Numbers play an essential role in our daily lives, helping us count, measure, and quantify things around us. Two fundamental types of numbers are ordinal and cardinal numbers. These concepts are easy to understand and will enable you to express and comprehend numerical information more effectively.
• Cardinal Numbers :
Cardinal numbers are used to indicate quantity or how many of something there are. They answer questions like "how many?" For example, if you have three apples, three is a cardinal number as it represents the quantity of apples you possess. Cardinal numbers are used for counting, measuring, and identifying items. They include numbers like one, two, three, four, and so on.
• Ordinal Numbers :
Ordinal numbers, on the other hand, indicate the position, order, or sequence of something. They answer questions like "in what order?" or "what is the position?" For instance, if you finish in first place in a race, first is an ordinal number that describes your position. Ordinal numbers are formed by adding suffixes to cardinal numbers.
Examples of ordinal numbers include first, second, third, fourth, and so forth.
It's important to note that ordinal numbers often follow a specific pattern of suffixes, such as adding "st" to cardinal numbers ending in 1 (e.g., first), "nd" to those ending in 2 (e.g., second), "rd" to those ending in 3 (e.g., third), and "th" to all other numbers (e.g., fourth, fifth, sixth).