Kilo Lingo
Spanish grammar Part of Chapter 5

CEFR A1-B1

4 min read

Test yourself (18 questions)

Advanced Spanish Numbers: First, Second, Third, Fractions, Dates

By Michael McGettrick and Sergio Linares-HernandesUpdated 12 October 2026

Advanced Spanish numbers are what you need past counting: the ordinals (first, second, third), fractions, the round-number nouns, percentages, and dates. Each is built on the cardinals of Spanish numbers. The clock has its own page, telling the time.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Choose the correct option for each gap.

  1. Es el día de clase. (first)

  2. Es la vez que lo intento. (first)

  3. Vivo en el piso. (third)

Ordinals: primero to décimo

masculinefeminineWhat do the colours mean?

The ordinals are first, second, third and so on. Everyday Spanish uses the first ten; above that it usually switches to plain cardinals.

1st to 5th6th to 10th
1st 6th
2nd 7th
3rd 8th
4th 9th noveno
5th 10th décimo

Ordinals are adjectives, so they agree with the noun:

SpanishEnglish
the first time
the first days
the second street

Primer and tercer

and drop their final -o directly before a masculine singular noun:

el primer día: primero shortens before a masculine noun
BeforeFormEnglish
masc. singular noun the first day
masc. singular noun the third floor
feminine noun the first week
no noun .He/she came first.

and do the same: , (a good day).

Writing 1st and 2nd

In figures, an ordinal is the number, a full stop and a raised o or a. Spanish has no -st, -nd, -rd or -th:

FigureReads asExample
1.º 1.º
1.ª 1.ª
1.er 1.er

Above tenth

Past tenth, Spanish normally uses the cardinal, after the noun:

  • - the twentieth century
  • - the twelfth floor
  • Alfonso XIII - Alfonso the Thirteenth (read Alfonso )

Fractions

Half has two forms. is an adjective meaning half a, and agrees; is a noun meaning half of:

SpanishEnglish
half a
half an hour
half of the cake

From a third, the fractions are nouns. A third is ; a quarter to a tenth borrow the ordinals; from an eleventh, Spanish adds -avo:

FractionSpanishPlural
1/3
1/4
1/5
1/8
1/10 décimo décimos
1/11 onceavo onceavos
  • . - A quarter of the class didn't come.

Collective numbers

Spanish has round-number nouns for rough amounts, and each takes :

SpanishEnglish
a couple of
a dozen
centenar about a hundred
hundreds of
thousands of
  • . - I bought a dozen eggs.
  • . - There were hundreds of people.

Percentages

Use with or :

  • - twenty per cent
  • - a ten per cent rise

Days of the week and months

The Spanish week starts on Monday:

DayEnglish
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
A calendar strip of seven day cards, each with a coloured header and one activity: a book, a football, a shopping bag, music notes, a slice of pizza, a bicycle, and someone having a lie-in in bed.

Monday comes first, and every day is masculine and lower case: el lunes, los sábados.

January to JuneJuly to December
January July
February August
March September
April October
May November
June December

Four rules cover nearly everything you will say with them:

RuleSpanishEnglish
no capital letters .Today is Monday.
on Monday: Madrid.On Monday I'm going to Madrid.
on Mondays: .I work on Mondays.
in July: Madrid .I'm going to Madrid in July.

The days are all masculine. Those ending in -s do not change in the plural ( ); and add -s ( ).

To ask the day:

  • ¿ ? - What day is it today?
  • . - Today is Thursday.

is also written setiembre in several Latin American countries; both are correct.

Dates

The pattern is + number + + month + + year:

  • 3 2024 - the 3rd of May 2024
  • 3 . - Today is the 3rd of May.
  • 3 . - It's the 3rd of May. (common in Spain)

The first of the month can be or ; every other day uses the plain cardinal: , .

A year is read as one whole number, never in pairs:

  • - 1990
  • . - I was born in 2005.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
shortens
feminine: no shortening
is masculine
3 3 no capital on months
no preposition before days
1st, 2nd1.º, 2.ºSpanish has no -st or -nd
read a year as one number

What to do next

  1. Do the build and spot-the-mistake drills below.
  2. Say today's date aloud in Spanish: , 3 .
  3. Then telling the time, to add the hour.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/4

Build the ordinal that fits the noun.

  1. la ___ vez (first)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. las ___ casas (first)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. el ___ libro (second)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. la ___ calle (third)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Pick the right one

0/5

Choose the correct option for each gap.

  1. Es el día de clase. (first)

  2. Es la vez que lo intento. (first)

  3. Vivo en el piso. (third)

  4. Llegó . (first, no noun)

  5. Espera hora. (half an hour)

Spot the mistake

0/4

Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.

Fill in the blank

0/5

Complete each phrase with one word.

  1. Necesito kilo de queso. (half) (medio agrees with kilo)

  2. Compré una de huevos. (a dozen)

  3. Voy a Madrid julio. (in July) (months take en)

  4. El examen es el de mayo. (first, as a date) (the ordinal, though el uno is also heard)

  5. el veinte por (20%)

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say first, second and third in Spanish, and how do you write 1st, 2nd, 3rd?
, , , and , and they agree with the noun: (the second day), (the second time). In figures, write the number, a full stop and a raised o or a: 1.º, 2.º for the masculine and 1.ª, 2.ª for the feminine. The shortened and are written 1.er and 3.er.
When do and shorten to and ?
Only directly before a masculine singular noun: (the first day), (the third floor). Before a feminine noun they keep the full form, (the first time), and so they do when no noun follows: (he or she came first).
What is the difference between , and ?
and are adjectives meaning half a, and agree with the noun: kilo (half a kilo), (half an hour). is a noun meaning half of, and takes : (half of the cake).
How do you write the date in Spanish?
+ number + + month + + year: 3 2024 (the 3rd of May 2024). The first of the month can be or ; every other day uses the plain number. A year is read as one number: 1990 is .
Are days and months capitalised in Spanish?
No. , , and are ordinary nouns, written in lower case unless they start a sentence: , 3 (Today is Monday, the 3rd of May).