Mom Left In Shock After Finding Out Why We Abbreviate 1st, 2nd And 3rd Like That

Surprisingly, a simple grammar rule has left thousands of people online mind-blown, including Gemma Lou. The mom-of-two has just recently realized at age 32 that the reasons why adverbs ‘first,’ ‘second,’ and ‘third,’ and so on are abbreviated using letters like 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. 

As she shared her discovery on TikTok, thousands of people admitted to not knowing the simple grammar.

In her video, Lou explained how the last few letters from the written words are taken and placed behind the corresponding numbers. The UK-based wrote in an overlaid text: “At my big age of 32 I have just learned that the ‘st’ in 1st and ‘nd’ in 2nd and ‘rd’ in 3rd are because they are the last letters of the words first and so forth.” 

The clip has since been watched over 3 million times and even garnered comments, with many admitting they had no idea the rule existed. 

@gemmawat89 #fyp #32 #stilllearning #lowviews #shadowbanned #ElectrifyTheMini #HolidayModeActivated #HowDoYouMist ♬ original sound – lieutenant_mcguire

One person commented: “Oh my god, no way; wait, what? And I’m genuinely shocked.” Another said: “Absolutely baffled.” While a third stated: “Why did I not know this?” However, some people claimed they thought the rule was common sense and were aware of it for several years. One such person said: “I thought this was a common sense thing. I’ve known since the primary, and I’m 13. 

@spencer.barbosa WHO ELSE IS SHOOK???😖 #funfact #iwastodayyearsold #relatable #fact #teenager ♬ original sound – spencer barbosa🧚🏻

Another wrote: “English is my second language, and I have known this since primary school.” A third added: “I am worried for everyone in the comments.”