Reviewing Numbers

Note the following about cardinal numbers:

• 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.

• Before a feminine noun, un becomes une.

  • vingt et un garçons(21 boys)

  • vingt et une filles (21 girls)

• 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. The -s is also dropped when these numbers are used in an ordinal sense (for example, to express page or address numbers and dates).

  • quatre cent vingt dollars (420 dollars)

  • quatre cents dollars (400 dollars)

  • quatre-vingt-dix-neuf euros (99 euros)

  • quatre-vingts euros(80 euros)

  • à la page deux cent (on page 200)

  • dans la rue quatre-vingt (on 80th Street)

  • pendant l'année neuf cent (during the year 900)

• Un is not used before cent (100) and mille (1,000).

  • cent ans (100 years)

  • mille personnes (1,000 people)

• Mille doesn't take -s in the plural.

  • cinq mille dollars (5,000 dollars)

• Mille is generally written mil in dates until 1999:

  • Je suis né en mil neuf cent quarante-sept. (I was born in 1947.)

  • Starting with the year 2000, the date is written as follows:

  • Ma fille est née en (l'an) deux mille. (My daughter was born in 2000.) When another number is added after 2000, mil is generally preferred to mille.

  • Mon fils est né en (l'an) deux mil( le) deux. (My son was born in 2002.)

• To express numbers between 1,000 and 9,999, you can avoid using mille and simply use cent where it is more convenient.

  • mille neuf centsor dix-neuf cents (1,900)

• In numerals and decimals, the French use commas where Americans use periods, and vice versa:

Numbers and Nouns of Quantity

Nouns that are used to express a quantity or a measure are followed by de + noun. The cardinal numbers million and milliard, as well as other nouns of number, follow this rule.

• un million de touristes (a million tourists)

• onze milliards de gens (11 billion people)

• deux boîtes de céréales (2 boxes of cereal)

• un tas de papiers (a pile of papers)

Arithmetic

To calculate simple arithmetic problems in French, use the following:

Ordinal Numbers

Note the following about ordinal numbers:

• Premier and premi`re are abbreviated as follows:

  • premier: 1er

  • premi`re: 1re

• All others ordinals get a superscript e.

  • quinzi`me: 15^e

• Ordinal numbers agree in number and gender with the nouns they describe. Premier (premi`re)and second (seconde) are the only ordinal numbers that have a feminine form.

  • le premier acte (the first act)

  • la premi`re pi`ce (the first play)

  • les premi`res années (the first years)

  • la Seconde Guerre mondiale (the second World War)

  • les vingt et uni`mes anniversaires (21st birthdays)

• Premier is used only for the first in a series. For 21 to 71, uni`me is added after the conjunction et to express first, and it must agree in number with the noun it modifies.

  • la cinquante et uni`me année (the 51st year)

• Second(e) is generally used in a series that goes no higher than two.

• Use le or la before huit/huiti`me and onze/onzi`me. There is no elision.

  • le huiti`me anniversaire(the 11th birthday)

  • le onze juillet (July 11th)

• In French, cardinal numbers precede ordinal numbers.

  • les deux premi`res personnes (the first two people)

Fractions

Just as in English, French fractions are formed by combining a cardinal and an ordinal number:

The most common fractions are irregular:

Note the following:

• Demi is generally used as an adjective. When it is used before the noun with a hyphen, it does not agree with the noun it describes. When used after the noun, however, it must agree with the noun it modifies.

  • une demi-heure (a half hour)

  • une heure et demie (an hour and a half)

• Moitié is a feminine noun and must be used with the article la.

  • la moitié de la classe (half the class)

Multiples

Multiple numbers are used in French in the same way they are used in English:

Here are some examples of multiples used in a sentence:

• Je l'ai fait une fois. (I did it one time.)

• Le prix est triple de ce qu'il était. (The price is triple what it was.)

Titles of Rulers

In numerical titles of rulers, cardinal numbers are used (except for premier).