Ordinal vs Cardinal numbers - Differences between French and English usages
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In French and English, there are differences on how you use ordinal and cardinal numbers.
Learn how to use ordinal and cardinal numbers in French
Look at these names of kings, queens, popes:
Le pape Benoît XVI (seize) a démissionné.Pope Benedict XVI (the sixteenth) resigned.
Elizabeth II (deux) était la Reine d'Angleterre.Elizabeth II (the second) was Queen of England.
Louis XIV (quatorze) était surnommé Le Roi Soleil.Louis XIV (the fourteenth)'s nickname was The Sun King.
Roman numerals used for royalty and other titles are read as cardinal numbers (deux, trois, quatre...) in French whereas ordinal numbers (second, third, fourth...) are used in English. The only exception is I = Ier which is read as an ordinal (first/premier) in both languages:
François Ier (premier) a protégé Léonard de Vinci.Francis I (the first) protected Leonardo Da Vinci.
ATTENTION: How to express "third"
When in English, the word third is used to express both a fraction of a whole (one third of my pie) and a rank or order (first, second, third), in French, you use two different words:
- To express a fraction, a portion of something, you use the fractional number tiers :
J'ai bu un tiers de la bouteille.I drank a third of the bottle.
J'ai déjà écrit les deux tiers de ma dissertation.I've written the two thirds of my essay already.
- To express a rank or an order, you use the ordinal number troisième :
Je suis arrivé troisième du marathon.I came third in the marathon.
La troisième nouvelle de ce recueil est inoubliable.The third novella of this book is unforgettable.
Mon troisième enfant est né en septembre.My third child was born in September.
- EXCEPTIONS: Some fixed historical and legal expressions still use the adjective tiers/tierce (masculine/feminine) as the old form of troisième. Apart from these specific cases, tiers solely designates a fraction in modern French:
Les États Généraux du 5 mai 1789 comprenaient des représentants du Clergé, de la Noblesse et du Tiers-État.The Estates-General of May 5, 1789, included representatives from the Clergy, the Nobility, and the Third Estate.
Nous avons fait appel à une tierce partie pour agir comme médiateur.We brought in a third party as a mediator.
Il y a beaucoup de pauvreté dans le Tiers-Monde.There is a lot of poverty in Third World countries.
-> The term "Third World/Tiers-Monde" is increasingly perceived to be politically incorrect and outdated.
Il a acheté un superbe poulain tiers-an à la foire.He bought a superb three-year-old colt at the fair.
-> This is an old-fashioned, regional agricultural term, predominantly used in Normandy.
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