Differences between cardinal and ordinal numbers in English

Cardinal and ordinal numbers in English are often confused due to their different uses. In this article, PREP will share the fastest and easiest method to distinguish between them!

I. What are cardinal numbers?

Cardinal numbers are used to indicate the quantity of people or objects, as well as the frequency of an event. The most common cardinal numbers from 1 to 10 are written as follows:

II. What are ordinal numbers?

Ordinal numbers are used to show the position, rank, or order of an item in a series or sequence. The most common ordinal numbers from 1st to 10th are written as follows:

III. Differences between cardinal and ordinal numbers in English

What is the difference between cardinal and ordinal numbers in English? Let's break down their usage with the table below for a clearer understanding!

IV. Cardinal and ordinal numbers exercises in English

To deepen your understanding of the differences between cardinal and ordinal numbers in English, try completing the exercise below!

1. Exercise

Exercise 1: Find and correct errors

1. I have third cats.
2. There are fiftieth students in the classroom.
3. She bought fifth kilograms of rice.
4. We live on the five floor of the building.
5. We have been friends for tenth years.
6. The meeting is scheduled for third o'clock.
7. This is the thirteen anniversary of the event.
8. The restaurant is on the three street to the left.
9. Today is the twenty of December.
10. She is the two person to arrive at the party.

Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the correct cardinal or ordinal number

1. She finished __________ in the race. (four)
2. I have __________ apples. (three)
3. He is the __________ child in his family. (second)
4. We need __________ volunteers for the event. (six)
5. Today is the __________ of June. (fifteen)

Exercise 3: Match the cardinal numbers in column A with their corresponding ordinal numbers in column B

2. Answer

Exercise 1: 

1. third ➞ three
2. fiftieth ➞ fifty
3. fifth ➞ five
4. five ➞ fifth
5. tenth ➞ ten
6. third ➞ three 
7. thirteen ➞ thirteenth
8. three ➞ third
9. twenty ➞ twentieth
10. two ➞ second 

Exercise 2:

1. fourth
2. three
3. second
4. six
5. fifteenth

Exercise 3:

1 - C

2 - A

3 - B

4 - E

5 - D

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PREP hopes this article has clarified the concepts of cardinal and ordinal numbers and how to distinguish between them in English. Stay tuned to PREP for more valuable English learning tips!

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