The ordinal numerals are derived from the cardinal ones by means of affixation with -de or -ste. The former suffix is more or less restricted to the ordinals derived from the cardinal numerals corresponding to 0 to 19, with the exception of the irregular form eerste'first' and the form achtste'eighth'. Note that the ordinal numeral derde'third' is not derived from the cardinal numeral drie but features the morpheme der-, which also appears in dertien (13) and dertig (30). The ordinal numeral vierde, on the other hand, is derived from vier (4), not from the irregular morpheme veer-, which is used in veertien (14) and veertig (40).

Higher numerals may also end in -de provided they are complex forms ending in one of the numerals in (67) taking this suffix. Two examples are given in (68).

In all other cases, the ordinal is derived from the cardinal numeral by means of affixation with -ste. We illustrate this for some round figures in Example (69). The fact that biljoenste sounds somewhat weird probably reflects the fact that the use of that high an ordinal numeral is uncommon.

The formations in (70) are often also considered ordinal numerals; the form in (70d) is the interrogative form of the ordinal numeral, derived from hoeveel'how many'.

This subsection discusses the semantics of the ordinal numerals. If an ordinal number is used in prenominal position the noun phrase normally refers to an entity in an array, that is, an ordered set of entities. If the ordinal numeral is preceded by a cardinal one, the phrase functions as a fraction.

Section 6.1.1.3 has shown that cardinal numerals are generated in the position NUM in (78a), which accounts for the fact that these numerals in (78b) follow the determiners but precede the nominal head and its attributive modifiers.

As is shown in the (a)-examples in (79) the ordinal numerals normally occupy this position as well. The noun phrase de derde ongetekende cheque can have two different meanings depending on the intonation; if it is pronounced as one intonational phrase, it is claimed that the check under discussion is the third unsigned one; if the ordinal numeral and adjective are separated by an intonation break, the check under discussion may be the only unsigned one (which happens to be unchecked). The two cases differ syntactically in that in the second case, the order of the attributive adjective and the ordinal numeral can be reversed. Example (79b), which can be pronounced either with or without an intonation break, is more or less synonymous with (79a'), but not with (79a).

      Normally speaking, the ordinal and cardinal numerals are in complementary distribution, which suggests that the two compete for the same position NUM in (78a). An exception must, of course, be made for those cases in which the ordinal numeral and the noun constitute a lexical unit. In those cases, the lexicalized form can be preceded by a cardinal numeral, as in (80a). Another exception is given in (80b): in this example the two numerals seems to make up a complex modifier, which pick out the first/last two candidates in an ordered set. Example (80c) shows that the ordinal numeral in these complex modifiers is restricted to eerste and laatste; an ordinal like derde'third' is excluded.