Ch 2 · Lesson 35French · Chapter 2 · Lesson 35 · Grammar primer
The number workshop: counting to 69
The seventeen number words to learn, then tens plus units all the way to 69 - with the in .
The short version
a ten to
, --
Why?Hide
French says , , all the way to , which is sixty and eleven. Then the disappears for good: 81 is -- and 91 is --. It never follows cent or either, so 101 is plain .
The whole system on one screen
| Range | Built as | Example | Digits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 16 | a word of its own | | 16 |
| 17 to 19 | + unit | - | 17 |
| 20 to 69 | ten + unit | - | 34 |
| 21 to 61 | ten + | | 21 |
| 70 to 79 | + 10 to 19 | - | 75 |
| 80 to 99 | - + 1-19 | -- | 92 |
| BE/CH 70, 90 | septante, nonante | nonante- | 92 |
| 100 and up | cent, , million | | 203 |
Everything below is one of those rows, taken apart.
0 to 16: seventeen words to learn
There is nothing to work out here. to are words of their own.
| 0-4 | 5-9 | 10-13 | 14-16 |
|---|---|---|---|
0 | 5 | 10 | 14 |
1 | 6 | 11 | 15 |
2 | 7 | 12 | 16 |
3 | 8 | 13 | |
4 | 9 |
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
.- I have two brothers..- He is sixteen.
Two pairs trip beginners:
(11) and(12) look nothing likeand: Latin undecim and duodecim, one-ten and two-ten.(15) and(16) blur at speed:is nasal kɛ̃z, seize rhymes with "says" sɛz.
17 to 69: tens plus units
From seventeen, French adds. The tens are words to learn: , , , , . Between them you write the ten, a hyphen and the unit.
| French | Digits | Literally |
|---|---|---|
- | 17 | ten-seven |
- | 19 | ten-nine |
- | 22 | twenty-two |
- | 35 | thirty-five |
- | 48 | forty-eight |
- .- I'm twenty-two.- .- There are thirty-five pages.
The one exception: for 21 to 61, French puts between the ten and , and drops the hyphen.
| Number | French | Not |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | | - |
| 31 | | - |
| 41 | | - |
| 51 | | - |
| 61 | | - |
| 71 | | - |
.- I'm twenty-one.
The survives into 71, because seventy-one is sixty and eleven, then vanishes for good: 81 is -- and 101 is .
also agrees with a feminine noun, even inside a bigger number. No other number changes for gender.
.- There are twenty-one girls..- The book has thirty-one pages.
Going further: 70 to 99: counting in twenties and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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Lesson 35 of 42 in this chapter