Who came first in the race, and who finished third? Are you second or fifth in the lunch queue? Numbers don't only tell us how many — sometimes they tell us which place.

When we count, we answer “how many?” — one, two, three. Numbers used that way are called cardinal numbers: they tell us the amount. “There are 5 ducks” is a cardinal number at work.

Ordinal numbers answer a different question: “which one, in order?” They describe a thing's position in a line — who is first, second, third, and so on. We write them with a number and a little ending: 1\text{st}, 2\text{nd}, 3\text{rd}, 4\text{th}, 5\text{th}…

So cardinal counts how many, and ordinal says where. “The 3\text{rd} duck” is not three ducks — it is the one duck standing in third place.

The spelling pattern

The first three words have to be learned by heart — they look nothing like their counting word:

• 1\text{st} is first (not "oneth")
• 2\text{nd} is second (not "twoth")
• 3\text{rd} is third (not "threeth")

From fourth onward the rule is easy: take the counting word and add -th — fourth, sixth, seventh, tenth. A few change their spelling a little as you say them aloud — five → fifth, eight → eighth, nine → ninth, twelve → twelfth — but the ending is still the same friendly -th.

Positions in real life

Ordinal numbers are everywhere once you look for them — in races, in queues, and on a calendar.

Four friends race to the flag. Here is the finish, in order:

1\text{st}

2\text{nd}

3\text{rd}

4\text{th}

The frog came first (1st), the duck second (2nd), the turtle third (3rd) and the monkey fourth (4th). Notice we never say "four came" — that would be how many. We say fourth, because we mean where it finished.

Animals line up at the shop. The front of the queue is on the left, and the front animal is served first.

1\text{st}

2\text{nd}

3\text{rd}

4\text{th}

5\text{th}

The owl is 1st, so it is served first. The llama is 3rd — exactly two animals go before it. If one more friend joins the back of the line, it becomes the 6\text{th}.

Three worked examples

1. A queue. Five children wait for the bus and Sam stands behind two of them. What place is Sam? Count from the front: 1st, 2nd, then Sam — so Sam is in 3\text{rd} place.

2. A race. In a race the runner who crosses the line first wins gold, the runner who crosses 2\text{nd} takes silver, and the 3\text{rd} takes bronze. The medals follow the order, not the amount.

3. Days of the week. If the week begins on Monday, then Monday is the 1\text{st} day, Tuesday the 2\text{nd}, and Wednesday the 3\text{rd} day. The date "the 4th of June" is an ordinal too — it means the day in 4th position that month.

Try it: find the place

Here is a line of objects with one of them coloured in. The front of the line is on the left (follow the arrow). Count from the front to work out its place, then press Next to check. Press Refresh for a brand-new line.