Clear Spanish grammar
Spanish ordinal numbers: primero, segundo and beyond
Ordinal numbers express order: first, second, third. In Spanish they behave like adjectives, so their form follows the gender and number of the noun.
How it works
Understand the pattern
The most common forms are primero, segundo, tercero, cuarto, quinto, sexto, séptimo, octavo, noveno and décimo. They normally appear before the noun and agree with it: la segunda página, los primeros capítulos.
Primero and tercero lose the final o before a singular masculine noun: el primer tema and el tercer ejercicio. The full forms remain when the noun is feminine or when the ordinal stands alone.
The essentials
Three rules that clear up the confusion
- 1
Match the ending to the noun: primer curso, primera clase, segundos intentos.
- 2
Shorten primero and tercero only before a singular masculine noun: primer día, tercer año.
- 3
For dates, Spanish usually uses cardinal numbers except for el primero de a month.
Compare
Examples in complete sentences
Common mistakes
What to check before you answer
- 1
Do not use primer before a feminine noun: say la primera vez, not la primer vez in standard formal Spanish.
- 2
Do not confuse order with quantity: tres libros counts books, while el tercer libro identifies one book's position.
Go beyond reading
Practise the rule through the guided course route
A short explanation, a task, answer checking and a direct return to the paragraph needed after a mistake.