"nth"?

Hi there,

I don't know how to ask a question about the following case. I'll give you the answer, and I hope you'll kindly give me the question.

"I'm the 14th president of this country."
Or, "I'm the 3rd teacher in that class."

I do wonder what the question is! Thanks a lot....

Those types of numbers are referred to as "ordinals," as they refer to a specific order of things. (The second president, the ninth in line to the British throne, etc.)

Whichth

This is what once Raymott suggested.

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/113869-how-frame-question.html

Thanks. I saw that page. Interesting! I suppose "whichth" might work better in an informal context or real life English. Especially, say, in case of my second example, "He's the 3rd teacher in that class" I don't think "ordinal number" works. I'd appreciate it if anyone could make this a bit more clear. Many thanks.

Mehrgan said:

Thanks. I saw that page. Interesting! I suppose "whichth" might work better in an informal context or real life English. Especially, say, in case of my second example, "He's the 3rd teacher in that class" I don't think "ordinal number" works. I'd appreciate it if anyone could make this a bit more clear. Many thanks.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean by "I don't think ordinal number works". There is an example of an ordinal number in both your examples. However, I can think of at least three possible questions which would result in the answer "He's the 3rd teacher in that class":

He's the whichth* teacher in that class?
He's the third what in that class?
In what is he the third teacher?

*I would like to point out that until the thread on here a couple of weeks ago, I had never heard nor seen "whichth"!

I find "whichth" to be an amusing non-word.

emsr2d2 said:

I'm not sure what you mean by "I don't think ordinal number works". There is an example of an ordinal number in both your examples. However, I can think of at least three possible questions which would result in the answer "He's the 3rd teacher in that class":

He's the whichth* teacher in that class?
He's the third what in that class?
In what is he the third teacher?

*I would like to point out that until the thread on here a couple of weeks ago, I had never heard nor seen "whichth"!

Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the reply. By "ordinal number" I mean, it sounds less likely for a schoolboy to ask a classmate "What ordinal number that teacher is?"

In your examples you've used "third", what if we don't know if he/she is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. and exactly want to ask a question to find this out? Cheers.

Mehrgan said:

Thanks a lot for the reply. By "ordinal number" I mean, it sounds less likely for a schoolboy to ask a classmate "What ordinal number that teacher is?"

In your examples you've used "third", what if we don't know if he/she is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. and exactly want to ask a question to find this out? Cheers.

Click to expand...

Without using the rather bizarre "whichth" (see my first suggested question in my previous post, which would elicit the answer "He's the third teacher...") I can't really think of an exact way to do it.

You could ask "How many other teachers have taught that class before him?" Answer "Two other teachers". This would lead you to extrapolate that he is the third teacher, but it wouldn't actually elicit the answer "He's the third teacher..."

Maybe "Is he the first teacher...?"
Answer "No, he's the third teacher..."

In Polish we say something like "which in the order". Is it correct in English?

Mehrgan said:

Hi there,

I don't know how to ask a question about the following case. I'll give you the answer, and I hope you'll kindly give me the question.

"I'm the 14th president of this country."
Or, "I'm the 3rd teacher in that class."

I do wonder what the question is! Thanks a lot....

Click to expand...

********** NOT A TEACHER **********

Hello, Mehrgan.

Tom: What number president was Abraham Lincoln?

Mona: Oh, he was the 16th.

Thank you

birdeen's call said:

In Polish we say something like "which in the order". Is it correct in English?

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:?: - only if you say which order you're referring to; and then you'd probably say 'where does X come in the order of Y?'

b

BobK said:

:?: - only if you say which order you're referring to; and then you'd probably say 'where does X come in the order of Y?'

b

Click to expand...

Hmm... Maybe I used a wrong word. I meant a situation when it's obvious which order (maybe you call it otherwise?) we're talking about. Like
"which president in the order was X". But OK, I understood that it's not right in English.

birdeen's call said:

Hmm... Maybe I used a wrong word. I meant a situation when it's obvious which order (maybe you call it otherwise?) we're talking about. Like
"which president in the order was X". But OK, I understood that it's not right in English.

Click to expand...

Hold your horses! [="don't rush to that conclusion"]. It makes sense like that, but to my ear it would be better if you said "which president in the order of presidents was X".

b

BobK said:

Hold your horses! [="don't rush to that conclusion"]. It makes sense like that, but to my ear it would be better if you said "which president in the order of presidents was X".

b

Click to expand...

Thanks, I was wondering why on Earth it should be incorrect.

*** NOT A TEACHER ***


I can't help but wonder why on earth there is not a phrase like "how manieth" in English. :roll: It would make this question much easier to answer, let alone to ask. :lol:

Give it time! In a few hundred years there may be... ;-) But, for now, that expression only exists as an occasional joke.

b