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Learning English Vocabulary

Ordinal numbers

Learning English Vocabulary

BBC

Language Learning, Education

4.5523 Ratings

🗓️ 4 August 2025

⏱️ 6 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What's the date today? Do you know how to say it? Listen to the programme to find out.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is a download from BBC Learning English.

0:03.2

To find out more, visit our website.

0:07.0

Six Minutes Vocabulary.

0:09.2

From BBC LearningEnglish.com.

0:12.4

Hello and welcome to six-minute vocabulary with me, Catherine.

0:16.2

And me, Neil.

0:18.9

And today, we're talking about ordinal numbers.

0:22.9

Yes, so numbers like first, second and third.

0:27.5

So let's start by listening to Lawrence.

0:30.7

He's talking about his 18th birthday party.

0:33.9

While you listen, try to answer this question.

0:37.1

What date was his party? Here's Lawrence.

0:41.1

For my 18th birthday last year, I invited about 60 friends and relatives. It was on the 25th of May and it was the first time that I ever had a big party.

0:55.1

It was in a restaurant on the third floor of a hotel.

0:58.6

The food was really delicious and I won second prize in the dancing competition.

1:07.8

So we asked you what date was Lawrence's birthday party?

1:11.5

And the answer is the 25th of May.

1:14.0

That's right.

1:14.9

Now, the 25th is an ordinal number like the first and the second.

1:21.2

Ordinal numbers tell us the position of something in a group.

1:25.0

The dates in a month, for example.

1:26.7

Or which birthday it is.

...

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