Cardinal numbers > quantity
1 one 11 eleven 21 twenty-one 31 thirty-one
2 two 12 twelve 22 twenty-two 40 forty
3 three 13 thirteen 23 twenty-three 50 fifty
4 four 14 fourteen 24 twenty-four 60 sixty
5 five 15 fifteen 25 twenty-five 70 seventy
6 six 16 sixteen 26 twenty-six 80 eighty
7 seven 17 seventeen 27 twenty-seven 90 ninety
8 eight 18 eighteen 28 twenty-eight 100 a/one hundred
9 nine 19 nineteen 29 twenty-nine 1,000 a/one thousand
10 ten 20 twenty 30 thirty 1,000,000 a/one million
Numbers bigger than 20
Use a hyphen between compound numbers.
Number Word
21 twenty-one
55 fifty-five
99 ninety-nine
Numbers bigger than 100
Use a hyphen between compound numbers and the word and. (in American English 'and' is not
necessary).
Use either the definite article a or one for 100.
Number Word
121 a/one hundred and twenty-one
356 three hundred and fifty-six
999 nine hundred and ninety-nine
'a' can only stand at the beginning of a number.
100 - a hundred / one hundred
2,100 - two thousand, one hundred
Numbers bigger than 1,000
Use a hyphen between compound numbers and the word and.
Use either the definite article a or one for 1,000.
Separate three digits with a comma (,) → 50,000.
Number Word
1,121 a/one thousand one hundred and twenty-one
2,356 two thousand three hundred and fifty-six
9,999 nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine
The number 0
There are different words for the number 0.
Word Explanation Example
67890
oh single digits (telephone numbers, codes)
six - seven - eight - nine - oh
-5 °C
zero measurements (temperature)
five degrees Celsius below zero
5-5=0
nought figure 0 in British English*
Five minus five leaves nought.
The match ended 2 - 0.
nil results in sport
The match ended two - nil.
40 - 0
love tennis
forty - love
* In American English zero is used.
Singular or Plural?
Numbers are usually written in singular.
two hundred Euros
several thousand light years
The plural is only used with dozen, hundred, thousand, million, billion, if they are not modified by
another number or expression (e.g. a few / several).
hundreds of Euros
thousands of light years
Ordinal Numbers > position, rank, dates
1 st first 11 th eleventh 21 st twenty-first 31 st thirty-first
2 nd second 12 th twelfth 22 nd twenty-second 40 th fortieth
3 rd third 13 th thirteenth 23 rd twenty-third 50 th fiftieth
4 th fourth 14 th fourteenth 24 th twenty-fourth 60 th sixtieth
5 th fifth 15 th fifteenth 25 th twenty-fifth 70 th seventieth
6 th sixth 16 th sixteenth 26 th twenty-sixth 80 th eightieth
7 th seventh 17 th seventeenth 27 th twenty-seventh 90 th ninetieth
8 th eighth 18 th eighteenth 28 th twenty-eighth 100 th one hundredth
9 th ninth 19 th nineteenth 29 th twenty-ninth 1,000 th one thousandth
10 th tenth 20 th twentieth 30 th thirtieth 1,000,000 th one millionth
Just add th to the cardinal number:
four - fourth
eleven - eleventh
Exceptions:
one - first
two - second
three - third
five - fifth
eight - eighth
nine - ninth
twelve – twelfth
only the last figure is written as an ordinal number:
421st = four hundred and twenty-first
5,111th = five thousand, one hundred and eleventh
Fractions
Use the ordinal number for the denominator:
1/3 → one third
2 3/5 → two and three fifths
Exceptions:
1/2 → one half
1/4 → one quarter
Decimals
Use the cardinal number for decimals:
3.8 → three point eight
4.25 → four point two five
Roman numbers
Roman numbers are seldom used. They are used for the names of kings and queens. Use the ordinal
number:
Elisabeth II → Elisabeth the Second
Louis XIV → Louis the Fourteenth
The numbers in a table
Cardinal numbers Ordinal numbers
0 oh, zero, nil, love, nought ---
1 one 1st first
2 two 2nd second
3 three 3rd third
4 four 4th fourth
5 five 5th fifth
6 six 6th sixth
7 seven 7th seventh
8 eight 8th eighth
9 nine 9th ninth
10 ten 10th tenth
11 eleven 11th eleventh
12 twelve 12th twelfth
13 thirteen 13th thirteenth
14 fourteen 14th fourteenth
15 fifteen 15th fifteenth
Cardinal numbers Ordinal numbers
16 sixteen 16th sixteenth
17 seventeen 17th seventeenth
18 eighteen 18th eighteenth
19 nineteen 19th nineteenth
20 twenty 20th twentieth
21 twenty-one 21st twenty-first
22 twenty-two 22nd twenty-second
23 twenty-three 23rd twenty-third
24 twenty-four 24th twenty-fourth
25 twenty-five 25th twenty-fifth
26 twenty-six 26th twenty-sixth
27 twenty-seven 27th twenty-seventh
28 twenty-eight 28th twenty-eighth
29 twenty-nine 29th twenty-ninth
30 thirty 30th thirtieth
31 thirty-one 31st thirty-first
40 forty
50 fifty
60 sixty
70 seventy
80 eighty
90 ninety
100 a/one hundred
1,000 a/one thousand
10,000 ten thousand
100,000 a/one hundred thousand
1,000,000 a/one million
1,000,000,000 a/one billion
Choose which form of each number best fits the blank.
There are _____ apples.
a. Sixth
b. six
Jonathan is _____ in line for the movie.
a. Four
b. fourth
The dress is a size _____.
a. Eighth
b. eight
That is the _____ time I’ve left the country.
a. Two
b. second
