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Adjectifs numéraux ordinaux
Ordinal numbers are essential for lists: they denote the rank, position, or order of items in a group, whether that group is made up of people, objects, or things to do.
Par exemple…
| Guy est en deuxième position, et Alain en cinquième. | Guy is in second place, and Alain is in fifth. | |
| En premier lieu, il faut choisir un président. | In the first place, The first thing we need to do is choose a chairperson. |
French ordinal numbers
| abbreviations | ||||
| first | premier première |
1st | 1er 1re |
|
| second* | deuxième second seconde |
2nd | 2e 2d 2de |
|
| third | troisième | 3rd | 3e | |
| fourth | quatrième | 4th | 4e | |
| fifth | cinquième | 5th | 5e | |
| sixth | sixième | 6th | 6e | |
| seventh | septième | 7th | 7e | |
| eighth | huitième | 8th | 8e | |
| ninth | neuvième | 9th | 9e | |
| tenth | dixième | 10th | 10e | |
etc.
Premier and second are the only ordinal numbers that change to agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.
Par exemple…
| ta première idée | your first idea | |
| les premiers colonisateurs | the first colonizers |
In English, we can say, for example, May 25 or May 25th. But in French, the only ordinal number that is used for dates is premier – for all other dates, you must use the cardinal number.
Note the abbreviated forms for each ordinal number. Though many native French speakers write things like 2ème or 2ième, they are incorrect: the only correct abbreviation for deuxième is 2e. Likewise, the abbreviation for première is 1re, not 1ère.
Creating ordinal numbers
Other than premier, all ordinal numbers are based on their corresponding cardinal numbers:
| cardinal | add –ième | |
| deux | deuxième | |
| vingt et un | vingt et unième | |
| cent | centième |
When the cardinal number ends in -e, that letter is dropped before the ordinal ending:
| cardinal | drop –e | add –ième | ||
| quatre | quatr | quatrième | ||
| onze | onz | onzième | ||
| cinquante | cinquant | cinquantième |
Two other numbers require minor spelling corrections in their ordinals:
| cardinal | correction | add -ième | ||
| cinq | cinqu | cinquième | ||
| neuf | neuv | neuvième |
Of course, those corrections are also required in dix-neuvième, vingt-cinquième, etc.
Most French ordinal numbers are identical to their corresponding fractions.
* To understand the difference between deuxième and second, take a look at Number troubles.
If you have trouble remembering the difference between ordinal and cardinal numbers, try this mnemonic:
- ordinals are for ordering
- cardinals are for counting cards
Number Quizzes
Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on ordinal and cardinal numbers with these fill-in-the-blank exercises:
Related lessons
More French numbers
- Approximate numbers
- Cardinal numbers
- Fractions
- Multiplicative numbers
- Number troubles
- Roman numerals
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