How French works
Cardinal numbers are numbers used in counting, like un, deux or trois.
Ordinal numbers are numbers which indicate the place something occupies in a sequence, e.g. deuxième, troisième.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| zéro | nought |
| un | one |
| deux | two |
| trois | three |
| quatre | four |
| cinq | five |
| six | six |
| sept | seven |
| huit | eight |
| neuf | nine |
| dix | ten |
| onze | eleven |
| douze | twelve |
| treize | thirteen |
| quatorze | fourteen |
| quinze | fifteen |
| seize | sixteen |
| dix-sept | seventeen |
| dix-huit | eighteen |
| dix-neuf | nineteen |
| vingt | twenty |
| vingt et un | twenty-one |
| vingt-deux | twenty-two |
| vingt-trois | twenty-three |
| trente | thirty |
| trente et un | thirty-one |
| trente-deux | thirty-two |
| quarante | forty |
| quarante et un | forty-one |
| quarante-deux | forty-two |
| cinquante | fifty |
| soixante | sixty |
| soixante-dix | seventy |
| soixante et onze | seventy-one |
| soixante-douze | seventy-two |
| soixante-treize | seventy-three |
| quatre-vingts | eighty |
| quatre-vingt-un | eighty-one |
| quatre-vingt-deux | eighty-two |
| quatre-vingt-dix | ninety |
| quatre-vingt-onze | ninety-one |
| quatre-vingt-douze | ninety-two |
| cent | one hundred |
| cent un | one hundred and one |
| cinq cents | cinq hundred |
| cinq cent trente | cinq hundred and thirty |
| mille | one thousand |
| mille un | one thousand and one |
| trois mille | three thousand |
| cent mille | one hundred thousand |
| un million | one million |
| un milliard | one billion |
When writing numbers, hyphens are used in compound numbers, that is numbers made up of more than one word:
| dix-sept | seventeen |
| cinquante-cinq | fifty-five |
| quatre-vingt-onze | ninety-one |
This is not the case, however, before and after et, cent and mille:
| trente et un | thirty-one |
| cent dix | a hundred and ten |
| mille deux cents | one thousand two hundred |
Numbers are for the most part invariable , that is to say they do not take an e when used with a feminine noun , or an s in the plural . Note the following:
|
quatre autres personnes |
four other people |
|
trois mille |
three thousand |
|
un million d'euros |
one million euros |
|
un milliard d'euros |
one billion euros |
|
trois millions d'euros |
three million euros |
|
trois milliards d'euros |
three billion euros |
|
deux cents |
two hundred |
|
quatre-vingts |
eighty |
|
but |
|
|
deux cent cinquante |
two hundred and fifty |
|
quatre-vingt-dix |
ninety |
Cent vingt et une pages
A hundred and twenty-one pages
Note that in the 1960s is written dans les années 60 and not *dans les années 60s
| French | English |
|---|---|
| premier / ière (1er) | first |
| deuxième (2ème) | second |
| troisième | third |
| quatrième | fourth |
| cinquième | fifth |
| sixième | sixth |
| septième | seventh |
| huitième | eighth |
| neuvième | nineth |
| dixième | tenth |
| onzième | eleventh |
| douzième | twelfth |
| vingtième | twentieth |
| vingt et unième | twenty-first |
An ordinal number in French is formed by adding -ième to the equivalent cardinal number . If the cardinal ends in an -e, this -e is dropped.
trois, quatre
three, four
→
troisième, quatrième
third, fourth
Exceptions are premier and second and note also spelling changes in cinquième and neuvième .
Note that French uses a cardinal number and not an ordinal number to indicate all days of the month except the first: le premier avril , but le deux avril .
Note also that when using ordinal numbers in phrases such as his first three books, French uses the opposite word order, i.e. ses trois premiers livres .
All fractions, with the exception of moitié , are masculine . When used on their own they take the indefinite article when singular (un cinquième ) and no article when plural (sept huitièmes ). When used as part of a number that is greater than one, et is always used before demi (trois et demie ), but is generally not used with other fractions: un quart , quatre trois quarts , cinq un tiers , six quatre cinquièmes .
When the fraction is followed by a noun , it is generally preceded by the definite article .
Nous avons fait le tiers du travail
We did a third of the work
Il a bu les deux tiers d'une bouteille de vin
He drank two-thirds of a bottle of wine
Demi does not take an agreement when it comes before a noun , but it does when it comes after a noun:
Il a bu une demi-bouteille
He drank half a bottle
Il a bu une bouteille et demie
He drank a bottle and a half
French uses a construction involving à to express distance:
Manchester est à 400 kilomètres de Londres
Manchester is 400 kilometres (away) from London
Questions can be phrased as follows:
Combien y a-t-il de Manchester à Londres?
Quelle distance y a-t-il de Manchester à Londres?
How far is it from Manchester to London?
Prices are preceded by à when indicating a rate:
Deux timbres à 2,80 euros, s'il vous plaît
Two 2.80 euros stamps, please
Note the use of pour to indicate a quantity of something in terms of price:
Il a commandé pour 2000 euros de vin
He ordered 2000 euros' worth of wine