Posted by Chester Morton / Friday 10 February 2017 / No comments
Pronouncing numbers in French
The fi nal
consonant of the numbers cinq, six, and dix is silent before
a word that begins with a consonant: cinq [sIn] livres, six [see]
femmes, dix [dee] petits chats. The sound x [s]
becomes [z] before a vowel: six [seez] oranges. The final
consonant of deux, cinq, six, dix, and vingt is
pronounced at the beginning of a word that begins with a vowel: deux
[duhz] étudiants, cinq [sInk] images, dix
[deez] hommes, vingt [vInt] articles.
• Numbers
from 17 (dix-sept) to 19 (dix-neuf) are formed by
combining numbers.
• Seventy
(soixante-dix) is literally “sixty-ten,” seventy-one (soixante et
onze) is “sixty and eleven,” and so on. Eighty (quatrevingts),
“four-twenties,” starts a new series that ends in ninety-nine (quatre-vingt-dix-neuf).
• Eighty (quatre-vingts)
takes an -s, but numbers based on it do not: quatre-vingt-un.
• In
Belgium and French Switzerland, 70 is septante (septante et un,
septante-deux...); 90 is nonante (nonante et un,
nonante-deux...). In Belgium, 80 is huitante (huitante
et un, huitante-deux...); while French Switzerland uses quatre-vingts,
etc.
• When a
feminine noun follows the numbers un, vingt et un, trente et
un, etc., an -e is added to un: une table, vingt
et une étudiantes,(twenty one
female students)
trente et une
voitures.(thirty
one cars)
Doing
Arithmetic in French
+
plus or et
quatorze plus (et)
quinze font (égalent) vingt-neuf
Plus or and fourteen
plus(and)fifteen make( is equal to) twenty nine
_
moins
vingt moins douze
font (égalent) huit
Minus twenty
minus twelve make(is equal to) eight
×
fois six fois dix
font (égalent) soixante
Times(multiplication) six
times ten makes(is equal to) sixty
÷
divisé par trente-six divisé
par douze font (égalent) trois
Divided by
thirty six divided by twelve makes(is
equal to) three
Numbers
from 100
Here are the numbers starting with
100:
100 cent 700 sept cents
101 cent un 800 huit cents
102 cent deux 900 neuf cents
200 deux cents 970 neuf cent soixante-dix
201 deux cent un 980 neuf cent quatre-vingts
222 deux cent vingt-deux 999 neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
300 trois cents 1 000 mille
400 quatre cents 1 001 mille un
500 cinq cents 2 000 deux mille
600 six cents 3 750 trois mille sept cent cinquante
999 999 neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
1
000 000
un million
1 000 000 000 un
milliard.
Knowing
Your Numbers
Numbers
are some of the most important vocabulary words you’ll need: to ask for and to
say prices, schedules, directions, addresses, telephone numbers, etc. Practice
them aloud regularly.
• The -s
of cents (trois cents) is dropped when followed by any other
number: 201
(deux cent un), 735 (sept cent trente-cinq).
• Like cent,
mille (one thousand) has no article. The word mille never ends
in -s: 1 004 (mille quatre), 7 000 (sept mille),
9 999 (neuf mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf).
• European
Union currency (now used by thirteen EU countries, including France) is l’euro
(m.) (€); it is divided into 100 centimes (m.).
To express
thousands in figures, French uses a space or a period where English uses a
comma: 2 695/2.695. In decimal numbers, such as prices, French
uses a comma where English uses a period: 77,50€/15,90€.
• The
nouns million (million) and milliard (billion) take
-s in the plural: 2 300 000€ (deux millions trois cent mille
euros). The preposition de/d’ is used between million(s)
or milliard(s) and a noun: un milliard d’euros, trois
millions d’habitants.
Ordinal
Numbers
Ordinal
numbers express position in a series, such as fi rst, second, third,
fourth, and fi fth. In French, ordinal numbers, with the
exception of le premier/la première (the first), are
formed by adding -ième to cardinal numbers. Except for le premier/la
première, only the article (le/la/les) changes to
agree with the noun.
le premier/la première le/la
onzième le/la vingt et unième
le/la deuxième le/la douzième le/la vingt-deuxième
le/la troisième le/la
treizième le/la trentième
le/la quatrième le/la
quatorzième le/la quatre-vingtième
le/la cinquième le/la
quinzième le/la
quatre-vingt-dixième
le/la sixième le/la
seizième le/la centième
le/la septième le/la
dix-septième
le/la huitième le/la
dix-huitième
le/la
neuvième le/la
dix-neuvième
le/la
dixième le/la
vingtième
take a close look at the following examples
le premier
homme the first
man
la première
classe the
first class
le quatrième
étage the
fourth floor
le sixième
mois the
sixth month
la trente-neuvième
marche the thirty-ninth step
Où est le dix-huitième
Where’s the eighteenth
arrondissement?
arrondissement (Paris district)?
C’est ton cinquième
repas du jour? Is that your fifth
meal of the day?
Le dixième
chapitre est intéressant. The
tenth chapter is interesting.
Le
cabinet du médecin est au sixième étage. The doctor’s office is on
the sixth
floor.
• Note the
irregular spelling of cinquième and neuvième, and the forms vingt
et unième, trente et unième, etc.
• Le and
la do not elide before huitième and onzième: le
huitième étudiant (the eighth student), la onzième cliente (the
eleventh customer).
• The
abbreviation e, sometimes printed in superscript, indicates that a number
should be read as an ordinal, as does the suffi x -ième: 5 _ cinq;
5e and 5ième _ le/la cinquième.
• In many
countries, including France, le premier étage refers to the second level
of a building (called the second floor in the United States). The ground
floor in French is le rez-de-chaussée. Take this difference into
account when renting a hotel room.
