Cardinal, Ordinal
and Nominal Numbers
Cardinal: how many
Ordinal: position
Nominal: name
Cardinal Numbers
A Cardinal Number says how many of something, such as one, two, three, four, five, and so on.
Example: here are five coins:
It does not have fractions or decimals, it is only used for counting.
How to remember: "Cardinal is Counting"
Ordinal Numbers
An Ordinal Number tells us the position of something in a list.
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and so on (see Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers Chart for more.)
Example: In this picture the girl is 2nd:
And the two pups are 3rd and 4th.
How to remember: "Ordinal says what Order things are in".
Most ordinal numbers end in "th", except for those ending in 1, 2 and 3 which become first, second, and third, see Cardinal, Ordinal Chart. Some examples:
- "Take the first left"
- "I start work on the twenty-fourth of next month"
- "Maria came third in the race"
"Last" is also useful!
Nominal Numbers
A Nominal Number is a number used only as a name, or to identify something (not as an actual value or position)
Examples:
- the number on the back of a player: "8"
- a zip code: "91210"
- a model number: "380"
How to remember: "Nominal is a Name".
Example With Everything
In this photo there are 6 cars. Car Number "99" (with the yellow roof) is in 1st position:
- 6 is a Cardinal Number (it tells how many)
- 1st is an Ordinal Number (it tells position)
- "99" is a Nominal Number (it is basically just a name for the car)