Catherine and Neil discuss ordinal numbers with examples from Lawrence's 18th birthday party. They cover the usage of ordinal numbers, converting cardinal numbers, irregularities, and the different uses of ordinal numbers in English.
Ordinal numbers convey position in groups, like dates and birthdays, and are formed by adding 'th' to cardinal numbers.
When expressing a date, 'the' and 'of' are used with the day before the month, but 'of' is omitted when the month comes first.
Deep dives
Ordinal numbers indicate position in a group
Ordinals numbers, such as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, convey the position of something in a group, like the date in a month or a person's birthday. While cardinal numbers are used for counting, ordinals are formed by adding 'th' to the cardinal number, except for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, which are irregular. For example, Lawrence mentioned his 18th birthday, with the 'th' indicating its position as the 18th birthday.
Using ordinals for dates and in descriptions
When expressing a date, the 'the' and 'of' are used when stating the day before the month, such as 'the 25th of May'. However, when the month is mentioned before the day, the word 'of' is omitted, as in 'May the 25th'. Ordinals can also be used in descriptions: 'the third floor' indicates the position in space, and 'second prize' denotes the quality of winning. Ordinal numbers function as adjectives or adverbs without 'the', as seen in 'he won second prize'.