In this Real-English video, When's your birthday?,
listen to the way people use ordinal numbers to
answer the question.
Learn about special birthdays in Mexico and Korea.
15th birthday in Mexico
In Mexico, a girl's fifteenth (15th) birthday is special. It is called the Quinceañera.
She has a big party. Her family and friends celebrate her birthday with her.
Photo: Sandy Peters
First birthday in Korea
In Korea, a child's first (1st) birthday is very important. There is a special celebration. The child's parents put different objects on a table in front of the child. The object the child picks up first might tell something about the child's future. (Example: a book = The child will be intelligent.)
Questions on birthdays
- How do people in your country celebrate birthdays?
- When's your birthday? How do you celebrate it?
Cardinal numbers
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5
6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
Ordinal numbers
1st - 2nd - 3rd - 4th - 5th
6th - 7th - 8th - 9th - 10th
Image: dailyclipart.net
In this Real-English video by Mike Marzio, the girl counts
in two ways. Listen for the ordinal and cardinal numbers.
A conversation with cardinal and ordinal numbers.
Richard answer the first question with an ordinal number.
He answers the second question with a cardinal number.
Thomas: How old are you?
Richard: I'm 19.
Thomas: When's your birthday?
Richard: March 19th.
Take turns asking and answering these questions:
How old are you?
When's your birthday?
cc licensed flickr photo shared by Katch