Ordinal numbers in French

• Ordinal numbers, such as second, third and twentieth are formed in French by adding -ième to the cardinal number.

• The French ordinal number meaning first is irregular as it needs to agree with the noun it describes:

  • premier (masculine singular)
  • première (feminine singular)
  • premiers (masculine plural)
  • premières (feminine plural)

Ordinal numbers in English are numbers such as first, second and third.

In French they can be created either by adding -ième to cardinal numbers, or by dropping -e from the end of cardinal numbers first, and then adding -ième.

For example:

deux (two) → deuxième (second)

quatre (four) → quatrième (fourth)

huit (four) → huitième (eighth)

neuf (nine) → neuvième (ninth) is a slight exception to this rule.

Remember

Cinquième (fifth) and neuvième (ninth) are slight exceptions as the cardinal number in French requires an additional letter or spelling change to make the ordinal number:

cinq (five) → cinquième (fifth)

neuf (nine) → neuvième (ninth)

The French words premier and première mean ‘first’ and are irregular as they do not follow the usual pattern for forming ordinal numbers. They act like an adjective and must agree with the noun they describe:

For example:

L’équipe était la première dans le concours. - The team was first in the competition.

Les deux filles étaient les premières dans le concours de badminton. - The two girls came first in the badminton competition.

Here are some further ordinal numbers in French, with their corresponding cardinal number:

Remember

'Twenty-first' is translated into French as vingt-et-unième.

It does not follow the same irregular pattern as premier (first) and instead follows the same pattern as other ordinal numbers, adding -ième to the cardinal number, vingt-et-un.

Practise what you've learned about ordinal numbers in French with this quiz.

Now you’ve learned about ordinals in French, why not explore showing possession with 'de'?