You will sometimes see ordinal number suffixes written in superscript after numerals as in 100th or 101st. This is a written style choice.
English Articles
Ordinal numbers: What are they and how to use them in English?
By: Erin Kuester Thu Sep 12 2024
EnglishNumbers
Ordinal numbers are used to place things in order or in sequence. You might use ordinal numbers to describe the position of runners in a race or describe the sequence of classes for your day, but there are other uses for them as well.
ordinal number
The apple is first (1st).
The pear is second (2nd).
The lemons are third (3rd).
apple: 1
pear: 2
lemons: 3
In this post we’ll take a look at both how to form ordinal numbers and when to use them! Maybe, once you’ve finished the post, you’ll be able to list the topics we covered in order using what you’ve learned!
Table of Contents
How to form ordinal numbers in English?
To form most ordinal numbers, you will usually take the word for the counting number and add a -th, but ordinal numbers that end in 1, 2, or 3 have their own special ordinal forms.
You can write ordinal numbers with numerals (e.g. 31st) or in words (e.g. thirty-first). Here are the rules to follow
Description | Rule | With numerals | In words | ||
Cardinal Number | Ordinal Number | Cardinal Number | Ordinal Number | ||
Ends in 1 | -1 → -1st-one → -first | 131 | 1st31st | onethirty-one | firstthirty-first |
Ends in 2 | -2 → -2nd-two → -second | 232 | 2nd32nd | twothirty-two | secondthirty-second |
Ends in 3 | -3 → -3rd-three → -third | 333 | 3rd33rd | threethirty-three | thirdthirty-third |
All other numbers | Add -th | ...4 | ...4th | ...four | ...fourth |
...5 | ...5th | ...five | ...fifth | ||
...6 | ...6th | ...five | ...fifth | ||
...7 | ...7th | ...five | ...fifth | ||
...8 | ...8th | ...five | ...fifth | ||
...9 | ...9th | ...five | ...fifth | ||
...0 | ...0th | [see below] | |||
Tip
Exception!
There are a couple exceptions to the rules above:
The words eleven(11), twelve(12), and thirteen(13) use -th:
- 11 → 11theleven → eleventh
- 12 → 12thtwelve → twelfth
- 13 → 13ththirteen → thirteenth
This happens because eleven, twelve, and thirteen do not include the words one, two, and three.
The pronunciation and spelling of five and twelve changes when you add -th:
- five → ✅fifth[fifth]❌fiveth
- twelve → ✅twelfth[twelfth]❌twelveth
Notice the spelling of eight and nine. This does not affect pronunciation.
- eight → ✅eighth❌eightth
- nine → ✅ninth❌nineth
Forming ordinal numbers that end in zero (0)
To form ordinal numbers that end in zero, you’ll add -th to the cardinal number.
- 30 → 30ththirty → thirtieth
- 100 → 100thone hundred → one hundredth
- 3000 → 3000ththree thousand→ three thousandth
Important
When you’re writing the word for a number that ends in -y (e.g. twenty or thirty), change the -y to -ie before adding the -th.
twenty → twentieth
fifty → fiftieth
ninety → ninetieth
This does not affect pronunciation!
Now that we’ve looked at forming ordinal numbers, let’s think about how they’re used!
When to use ordinal numbers in English?
Ordinal numbers are usually used to indicate the order of things within a group. There are many different ways to put things in order, such as order of time, importance, physical location, and more! We’ll take a look at some of the most common uses for ordinal numbers.
Using ordinal numbers to rank things or people
Ordinal numbers show what rank someone or something has within a group, such as rankings in a competition:
Last year Michelle finished the spelling bee in fifth place.
Our college football team is ranked 14th in the country right now.
The cyclist in third place looks like he injured himself.
Tip
Instead of using an ordinal number, you can use last to describe the person participating in the final position:
I was the last runner to finish the race, but I’m still proud that I crossed the finish line!
Ordinal numbers can also be used to rank things outside of a competition or to describe something’s “level.”
Today I’m flying in first class!
My baby is in the 90th percentile for height and the 80th percentile for weight.
Madison will be starting third grade next month.
Using ordinal numbers to label the steps in a process
When we are listing steps in a process, we often put them in order using ordinal numbers. This is especially important when the steps in a process must be followed in a specific order, such as in a recipe:
First, collect all the ingredients for your recipe.
Second, preheat the oven to the correct temperature.
Third, dice the onions into small pieces.
...
Finally, eat your tacos!
What other processes can you think of that must be completed in a specific order? Try writing down those steps and use ordinal numbers to indicate what order the steps should be completed in!
Using ordinal numbers to say the date
We always use the ordinal number when we say the day of the month.
“I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday, February twenty-seventh.”
“Henry was born on August first.”
“It looks like the next available meeting time is on the twenty-second.”
Tip
Always keep the before the ordinal number for the day!
✅The next available appointment is on the 22nd.
❌The next available appointment is on 22nd.
When writing the date all with numbers, we always use the cardinal number for the day:
08/15/2022
→ This is the American way to write the date: MONTH / DAY / YEAR
But when writing the date with some words, you can use the cardinal numeral or the ordinal numeral for the day:
✅August 15, 2022
✅August 15th, 2022
Using ordinal numbers to name centuries
We also use ordinal numbers to name centuries (periods of 100 years). We count up from how many centuries it has been since year zero.
Trains became a popular method of travel in the 19th century.
→ 19th century = 1800-1899The Age of Discovery was a time period from the 15th to 17th centuries where Europeans sailed the world.
→ 15th century to 17th century = 1400-1699The Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century.
→ 5th century = 400-499
This can be tricky! Remember that the 1st century = 0-99 CE, so the 2nd century is 100-199. The years in the 2nd century begin with the number 1!
Using ordinal numbers in storytelling
Ordinal numbers can also help you place events in story order. When you talk about things that happened (or will happen) one-after-another, you can label events with ordinal numbers…
First we drove around the town center, and we looked around a boutique second.
We bought the blue hats first, and the blue dresses second.
… but it sounds more casual and natural to label the places, objects, or people (nouns) you encounter in a story with ordinal numbers instead of your actions.
My mom visited me yesterday and we went shopping. The first store we went to was a clothing boutique and the second store we visited was filled with antiques. We didn’t buy anything at the third and fourth store, but the fifth store we went to had really cool home decorations and we spent a lot of money.
Using ordinal numbers for physical locations in a line or stack
When describing the physical location of things, we often use ordinal numbers to show where something stands in a line or a stack. Here are some examples.
The bathroom is the third door on the left.
I have an amazing view of the city from my hotel room on the 21st floor.
Patrice always parks in the sixth parking spot from the building entrance.
Tip
What do you call the floor of a building that’s on the street level? In the US, this is called the first floor, and in Europe this is called the ground floor. The next floor up is called the second floor in the US, and the first floor in Europe.
Using ordinal numbers to name streets
Cities commonly use ordinal numbers as street names. These numbered street names show the order of streets.
In most towns you start counting from the city’s central road. So 1st Street is next to the city center, while 120th Street is very far from the city center. But in some towns things are more complicated.
Many American cities will have both a 3rd Street and a 3rd Avenue, but they are not the same road.
Sometimes they just “count up” from different sides of the city center (e.g. 3rd Avenue is north of Main Street, 3rd street is south of Main Street).
Usually streets run one direction (e.g. north to south) while avenues run another direction (e.g. east to west).
Tip
Some roads are also named using cardinal numbers (e.g. Route 66). To learn more about how and when we use cardinal numbers to name streets, roads, and highways, check out our post on how to use cardinal numbers in English.
Using ordinal numbers in the names for people
In English, we often use an ordinal number after a famous person’s name if a lot of their ancestors had the same name. This is most common with names of kings, queens, and other types of royalty, like:
King Henry the Eighth
Louis the 16th
Queen Elizabeth the Second
We sometimes also use ordinal numbers for people who aren’t so famous when male names are passed down directly from father to son to grandson. With names for “regular people,” we usually start using ordinal numbers only for the third son with the same name (the grandson).
So, if you are a man named James Joyce, and your son is named James too, he is called James Joyce “Junior” (Jr.). But if your grandson is also named James, he is called James Joyce “the third.”
Tip
When we write the names of people who are named using ordinal numbers, we often use Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V...), instead of words (first, second, third) or Arabic numerals (1st, 2nd, 3rd). So you will often see kings and queens named as King Henry VII or Louis XVI.
Using ordinal numbers in fractions
When we read fractions aloud in English, we often use an ordinal number for the bottom number (the “denominator”) and a cardinal number for the top number (the “numerator”). If the top number is more than one, we add an -s after the ordinal number.
1/3 → one third
1/4 → one fourth
3/12 → three twelfths
7/32 → seven thirty-seconds
Exception!
When the bottom number is a two, we always use the word half (halves) instead of second(s).
1/2 →
✅one half❌one second3/2 →
✅three halves❌three seconds
When the bottom number is a four, we often use the word quarter(s) instead of the word fourth(s), but both are acceptable:
1/4 →
✅one quarter✅one fourth
Summary
In this post, we’ve looked at ordinal numbers in detail. We’ve discussed:
Ordinal numbers are used to describe a thing’s position or order in a group.
The ordinal numbers first, second, and third are unique.
All other ordinal numbers end in -th.
We also looked at the many ways that ordinal numbers are used, including:
Ranking things
Listing steps in a process
Saying dates
Ordering events in a story
Describing physical location in a line or stack
Naming streets
Naming people clearly
Saying fractions
Now that you know all about ordinal numbers, think about where you use ordinal numbers in your everyday life. And if you want a little practice, check out these English ordinal numbers activities!
