How French works
Beginner Unit 80:

Cardinal numbers 70-100

Key points

  • Rather than having a specific word for 70, the French say soixante-dix.
  • Neither does French have specific word for 80 or 90; instead the French say quatre-vingts and quatre-vingt-dix.

The cardinal numbers 70 to 99 are more complicated. Rather than having a specific word for 70, the French say the equivalent of sixty-ten, sixty-eleven up to sixty-nineteen:

soixante-dix

seventy

soixante et onze

seventy-one

soixante-dix-neuf

seventy-nine

Neither does French have a specific word for 80 or 90; instead French says the equivalent of four twenties, four twenties one up to four twenties nineteen:

quatre-vingts

eighty

quatre-vingt-un

eighty-one

quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

ninety-nine

Notice also that quatre-vingts contains an –s on its own, but no –s when followed by another number:

quatre-vingts

eighty

quatre-vingt-dix

ninety

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How French Works was written and coded by Chris Dawson.