Thank you for joining me on this Deep Dive into numbers. Remember that, as a Patreon subscriber, you can access all the Deep Dives for all three levels (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced). I recommend that you read the transcript while listening to this episode because some of the examples are easier to learn and remember if you can see them while listening. Before we investigate numbers in more detail, I would like to look at two idiomatic set phrases that I used in episode 3 of the podcast. These are ‘not an exact science’ and ‘does not tell the whole story’. I said that the CEFR levels (or Common European Framework of Reference levels) are ‘not an exact science’. This means that a CEFR level is ‘not entirely accurate’. Then I said that a level ‘does not tell the whole story’ of the student’s ability. If a situation ‘does not tell the whole story’ of something, this means that it does not provide all the information that a person may need and that there is likely a deeper, and more complicated, reality under the surface. Let’s look at some examples of the two phrases in context, so that you can see exactly how to use them yourself. *** ‘Preparing a good lasagna is not an exact science.’ This means that there are many different ways to prepare a good lasagna. There is not one single way to prepare a lasagna and it is not necessary to follow exact rules in the same order to prepare a good lasagna. *** ‘The laws of arithmetic are an exact science because 2 plus 2 always equals 4 (two + two = four).’ This means that there can be no other answer than 4 to the sum 2 + 2. There is zero ambiguity and this is an objective fact. *** ‘Manchester United lost the game 4-0 (four nil) but the score doesn’t tell the whole story.’ This means that the actual figures seem to indicate that Manchester United played badly, but maybe there is a much more complex reality behind these numbers. Maybe Manchester United had really bad luck in the match. Perhaps the referee made bad decisions in favour of the other team. *** ‘This influencer may seem to have a perfect life, but her Instagram photos don’t tell the whole story.’ This means that the profile of this influencer seems to show that she has a perfect life because the photos indicate this. However, the photos are not necessarily a reflection of how good her life really is. Perhaps she only posts things that give the impression of a perfect life. Perhaps her reality is complicated and not nearly as perfect as she makes out. *** If you use these phrases alone, in isolation, they usually have a very simple and clear meaning: ‘It’s not an exact science.’ This means that you do not need to follow a set of rules in order to obtain a result. ‘It doesn’t tell the whole story.’ This means that something that seems simple, clear or obvious actually has a deeper and more complex explanation. *** Let’s get back on track and focus on numbers. You might be surprised by this, but many English native speakers do not know which are the cardinal numbers and which are the ordinal numbers. I would like to explain that difference now, so that it is completely clear. Cardinal numbers are the numbers you count, which are 1 (one), 2 (two), 3 (three) and so on. Cardinal numbers communicate quantity. The word ‘cardinal’ is an adjective that means ‘extremely important’ and it appears in two useful collocations. The first collocation is ‘cardinal sins’, which are the seven deadly sins, so if you say that something is a ‘cardinal sin’ it means that it is something extremely bad that a person does. The second collocation is ‘cardinal rule’, which means ‘an extremely important rule’. Listen to these two examples containing those collocations: ‘For me, smoking is a cardinal sin.’ This means that I think smoking is extremely bad - as bad as the other deadly sins. ‘The cardinal rule of driving is to focus on the road at all times.’ This means that the number-one priority in driving is always to watch the road. The word ‘cardinal’ can also be used as a noun to describe a high-ranking official in the Roman Catholic church. Now, let’s move on to ordinal numbers. Ordinal numbers are numbers in an order, in other words 1st (first), 2nd (second), 3rd (third) and so on. The word ‘ordinal’ is in the same family as the word ‘order’ and ordinal numbers communicate the sequence in a list of numbers. Listen to the numbers 1 to 10 as cardinal and ordinal numbers. Number 1 (one) is the 1st (first) number. Number 2 (two) is the 2nd (second) number. Number 3 (three) is the 3rd (third) number. Number 4 (four) is the 4th (fourth) number. Number 5 (five) is the 5th (fifth) number. Number 6 (six) is the 6th (sixth) number. Number 7 (seven) is the 7th (seventh) number. Number 8 (eight) is the 8th (eighth) number. Number 9 (nine) is the 9th (ninth) number. Number 10 (ten) is the 10th (tenth) number. Now, after 10th (tenth) we have 11th (eleventh), followed by one more irregular ordinal number, 12th (twelfth). Then, the next group of numbers from 13th (thirteenth) to 19th (nineteenth) follow a pattern, which is quite easy to remember. All you need to do is add ‘-nth’ (N-T-H) as a suffix to the end of the cardinal number in order to create the ordinal number: 13 (thirteen) becomes 13th (thirteenth), 14 (fourteen) becomes 14th (fourteenth), 15 (fifteen) becomes 15th (fifteenth), 16 (sixteen) becomes 16th (sixteenth), 17 (seventeen) becomes 17th (seventeenth), 18 (eighteen) becomes 18th (eighteenth) and 19 (nineteen) becomes 19th (nineteenth). From 20th (twentieth) to 90th (ninetieth) there is a very simple pattern for forming all other ordinal numbers. In fact, the only ordinals you need to learn are: 20th (twentieth), 30th (thirtieth), 40th (fortieth), 50th (fiftieth), 60th (sixtieth), 70th (seventieth), 80th (eightieth), 90th (ninetieth), 100th (hundredth), 1,000th (thousandth), 1,000,000th (millionth), 1,000,000,000th (billionth) and 1,000,000,000,000th (trillionth). The reason that you only need to learn those ordinal numbers is because as soon as you start adding single-digit numbers to them, only the last element of a number is expressed as an ordinal number. All of the rest of the number looks and sounds like a cardinal number. Listen to these examples: 32nd (thirty-second), 132nd (one hundred and thirty-second), 1,232nd (one thousand, two hundred and thirty-second). 14,232nd (fourteen thousand, two hundred and thirty-second). If you are reading the transcript while listening, you will notice that there is a hyphen (-) between the tens and the single digits, just as in the cardinal numbers. Interestingly, there is one more ordinal number that is often used to describe a large and indefinite number. This ordinal number is ‘nth’. It is spelt N-T-H, but is pronounced ‘enth’. It comes from the mathematical concept ‘n’, which is an indefinite variable or the last number in a sequence. We use the word ‘nth’ as an adjective to describe the most recent time that something has been repeated in a very long, tiring sequence where the same thing happens again and again. It is most often used in the set phrases ‘for the nth time’ and ‘to the nth degree’. Listen to these examples: He told us for the nth time that he was a doctor. He had been telling us again and again that he was a doctor. It was tiring and frustrating. Then he told us yet another time that he was a doctor. How annoying! *** I revised to the nth degree for the exam. I prepared and prepared for the exam. Even when most people would say that enough revision had been done, I did some more preparation work. Perhaps I went too far. Perhaps it was too much and unnecessary, but I did it anyway. *** I would like to look, very briefly, at ordinal numbers in calendar dates from January 1st (January the first) or 1st January (the first of January) to December 31st (December the thirty-first) or 31st December (the thirty-first of December). I have noticed that grammar reference books sometimes do not provide the information I am about to explain, although it is really important for saying dates. So, in English when you see a written date such as June 20th (June the twentieth) or 20th June (the twentieth of June), you must use the word ‘the’ between the month and the ordinal number if you say the month first, and you must use ‘the’ before the ordinal number and ‘of’ before the month, if you begin the written date with the ordinal number first. Here are some examples: February 14th (February the fourteenth) is Valentine’s Day. 14th February (the fourteenth of February) is Valentine’s Day. My birthday is on August 27th (August the twenty-seventh). My birthday is on 27th August (My birthday is on the twenty-seventh of August). *** Now, you may think that ordinal numbers after 31st (thirty-first) are quite rare, given that 31 (thirty-one) is the last possible day in a month. Although it is true that English people do not often use ordinal numbers after 31st (thirty-first), the ordinal numbers are still used in some set contexts. Listen to these examples: *** It is my mum’s 50th (fiftieth) birthday on Monday 13th November (Monday, the thirteenth of November) and it is my dad’s 51st (fifty-first) birthday on Wednesday 7th March (Wednesday, the seventh of March). In this phrase you can hear that English people say birthdays with the ordinal number. For example, ‘an 18th (eighteenth) birthday’, ‘a 21st (twenty-first) birthday’, ‘a 30th (thirtieth) birthday’, ‘a 40th (fortieth) birthday’, ‘a 50th (fiftieth) birthday’, ‘a 60th (sixtieth) birthday’, ‘a 70th (seventieth) birthday’, ‘an 80th (eightieth) birthday’, ‘a 90th (ninetieth) birthday’ and ‘a 100th (hundredth) birthday’. *** In New York, the famous shop Macy’s is located on 34th (thirty-fourth) street.
