As we all remember, numbers are one of the first lessons or words that we have learned. However, what we should consider and make it clear for learners is the difference between ordinal and cardinal numbers. The difference could be a little bit confusing as the are mistaken most of the time.

EFL / ESL Vocabulary Lesson: Learn Numbers With Songs

In today’s lesson we will shed light on that difference and help you identify cardinal and ordinal numbers easily through examples, pictures and animation.

You can learn some example through our interactive course in the video below. Here you can listen, repeat and simply practice the most common numbers in English. ????????

Differences between Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers:

To help you differentiate between cardinal and ordinal numbers, we provide you with two definitions and examples:

Cardinal Numbers:

They usually express quantity of what they modify. e.g; 2 books, 15 boys …

• 1 one.

• 2 two.

• 3 three.

• 4 four.

• 5 five.

• 6 six.

• 7 seven. 

• 8 eight.

• 9 nine.

• 10 ten. 

• 11 eleven

• 12 twelve

• 13 thirteen

• 14 fourteen

• 15 fifteen

• 16 sixteen

• 17 seventeen

• 18 eighteen

• 19 nineteen.

• 20 twenty.

• 30 thirty.

• 40 forty.

• 50 fifty.

• 60 sixty.

• 70 seventy.

• 80 eighty.

• 90 ninety.

• 100 one hundred.

Ordinal Numbers:

Ordinal numbers are ones that indicate a specific order or rank. The definite article “ the ” usually comes before an ordinal number and the ending ‘ th ‘ is used for example: “King Henry the fourth:

• • First;
  • Second;
  • Third; (irregular)
  • Fourth 4th;
  • Fifth 5th;
  • Sixth 6th;
  • Eighth 8th;
  • Seventh 7th;
  • Ninth 9th;
  • Tenth 10th;
  • Twentieth 20th;
  • Thirtieth 30;
  • Fortieth 40th;
  • Fiftieth 50th;
  • Sixtieth 60th;
  • Seventieth 70th;
  • Eightieth 80th;
  • Ninetieth 90th;
  • The hundredth.

Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers Song

Here is a good song “The Doubles Song” that students can sing to learn numbers with fun.