate their 11 anniversary.
Complete the sentences below with the correct ordinal number endings. Each answer only requires two letters.

Personally, I found that my 21st 1 time was the best.
My parents’ 10th 2 wedding anniversary was such an enormous party that they decided not to celebrate their 11th 3 anniversary.
1 st: All ordinal numbers that end in 1 take the ending "-st", which represents the end of the word "first" (in this case, "twenty-first"). Exception: the number 11 (eleven) and large numbers ending in 11 take the ending "-th" (the end of the word "eleventh"). Examples: 41st (forty-first), 201st (two hundred and first), 111th (one hundred and eleventh).
2 th: Any number that ends in 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 0 (apart from 0 itself) has an ordinal form ending in "-th" (in this case, "tenth"). When written using digits, we write the digit(s) and add "-th" to the end of it. Other examples: 6th, 80th, 108th.
3 th: 11 is written "eleven", and the ordinal form of this number is "eleventh". We therefore use the ending "-th" here. This ending is used for all of the numbers from 10 to 19.
Exercise 3
Change the numbers below into their full, written-out ordinal form.
For example:
I didn’t enjoy my 30 birthday. → I didn’t enjoy my thirtieth birthday.

Remind me: what’s the month of the year again?
Maybe my attempt at convincing Jean to marry me will be successful!
That’s the time that Philip has made an inappropriate comment today. Is anyone going to do anything about it?!
Change the numbers below into their full, written-out ordinal form.
For example:
I didn’t enjoy my 30 birthday. → I didn’t enjoy my thirtieth birthday.

Remind me: what’s the [not done] thirteenth 1 month of the year again?
Maybe my [not done] third 2 attempt at convincing Jean to marry me will be successful!
That’s the [not done] twenty-seventh 3 time that Philip has made an inappropriate comment today. Is anyone going to do anything about it?!
1 thirteenth: To form the ordinal version of most numbers, we simply add the ending "-th". This is the case with 13 (thirteen), which becomes "thirteenth". Other examples: 11 (eleven) -> eleventh; 77 (seventy-seven) -> seventy-seventh.
2 third: All ordinal numbers that end in 3 take the ending "-rd", which represents the end of the word "third". Exception: the number 13 (thirteen) and large numbers ending in 13 take the ending "-th". Examples: 23rd (twenty-third), 53rd (fifty-third), 213th (two hundred and thirteenth).
3 twenty-seventh: To form the ordinal version of the number twenty-seven (27), we simply add the standard ending "-th". Other similar examples: 44 -> forty-fourth, 98 -> ninety-eighth.
Exercise 4
Change the numbers below into their full, written-out ordinal form.

For example:
July is the 7 month of the year. → July is the seventh month of the year.

That was the and last time that I played dodgeball.
Congratulations, you have finished in place!
So tell me, Jee-Zay, what’s your problem?
Change the numbers below into their full, written-out ordinal form.

For example:
July is the 7 month of the year. → July is the seventh month of the year.

That was the [not done] first 1 and last time that I played dodgeball.
Congratulations, you have finished in [not done] fiftieth 2 place!
So tell me, Jee-Zay, what’s your [not done] ninety-ninth 3 problem?
1 first: The ordinal number corresponding to the number 1 (one) has an irregular form, and is written "first". The ending "-st" is therefore used for most ordinal numbers ending in 1 (with the exception of 11 or other numbers ending in 11). For example: 21st = twenty-first, 101st = (one) hundred and first, 211th = two hundred and eleventh.
2 fiftieth: To write the ordinal form of two-digit numbers ending in 0, we take the cardinal number (fifty), remove the "-y" (fift), and add the ending "-ieth" (fiftieth). Another examples: 30 -> thirty -> thirt -> thirtieth.
3 ninety-ninth: To write the ordinal form of numbers ending in 9 (nine), we remove the "-e" before adding the standard "-th" ending. Another examples: 49 -> forty-nine -> forty-nin -> forty-ninth.
Exercise 5
Change the numbers below into their full, written-out ordinal form.
For example: This is my 38 coffee of the day. → This is my thirty-eighth coffee of the day.

This is the lottery ticket I’ve bought this year and I’m feeling lucky this time.
For the anniversary of the founding of our city, we’re having a big bonfire for our old hopes and dreams.
Congratulations! You are the visitor to our website and are entitled to a free thank-you email!
Change the numbers below into their full, written-out ordinal form.
For example: This is my 38 coffee of the day. → This is my thirty-eighth coffee of the day.

This is the [not done] sixty-fourth 1 lottery ticket I’ve bought this year and I’m feeling lucky this time.
For the [not done] two hundredth 2 anniversary of the founding of our city, we’re having a big bonfire for our old hopes and dreams.
Congratulations! You are the [not done] seven hundred twenty-third 3 visitor to our website and are entitled to a free thank-you email!
1 sixty-fourth: To form the ordinal version of the number sixty-four (64), we simply add the standard ending "-th". Other similar examples: 55 -> fifty-fifth, 86 -> eighty-sixth.
2 two hundredth: To form the ordinal version of multiples of 100, we simply add the ending "-th". For example: 100th = one hundredth, 700th = seven hundredth.
3 seven hundred twenty-third: To form the ordinal version of long numbers, we only apply an ordinal ending to the last part of the number (in this case, 23 = twenty-third). Numbers ending in 3 end in "third" rather than "-th" (apart from 13). Note that in UK English, we would add "and" after "hundred": "seven hundred and twenty-third".

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