Grammar in focus
Cardinal and ordinal numbers
Cardinal numbers count (one, two, three). Ordinal numbers show position or order (first, second, third).
| Number | Ordinal | Short |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | first | 1st |
| 2 | second | 2nd |
| 3 | third | 3rd |
| 4–20 | number + -th (fourth, sixth, tenth) | 4th, 6th, 10th |
| 5 | fifth (ve → f) | 5th |
| 8 | eighth | 8th |
| 9 | ninth (drops e) | 9th |
| 12 | twelfth | 12th |
| 20, 30… | -y → -ieth (twentieth, thirtieth) | 20th, 30th |
| 21, 22, 23 | twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third | 21st, 22nd, 23rd |
Use
- Dates: my birthday is on the 5th of May (May the fifth).
- Order / position: She finished first. He lives on the third floor.
- Centuries: the twenty-first century.
Watch out
- Only the last number becomes ordinal: twenty-first, thirty-fifth.
- 11th, 12th, 13th end in -th (not 11st, 12nd, 13rd).
En español
Los ordinales indican posición: first, second, third, fourth… Se escriben 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th. Solo el último número cambia (twenty-first). Se usan en fechas y pisos.
US vs UK
This book teaches American English. These are the differences you will notice with British English on this topic.
Americans often drop and in numbers; British English always uses it.
En EE. UU. se suele omitir and en los números; en Reino Unido siempre se usa.
US dates put the month first; UK dates put the day first.
En EE. UU. el mes va primero; en Reino Unido el día va primero.
In the US the first floor is at street level. In the UK the first floor is one level up.
En EE. UU. el first floor es la planta baja; en Reino Unido es el primer piso.
Exam practice
- Five parts, like a certification exam: multiple choice, open cloze, error identification, sentence transformation and US vs UK.
- Typed answers accept American spelling and contractions (don't = do not).
- Every item has feedback in English and Spanish. Items and options change order on every attempt.
- Only Exam mode saves your score to your progress. You pass with 70%.
Practice mode
No timer. Check each part as you go and read the feedback.
Exam mode
25 minutes. Feedback at the end. Your best score is saved.