Explaining the difference between ordinal and cardinal numbers when they mean the same thing.
My sister became twelve years old yesterday.
Yesterday was my sister's twelfth birthday.
How do you explain why you use a cardinal number for the first sentence and ordinal for the second and why these are not interchangeable. Thank you!
Top answer
Cardinal numbers tell how many . Except for 'one', cardinal numbers are followed by a plural. three years, twelve years, five chairs, seven computers Ordinal numbers tell which one (in an ordered group).
- Cardinal numbers tell how many .
- Except for 'one', cardinal numbers are followed by a plural.
- three years, twelve years, five chairs, seven computers Ordinal numbers tell which one (in an ordered group).
- They are almost always followed by a singular.
- second person in line, fifth cake he's made this month, the Jones's seventh child CJ
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Cardinal numbers tell how many. Except for 'one', cardinal numbers are followed by a plural.
three years, twelve years, five chairs, seven computers
Ordinal numbers tell which one (in an ordered group). They are almost always followed by a singular.
second person in line, fifth cake he's made this month, the Jones's seventh child
CJ
0anonymousHow do you explain why you use a cardinal number for the first sentence and ordinal for the second
I don't understand your problem, really, but the first is cardinal + unit, while the second in is ordinal (adjectival) + noun.
anonymous why these are not interchangeable.
How would you presume to do that?
0
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