Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

Kurz erklärt

Cardinal numbers express quantity: uno, dos, treinta. Ordinal numbers express position or order: primero, segundo, tercero. In Spanish, cardinal numbers are generally invariable, but uno and numbers ending in uno change before a noun. Ordinals behave like adjectives and agree with the noun in gender and number.

Bildung

Cardinals: uno becomes un before a masculine noun and una before a feminine noun; veintiuno similarly becomes veintiún or veintiuna. Hundreds from doscientos onward agree in gender. Ordinals are formed and inflected as adjectives: primero/primera, segundo/segunda, etc.; primero and tercero shorten to primer and tercer before a singular masculine noun.

Verwendung

• Use cardinal numbers to count people, things, prices, ages, dates, and time.
• Use ordinal numbers for sequence, floors, chapters, and repeated occasions.
• Ordinals usually come before the noun and agree with it: la segunda clase, los primeros días.
• In everyday Latin American Spanish, ordinals are most common from first through tenth; higher positions are often expressed with cardinal numbers.

Beispiele

• Tengo veintiún años. — I am twenty-one years old.
• El libro tiene doscientas páginas. — The book has two hundred pages.
• Es la tercera vez que llamo. — It is the third time I have called.
• Vivimos en el cuarto piso. — We live on the fourth floor.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Es el primero capítulo.

✅ Es el primer capítulo.

Primero shortens to primer before a singular masculine noun. The same pattern applies to tercero: el tercer capítulo.

Merke

Cardinals count; ordinals show order. Before a masculine singular noun, use un, primer, and tercer.