Learn English – Is it correct to say -1th or -1st

grammarnumbersordinal-numbers

I like to say -1 as negative one. So, should I say "negative oneth index" or "negative first index"? Which one is grammatical?

Is there a way to avoid this problem altogether.

Best Answer

Should I say "negative oneth index" or "negative first index"?

You should say neither.

Which one is grammatically correct?

Neither is correct usage. They're probably grammatically correct in the way that "very unique milk" is gramatically correct even though it is so wrong in so many ways.

Is there a way to avoid this problem altogether.

Yes, say item negative one or index negative one.

You shouldn't be using ordinals for indexes. The item at index zero in a c-style array is the first item in the array. It's not the zeroth item, though you can call it item number zero.

Ordinals only make sense as an outgrowth of natural numbers. That's why zeroth and negative- anything sound so bizarre.

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