MFLE
Spanish Reference Grammar - Time, date, numbers and weather
Numbers
Numbers are of two kinds:
- cardinal - the most basic number (one, two, three etc.)
- ordinal - numbers which give the place of each article in numerical order (first, second, third etc.)
Cardinal numbers
The cardinal numbers from zero to 19 are given below.
| cero - 0 | diez - 10 |
| uno/una - 1 | once - 11 |
| dos - 2 | doce - 12 |
| tres - 3 | trece - 13 |
| cuatro - 4 | catorce - 14 |
| cinco - 5 | quince - 15 |
| seis - 6 | dieciséis - 16 |
| siete - 7 | diecisiete - 17 |
| ocho - 8 | dieciocho - 18 |
| nueve - 9 | diecinueve - 19 |
Some common cardinal numbers between 20 and one million are given below.
| veinte - 20 | setenta - 70 |
| vientiuno/ún/una - 21 | ochenta - 80 |
| veintidós - 22 | noventa - 90 |
| veintitrés - 23 | ciento - 100 |
| veinticuatro - 24 | ciento uno/a - 101 |
| veinticinco - 25 | ciento dos - 102 |
| veintiséis - 26 | doscientos/as - 200 |
| veintisiete - 27 | trescientos/as - 300 |
| veintiocho - 28 | cuatrocientos/as - 400 |
| veintinueve - 29 | quincientos/as - 500 |
| treinta - 30 | seiscientos/as - 600 |
| treinta y uno - 31 | setecientos/as - 700 |
| treinta y dos - 32 | ochocientos/as - 800 |
| cuarenta etc - 40 | novecientos/as - 900 |
| cuarenta y uno - 41 | mil - 1000 |
| cincuenta - 50 | dos mil - 2000 |
| sesenta - 60 | un millón - 1,000,000 |
Points to note about cardinal numbers
- 20s are written as one word; 30s, 40s etc as three words - eg 'venticuatro' (24); 'sesenta y dos' (62).
- Be careful with 60 and 70: 'sesenta' and 'setenta' can sound very similar.
- When immediately preceding a noun, 'ciento' (100) is shortened to 'cien', eg 'cien euros'.
- 'Uno' and numbers ending in 'uno' can be masculine or feminine - eg 'un hombre' ('one man'); 'cuarenta y una mujeres' ('41 women').
- All the 'hundred' endings have a feminine form, eg 'doscientas casas' ('200 houses') .
- Note from the list above that 500, 700 and 900 have irregular spellings - they do not just add 'cientos/as' to the single number as the others do.
- 'Mil' meaning 'thousand' never has an 's'. For example: 'dos mil'.
Ordinal numbers
The ordinal numbers from 'first' to 'tenth' are given below.
| primero/primer/primera - first (see 'Points to note about ordinal numbers', below) |
| segundo/a - second |
| tercero/tercer/tercera - third (see 'Points to note about ordinal numbers', below) |
| cuarto/a - fourth |
| quinto/a - fifth |
| sexto/a - sixth |
| séptimo/a - seventh |
| octavo/a - eighth |
| noveno/a - ninth |
| décimo/a - tenth |
Points to note about ordinal numbers
- They agree in gender with the noun which they usually precede, eg 'la primera vez' ('the first time').
- The ordinal number most likely to be needed is 'first', which is 'primero/a'. It is used in dates.
- 'Primero' and 'tercero' drop the 'o' before a masculine noun, eg 'el primer piso' ('the first floor'); 'el tercer dia' ('the third day').