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Many people say, e.g., "Class Xth," "Category Xth," "Part Xth," "Street Xth," instead of "Class X," "Category X," "Part X," "Street X," respectively.

Is the former right?

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Really? Could you give some example sentences where they're used? I can't think of one. – Matt E. Эллен Jun 19 '12 at 14:46
@MattЭллен, Its very common in India like : I BELONG TO CATEGORY 2nd. . . – Tabrez Ahmed Jun 19 '12 at 14:49
you should specify what language you are talking about, there's no general rule for all existing languages – Tames Jun 19 '12 at 14:57
Is it right? Perhaps it is right in India but not in England... – GEdgar Jun 19 '12 at 15:23
This is Too Localised. Native speakers don't use the construction Part Nth, regardless of whether non-native speakers in India have a tendency to do so. Given I can't find a single relevant instance of "the part second is" in Google Books, I frankly doubt they do very often anyway. – FumbleFingers Jun 19 '12 at 16:31

4 Answers 4

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Generally only if Xth precedes the type in-text. I would say 12th day, but never day 12th, in English. On the other hand, I would say day 12, but never 12 day. (specifically, 12 day would imply 12-day as in a count of twelve, involving the whole span of time)

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The word order differences between English and other languages are common from what I've been told. – shinyspoongod Jun 19 '12 at 14:51

In British English you would never say, "I belong to category 2nd."

You could say, "I belong to the second category," or,"I belong to category 2."

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Good point about the rewording. – shinyspoongod Jun 19 '12 at 15:02

Is the former right?

Nope. It is "Xth class", "Xth category", "Xth part", "Xth street", but "Class X", "Category X", "Part X", "Street X".

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There's a partial exception for dates: "June nineteenth" is common. Some people say "June the nineteenth;" I don't care for this construct, personally, but it's also common. – Jon of All Trades Jun 19 '12 at 22:33

'Part the First' is common in the organisation of large treatises (e.g. here), perhaps to avoid confusion with 'Chapter 1'. It's fallen out of use recently, though, perhaps because fewer weighty treatises are being written.

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