Números Ordinales - Spanish RPG Grammar

🥇 Los Números Ordinales 🥇

Master the Art of Ranking and Ordering in Spanish!

Your Quest Continues: Welcome to the Hall of Rankings, brave adventurer! While cardinal numbers tell us "how many", ordinal numbers tell us "in what order". First, second, third, tenth place in a race. The first king of Spain. The third floor of a building. Ordinal numbers are essential for expressing position, rank, and sequence. Spanish ordinals are more complex than English ones, they change for gender and have special shortened forms. But fear not! Master these rules, and you'll be ranking with no problems!

⚠️ Why This Power Matters

Ordinal numbers are essential for expressing order and sequence. You need them for floors in buildings (first floor, second floor), historical figures (Charles III, Elizabeth II), rankings (first place, third position), instructions (first step, second ingredient), and dates (used mainly in Latin America for the 1st of the month). Unlike English, Spanish ordinals have four forms per number (masculine/feminine, singular/plural) and follow special placement rules!

CORE TRUTH: Ordinals change for GENDER and NUMBER | Use cardinals after 10th in everyday speech!
NÚMEROS ORDINALES 1º - 10º
(The Essential Ten - Learn These Well!)

The first ten ordinal numbers are the most important and commonly used. These must be memorised because they're the ones you'll use constantly in everyday Spanish!

Number Masculine Feminine Abbreviation
1st - First primero primera 1º / 1ª
2nd - Second segundo segunda 2º / 2ª
3rd - Third tercero tercera 3º / 3ª
4th - Fourth cuarto cuarta 4º / 4ª
5th - Fifth quinto quinta 5º / 5ª
6th - Sixth sexto sexta 6º / 6ª
7th - Seventh séptimo séptima 7º / 7ª
8th - Eighth octavo octava 8º / 8ª
9th - Ninth noveno novena 9º / 9ª
10th - Tenth décimo décima 10º / 10ª
💡 Pattern Recognition:
Notice that most ordinals end in -O (masculine) or -A (feminine), just like adjectives! They follow the same gender agreement rules you already know. The only exceptions that need special attention are primero and tercero which have shortened forms (covered next!).
⚡ APÓCOPE: Shortened Forms!
PRIMERO and TERCERO drop the -O before masculine singular nouns

This is one of the most important rules for ordinal numbers! When primero and tercero come directly before a masculine singular noun, they lose their final -O.

The Apocope Rule

PRIMERO → PRIMER (before masc. singular noun)

✅ el primer día (the first day)

✅ el primer piso (the first floor)

✅ el primer lugar (the first place)

❌ el primero día (WRONG!)

TERCERO → TERCER (before masc. singular noun)

✅ el tercer piso (the third floor)

✅ el tercer día (the third day)

✅ el tercer hijo (the third son)

❌ el tercero piso (WRONG!)

BUT: Keep full form if noun is masc.pl., fem.sg., fem.pl., or no noun at all.

✅ la primera vez (feminine - keep PRIMERA)

✅ la tercera casa (feminine - keep TERCERA)

✅ Es el primero. (standing alone - keep PRIMERO)

✅ Llegué tercero. (standing alone - keep TERCERO)

💡 Easy Memory Rule:
Think of it like "uno" → "un": Before a masculine singular noun, you drop the -O!
• un libro, primer libro, tercer libro
• una casa, primera casa, tercera casa
Only 1st and 3rd do this shortening!
👫 GENDER AGREEMENT: Always Match the Noun!

Unlike cardinal numbers (which mostly don't change), ALL ordinal numbers change to match the gender of the noun they describe!

♂️ MASCULINE (-O)

Use with masculine nouns

el segundo piso
(the second floor)

el cuarto capítulo
(the fourth chapter)

el décimo aniversario
(the tenth anniversary)

♀️ FEMININE (-A)

Use with feminine nouns

la segunda vez
(the second time)

la cuarta página
(the fourth page)

la décima fila
(the tenth row)

Complete Examples with Gender:
el primer día = the first day (masculine + apocopation!)
la primera semana = the first week (feminine)
el tercer mes = the third month (masculine + apocopation!)
la tercera oportunidad = the third opportunity (feminine)
el quinto libro = the fifth book (masculine)
la quinta calle = the fifth street (feminine)
el octavo ejercicio = the eighth exercise (masculine)
la octava sinfonía = the eighth symphony (feminine)
NÚMEROS ORDINALES 11º - 20º
(Rarely Used in Everyday Speech!)

Ordinals from 11th to 20th exist in Spanish, but they're rarely used in everyday conversation. Native speakers often prefer cardinal numbers after 10th (e.g., "piso doce" instead of "piso duodécimo"). However, you should recognise them in formal writing, historical contexts, and anniversaries!

Number Masculine Feminine
11º / 11ª undécimo undécima
12º / 12ª duodécimo duodécima
13º / 13ª decimotercero decimotercera
14º / 14ª decimocuarto decimocuarta
15º / 15ª decimoquinto decimoquinta
16º / 16ª decimosexto decimosexta
17º / 17ª decimoséptimo decimoséptima
18º / 18ª decimoctavo decimoctava
19º / 19ª decimonoveno decimonovena
20º / 20ª vigésimo vigésima
💡 Pattern in 13th-19th:
Notice that 13th-19th are formed by combining DÉCIMO (tenth) + the ordinal 3rd-9th:
• décimo + tercero = decimotercero
• décimo + cuarto = decimocuarto
• décimo + quinto = decimoquinto
But remember: in everyday speech, most people use cardinal numbers after 10th!
Real-World Usage After 10th

After 10th, Spanish speakers typically switch to CARDINAL numbers!

Floors in buildings:

✅ el piso doce (the 12th floor) - COMMON

⚪ el duodécimo piso (the 12th floor) - RARE/FORMAL

Ranking/Position:

✅ Quedé en el puesto quince. (I came 15th.) - COMMON

⚪ Quedé decimoquinto. (I came 15th.) - RARE

BUT anniversaries use ordinals:

✅ el vigésimo aniversario (20th anniversary) - CORRECT

BEYOND 20º
(Higher Ordinals - Mostly Formal/Academic)

Ordinals beyond 20th exist (30th = trigésimo, 40th = cuadragésimo, etc.) but are extremely rare in everyday Spanish. They appear mainly in formal documents, academic writing, anniversaries, and historical references. For practical everyday Spanish, use cardinal numbers after 10th!

Reference: Higher Ordinals (Recognition Only)

30º / 30ª = trigésimo/a

40º / 40ª = cuadragésimo/a

50º / 50ª = quincuagésimo/a

60º / 60ª = sexagésimo/a

70º / 70ª = septuagésimo/a

80º / 80ª = octogésimo/a

90º / 90ª = nonagésimo/a

100º / 100ª = centésimo/a

1000º / 1000ª = milésimo/a

You'll see these in: anniversaries, Pope names, centuries, formal documents
But DON'T use them for floors, ranking, or everyday counting!

Position Rules: Before or After the Noun?

In Spanish, ordinals typically go BEFORE the noun, unlike in English where both positions work. However, there are exceptions!

General Rule: BEFORE the Noun

✅ el primer día (the first day)

✅ la segunda oportunidad (the second opportunity)

✅ el tercer piso (the third floor)

✅ la quinta avenida (Fifth Avenue)

Exceptions: AFTER the Noun

1. Royalty and Popes:

✅ Carlos Tercero or Carlos III (Charles the III)

✅ Isabel Segunda or Isabel II (Elizabeth the II)

✅ Juan Pablo Segundo (John Paul the II)

2. Centuries:

✅ el siglo veinte or el siglo XX (the 20th century)

✅ el siglo veintiuno or el siglo XXI (the 21st century)

3. Parts/Chapters (can go either way):

✅ el capítulo primero = el primer capítulo

✅ la parte segunda = la segunda parte

💡 Easy Position Rule:
Default: BEFORE the noun (el primer día, la segunda vez)
Special cases: AFTER (royalty, centuries)
When in doubt, put it BEFORE and you'll be right 90% of the time!
Common Uses of Ordinal Numbers
🏢 1. Floors in Buildings
Vivo en el segundo piso. = I live on the second floor.
La oficina está en el tercer piso. = The office is on the third floor.
Mi apartamento está en el quinto. = My flat is on the fifth.

⚠️ Remember: After 10th, use cardinals! el piso doce (not decimosegundo)

👑 2. Royalty and Historical Figures
Carlos Tercero (Carlos III) = Charles the Third
Isabel Segunda (Isabel II) = Elizabeth the Second
Felipe Sexto (Felipe VI) = Philip the Sixth
Juan Pablo Segundo = John Paul the II
🏆 3. Rankings and Competitions
Quedé en primer lugar. = I came in first place.
Él llegó tercero en la carrera. = He came third in the race.
Ella ganó la medalla de plata, segunda posición. = She won the silver medal, second position.
📅 4. Dates (Mainly Latin America - In Spain we use Cardinal Number "el uno de")
el primero de enero = the first of January
el primero de mayo = the first of May

⚠️ Only the 1st uses ordinal! All other dates use cardinals:
el dos de enero, el tres de marzo, el quince de julio

📚 5. Books, Chapters, and Parts
el primer capítulo = the first chapter
la segunda parte del libro = the second part of the book
el tercer tomo = the third volume
🎂 6. Anniversaries and Celebrations
el décimo aniversario = the tenth anniversary
el vigésimo quinto aniversario = the twenty-fifth anniversary
el quincuagésimo cumpleaños = the fiftieth birthday
🏛️ 7. Centuries (Different from English!)
el siglo veinte (el siglo XX) = the 20th century
el siglo veintiuno (el siglo XXI) = the 21st century
en el siglo diecinueve = in the 19th century

⚠️ Centuries use CARDINALS (not ordinals) and come AFTER "siglo"!

⚖️ Ordinals vs Cardinals: When to Use Each

The Practical Rule

Use ORDINALS for:

✅ 1st through 10th in everyday contexts

✅ Royalty and popes (any number)

✅ Anniversaries (any number)

✅ First day of the month

Use CARDINALS for:

✅ 11th onwards in everyday contexts (floors, ranking, etc.)

✅ All other dates (2nd-31st of the month)

✅ Centuries (el siglo veinte, not vigésimo)

✅ Page numbers, addresses

Side-by-Side Comparison:
Floors:
1st-10th: primer piso, segundo piso, tercer piso... décimo piso
11th+: piso once, piso doce, piso veinte
Dates (mainly in South America):
1st: el primero de mayo
2nd-31st: el dos de mayo, el quince de mayo, el treinta de mayo
Centuries:
ALWAYS cardinals: el siglo veinte (XX), el siglo veintiuno (XXI)
Royalty:
ALWAYS ordinals: Carlos Tercero (III), Isabel Segunda (II), Felipe Sexto (VI)
🧠 Native Speaker Shortcut:
When in doubt, follow this rule: Learn ordinals 1st-10th really well, and use them for everything in that range. After 10th, switch to cardinal numbers for everyday contexts (floors, rankings, etc.) but keep ordinals for special cases (royalty, anniversaries). This is what native speakers tend to do!

📋 Complete Summary

⚡ Key Rules to Remember

1. GENDER AGREEMENT

All ordinals change -O/-A to match noun gender

2. APOCOPATION

primero → primer (before masc. singular noun)

tercero → tercer (before masc. singular noun)

3. POSITION

Usually BEFORE noun (el primer día)

AFTER noun for royalty and centuries

4. USE ORDINALS

1st-10th in everyday speech

Royalty and popes (any number)

Anniversaries (any number)

5. USE CARDINALS

11th+ in everyday contexts

Dates (except 1st in South Ametica)

Centuries

🏆 ¡Enhorabuena, Maestro del Orden! 🏆

You've mastered Spanish ordinal numbers! You now know how to express position and rank with proper gender agreement, when to use apocopation (primer/tercer), where to place ordinals (before/after nouns), and when to switch to cardinals after 10th. Remember: learn 1st-10th thoroughly, use cardinals for everyday 11th+, but keep ordinals for royalty and anniversaries. You're now ready to rank, order, and position like a true Spanish speaker! ¡A practicar!

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