French I: Verb Charts
French I: Everyday Words and Phrases
The French write two numbers differently than Anericans do: the number 1 has a little hook on top, which makes it look like a 7. So, to distinguish a 1 from a 7, a line is put through the 7, to look like this:
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In numerals and decimals, the French use commas where Americans use periods, and vice versa:
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Cardinal numbers
Consult Table
1 for a list of French
cardinal numbers, the numbers we use for counting: 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on.
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Note the following about cardinal numbers:
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The conjunction et (and) is used only for the numbers 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, and 71 . In all other compound numbers through 99, et is dropped, and a hyphen is used.
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Before a feminine noun un becomes une.
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vingt et un hommes (21 men)
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vingt et une femmes (21 women)
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To form 70 to 79, use soixante plus 10, 11, 12, and so on.
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To form 90 to 99, use quatre-vingt plus 10, 11, 12, and so on.
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For quatre-vingts (80) and the plural of cent (100) for any number above 199, drop the s before another number, but not before a noun .
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quatre-vingt-quinze euros (95 euros)
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quatre-vingts euros (80 euros)
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deux cent cinquante dollars (250 dollars)
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deux cents dollars (200 dollars)
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Un is not used before cent (100) and mille (1000).
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cent hommes (100 men)
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mille femmes (1, 000 women)
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Mille doesn't take s in the plural .
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deux mille dollars (2, 000 dollars)
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Mille becomes mil in dates .
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J'ai mille neuf cent dollars. (I have 1, 900 dollars.)
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Je suis né en mil neuf cents dix. (I was born in 1910.)
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To express numbers between 1000 and 9999, where it is more convenient, you can avoid using mille and simply use cent.
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mille cent or onze cents (1, 100)
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mille neuf cents or dix-neuf cents (1, 900)
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The following words are used to express common arithmetic functions.
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+ (plus) is et
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− (minus) is moins
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× (times) is fois
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÷ (divided by) is divisé par
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= (equals) is font
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Nouns of number
Some numbers are used as collective nouns to express a round number, and some are followed by
de (d') before another noun, as shown in Table
2 .
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Ordinal numbers
Ordinal numbers allow you to express the floors in a building or numbers in a series. Most ordinal numbers are formed by adding
i-ème to the cardinal number, as shown in Table
3 .
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Note the following about ordinal numbers:
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Premier and première are abbreviated as follows:
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premier: 1 er
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première: 1 re
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All others ordinals get a superscript, e, as follows:
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dixième: 10e
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centième: 100e
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Except for premier and second, ordinal numbers are formed by adding - ième to the cardinal number. The silent e is dropped before - ième: quatrième, onzième, and so on.
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la quatrième fois (the fourth time)
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A u is added in cinquième, and a v replaces the f in neuvième.
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le cinquième chapitre (the fifth chapter)
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Ordinal numbers agree in number and gender with the nouns they descibe. Premier (première) and second (seconde) and numbers using unième (uneième) are the only ordinal numbers that have a feminine form.
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le premier garçon (the first boy)
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la première fille (the first girl)
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les premières années (the first years)
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les vingt et unièmes anniversaires (21st birthdays)
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Premier is used only for the first in a series. For 21 to 71, unième is added after the conjunction et to express first, and it must agree in number and gender with the noun it modifies.
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le cinquante et unième match (the 51st match)
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la quarante et uneième année (the 41st year)
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Second(e) is generally used in a series that goes no higher than two.
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Use le or la before huit/ huitième and onze/ onzième. No elision is necessary.
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le huitième jour (the 8th day)
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le onze juillet (July 11th)
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In French, cardinal numbers precede ordinal numbers.
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les quatre premières personnes (the first four people)
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