ORDINAL NUMBER

Ordinal numbers are the numbers that indicate the exact position of something or someone at a
place. If the number of objects/persons are specified in a list: the position of the objects/persons
is defined by ordinal numbers. The adjective terms which are used to denote the order of
something/someone are 1st – First, 2nd-Second, 3rd-Third, 4th-Fourth, 5th-Fifth, 6th-Sixth, and
so on. All these terms represent the ordinal numbers. Whereas the counting numbers are
called cardinal numbers, such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.

What are Ordinal Numbers?

An ordinal number is a type of number that is used to represent the position or rank of an object
or a person. The sequence of ordinal numbers will vary depending on the parameters, based on
which the positions are defined, such as size, weight, marks, etc. The ordinal numbers are also
simply called ordinals.

Real-life Examples of Ordinal Numbers

 Ram came first in class
 Sarita was the third girl standing in a row
 Mohan stays on the fourth floor of the apartment
 The table is kept at the sixteenth position in the display of the shop

Ordinal Numbers 1 to 100

The complete list of ordinal numbers from 1 to 100 are provided below in two parts.

Ordinal Numbers 1 to 50
The list of ordinal numbers from 1 to 50 is given below:

Ordinal Numbers 1 to 50

1st: 11th: 21st: 31st: 41st:

First Eleventh Twenty Thirty- Forty-
-First First First

2nd: 12th: 22nd: 32nd: 42nd:

Secon Twelfth Twenty Thirty- Forty-
d - Secon Secon
Secon d d
d
 3rd: 13th: 23rd: 33rd: 43rd:
Third Thirteenth Twenty Thirty- Forty-
-Third Third Third

4th: 14th: 24th: 34th: 44th:

Fourth Fourteent Twenty Thirty- Forty-
h -Fourth Fourth Fourth

5th: 15th: 25th: 35th: 45th:

Fifth Fifteenth Twenty Thirty- Forty-
-Fifth Fifth Fifth

6th: 16th: 26th: 36th: 46th:

Sixth Sixteenth Twenty Thirty- Forty-
-Sixth Sixth Sixth

7th: 17th: 27th: 37th: 47th:

Sevent Seventeen Twenty Thirty- Forty-
h th - Sevent Sevent
Sevent h h
h

8th: 18th: 28th: 38th: 48th:

Eighth Eighteenth Twenty Thirty- Forty-
-Eighth Eighth Eighth

9th: 19th: 29th: 39th: 49th:

Ninth Nineteent Twenty Thirty- Forty-
h -Ninth Ninth Ninth

10th: 20th: 30th: 40th: 50th:

Tenth Twentieth Thirtiet Fortiet Fiftieth
h h

Ordinal Numbers 51 to 100

The list of ordinal numbers from 51 to 100 is given below:
Ordinal Numbers 51 to 100

51st: 61th: 71st: 81st: 91st:

Fifty- Sixty- Sevent Eighty- Ninety-
First First y-First First First

52nd: 62nd: 72nd: 82nd: 92nd:

Fifty- Sixty- Sevent Eighty- Ninety-
Secon Second y- Second Second
d Secon
d

53rd: 63rd: 73rd: 83rd: 93rd:

Fifty- Sixty- Sevent Eighty- Ninety-
Third Third y-Third Third Third

54th: 64th: 74th: 84th: 94th:

Fifty- Sixty- Sevent Eighty- Ninety-
Fourth Fourth y- Fourth Fourth
Fourth

55th: 65th: 75th: 85th: 95th:

Fifty- Sixty- Sevent Eighty- Ninety-
Fifth Fifth y-Fifth Fifth Fifth

56th: 66th: 76th: 86th: 96th:

Fifty- Sixty- Sevent Eighty- Ninety-
Sixth Sixth y-Sixth Sixth Sixth

57th: 67th: 77th: 87th: 97th:

Fifty- Sixty- Sevent Eighty- Ninety-
Seven Seventh y- Sevent Seventh
th Sevent h
h

58th: 68th: 78th: 88th: 98th:

Fifty- Sixty- Sevent Eighty- Ninety-
Eighth Eighth y- Eighth Eighth
 Eighth

59th: 69th: 79th: 89th: 99th:

Fifty- Sixty- Sevent Eighty- Ninety-
Ninth Ninth y-Ninth Ninth Ninth

60th: 70th: 80th: 90th: 100th:

Sixtiet Seventie Eightie Ninetie Hundred
h th th th th

Difference Between Cardinal, Nominal and Ordinal

Numbers
Apart from ordinal numbers, the other two types of numbers, which are used to represent objects
or people are:

 Cardinal Numbers
 Nominal Numbers
Cardinal Numbers: The counting numbers which are used to represent the number of objects or
people are called Cardinal numbers. They are: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine,
Ten and so on.

Example:

 There are eight men standing in a row.

 The basket contains ten apples.
Nominal Numbers: The numbers which are applied to name the objects in a group, are called
nominal numbers. Using these numbers, it is easy to identify objects or a thing in a collection of
things.

Example:

1. Vehicles numbers like KA 05 1220, etc.

2. Pin codes of different cities
3. Player number in a match
Ordinal Numbers: The numbers that express the positions of an object or a person. The
examples are:

 The white car is standing in the third position

 The city came second in drastic air pollution
 Mona won the medal of first position in the Olympiad
Solved Examples
Example 1:

In the word, “MAGNIFICENT”, which is the fifth and seventh letter?

Solution:

MAGNIFICENT has eleven letters.

Both fifth and seventh position, in the word, has the same letter, i.e., I.

Fifth letter – I

Seventh letter – I

Example 2:

Aravind, Brinda, David, and Ellie are the students of a class, standing in a row, in the given order.
Who is in the second position?

Solution:

If Aravind, Brinda, David, and Ellie are standing in the given order, then Brinda is in the second
position.

Example 3:

Write the ordinal numbers from one to ten.

Solution:

The ordinal numbers from one to ten are:

 1st – First
 2nd – Second
 3rd – Third
 4th – Fourth
 5th – Fifth
 6th – Sixth
 7th – Seventh
 8th – Eighth
 9th – Ninth
 10th – Tenth

Practice Questions on Ordinal Numbers

1. What is the fifth letter in the word “BEAUTIFUL”?
2. In the word “MADAM”, find the first and last letters?
3. “There are ten balls in a bag”. Find the 9th letter in the given sentence.