English Numbers

AmerenglishLive Free / Speak Free

Presented By

English Numbers

Ordinal, Cardinal, and Nominal

We use English numbers to...

count people or things

put things in order

identify people or things

as determiners

Chart of Ordinal & Cardinal Numbers

Types of Numbers

Rules for writing

numbers

Types of numbers

There are three common types of English numbers:

Cardinal Ordinal Nominal

cardinal (showing quantity)

Cardinal numbers are also known as "counting numbers" and are used to count things. Cardinal numbers tell us "how many."

Examples:We have two dogs.

I have $15.00.

There are 12 birds.

He is six years old today.

Children are first introduced to cardinal numbers when they begin counting objects.

Cardinal numbers are numbers that tell you "how many." They express an amount. We use cardinal numbers to count people or things. They indicate a quantity of people or objects.

Cardinal numbers are whole numbers. They do not contain fractions or decimals.

I bought two bananas at the store.

There are seven people in my family.

ordinal (showing order)

Ordinal numbers are used to tell the order of things. They tell us level or position in a group.

Examples:

I am third in line.

That was your fifth cookie!

Happy 50th birthday!

First, combine eggs, sugar, flour, and salt.

He finished first in the race!

Ordinal Numbers – Position

Ordinal numbers are numbers that tell you the position of someone or something in a group or list. Ordinal numbers tell order.

Except for first (1st), second (2nd), and third (3rd), most ordinal numbers end in the letters "th."

fourth (4th)

fifth (5th)

eighth (8th)

thirteenth (13th)

twentieth (20th)

twenty-fifth (25th)

Examples:We can use ordinal numbers to tell the order people finish in a race or the order they are standing in line.

Nick finished the race in first place!

Nick's sister was tenth.

My daughter is third in line for the bus.

Ordinal numbers are also used in recipes and instructions. They tell you the order of steps.

First, mix flour, sugar, and milk.

Second, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

We can use cardinal and ordinal numbers together in the same sentence.

Here's an example:

Tom's car finished 2nd in a race of three cars.

In this sentence, we have used a cardinal and an ordinal number.

Cardinal numbers are used for counting. Cardinal numbers tell us "how many."

In the above example, three (3) is the cardinal number. It tells us how many cars were in the race. There were three cars in the race.

Ordinal numbers are used for putting thing in order. The ordinal number tells the position of Tom's car in the race.

In the above example, second (2nd) is the ordinal number. Tom placed second in the race. His car was the second car to cross the finish line. One car crossed the finish line before his car, and one car crossed the finish line after his car.

nominal (showing identity)

Nominal numbers are used to name and identify things. Nominal numbers can be single or grouped numbers.

Nominal numbers include:

social security numbers

bank account numbers

driver's license numbers

employee and student identification numbers

zip codes

(Las Vegas, NV 89101)telephone numbers

(1-800-562-0025)numbers of a train or bus route

(Take route 105 to get to the grocery store.)player numbers

(Number 40 has the ball!)

Determiners

Cardinal and Ordinal English numbers can be used as determiners to help identify nouns. They tell (determine) how much or which one.

Examples of numbers as determiners:

We invited fifty people to our wedding.

Jenny got first place at the art contest.

Add 1 egg to the cookie batter.

Rules for writing numbers

Do you spell out a number or use its numeral form?

Here are some general rules to help you.

Rule 1Rule 2

1. When to spell out numbers

A) Spell out numbers less than 10.

one

two

five

15

16

150

B) Don't begin a sentence with a numeral. Spell it out.

Incorrect: 15 children were at the concert.Correct: Fifteen children were at the concert.

C) Spell out numbers in most formal writing.

D) Spell out numbers when writing time with "o'clock."

Incorrect: School starts at 8 o'clock each day.Correct: School starts at eight o'clock each day.

2. When to use numerals in writing

A) Use numerals with a set of numbers or nominal numbers.

Players 10, 15, and 45 have fouled out of the game.

My city's zip code is 89520.

B) Use numerals with fractions and percents in tables, mathematics, and science.

25%

100%

2/3

5 1/2

*We usually spell out "percent" in formal writing.

25 percent

100 percent

Go to percent rules

C) Use numerals for measurements.

The tree is 10 feet 6 inches tall.

The tree is 10' 6" tall.

D) Use numeral for recipes.

2 cups water

3 eggs

4 tablespoons sugar

E) Most advertisements use numerals.

F) Use numerals with time written with a.m. and p.m.School starts at 8:00 a.m.

The bus will arrive at 9:10 p.m.

G) Internet, newspaper, and magazine headlines and articles usually use numerals.

Numbers stand out in writing if they are written as numerals.

Correct: The club raised $100 for charity!

Incorrect: The club raised one-hundred dollars for charity!

Newspapers and magazines usually use numerals to save space and to allow readers to easily scan for facts.

Percent Sign

Rules and Examples

The percent sign ( % ) is a symbol used in the English language as an abbreviation for the word "percent."

Percent is a mathematical term meaning one part of a hundred.

For example:

25 out of 100 equals 25%(25 percent)

50 out of 100 equals 50%(50 percent)

75 out of 100 equals 75 %(75 percent)

100 out of 100 equals 100%(100 percent)

The percent sign is mostly used in informal writing, advertisements or tables in research papers.

Newspapers and magazines might also use the percent sign to save space.

On the keyboardThe percent sign ( % ) is made on most American keyboards by holding the SHIFT key and pressing the number 5 on the top number line.

The percent sign can also be made by choosing INSERT SYMBOL and selecting the % sign.

Rules for using the percent sign1. In most writing, we use the percent sign ( % ) if a number is written as a numeral.

A) In formal writing, numbers above nine are usually written as numerals.

Examples:10%

25%

80%

175%

B) All numbers in charts, mathematics, science and technical documents are usually written as numerals.

Examples:

25% of the children were male.

5% + 5% = 10%

Almost 75% of all American college students have student loan debt.

2. Use the word "percent" after numbers that are written as words.

In most writing, numbers below 10 are usually written out as words.

Examples:

Correct: nine percent

Incorrect: 9 percent

Correct: six percent

Incorrect: six %

3. In titles and headings, we usually write percent as a word.

The numbers before the percent follow the same rules as above, unless they begin a sentence.

A) Numbers below ten are written as words.

Examples:

Among adults with strong literacy skills, only four percent live in poverty.

If a child reads as much as one million words per year, they will be in top two percent of all children on standardized reading tests.

B) Numbers ten and above are usually written as numerals.

Examples:

Over 50 percent of NASA employees are dyslexic.

More than 20 percent of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level.

Only about 15 percent of African American student entering high school are proficient in reading.

C) If you begin a sentence with a number, the number and percent are usually written as words.

Examples:

Fourteen percent of all individuals have a learning disability.

Fifteen percent of all 4th graders read no faster than 74 words per minute.

4. Newspapers and magazines usually use numerals and the percent sign to save space.

Examples:

Among adults at the lowest level of literacy proficiency, 43% live in poverty.

Only 31% of college graduates have high-level literacy skills.

47% of students who took the ACT’s in 2009 did not meet the ACT College Readiness for the Reading section of the ACT Benchmark.

5. The percent sign is also used in advertisements to save space.

These were the uses of the percent sign.

English Number Cardinal Ordinal Ordinal

Abbreviations1 one first 1st2 two second 2nd3 three third 3rd4 four fourth 4th5 five fifth 5th6 six sixth 6th7 seven seventh 7th8 eight eighth 8th9 nine ninth 9th

10 ten tenth 10th

11 eleven eleventh 11th12 twelve twelfth 12th13 thirteen thirteenth 13th14 fourteen fourteenth 14th15 fifteen fifteenth 15th16 sixteen sixteenth 16th17 seventeen seventeenth 17th18 eighteen eighteenth 18th19 nineteen nineteenth 19th20 twenty twentieth 20th

22 twenty-two twenty-second 22nd25 twenty-five twenty-fifth 25th30 thirty thirtieth 30th40 forty fortieth 40th50 fifty fiftieth 50th60 sixty sixtieth 60th70 seventy seventieth 70th80 eighty eightieth 80th90 ninety ninetieth 90th

100 one hundred one hundredth 100th

125 one hundred twenty-five

one hundred twenty-fifth 125th