【英文版西语语法】Cardinal Numbers 101+

 While you may not think about it, numbers are adjectives too! Cardinal numbers are adjectives that answer the question, how many. They indicate a specific number of a noun but don’t have to match that noun in gender or number except for a few cases (uno , ciento ).

 

Cardinal numbers above 100 function a lot like numbers below 100 but for a few exceptions. Instead of using cien , the Spanish word for 100, you will use ciento .

Hay cuatrocientos noventa y dos dulces en el tarro.

There are 492 candies in the jar.

 

Invitamos a ciento cincuenta personas a nuestra boda.

We invited 150 people to our wedding.

 

Nací en mil novecientos ochenta y cuatro.

I was born in 1984.

 

To form numbers 101-199, combine the number for 100 (ciento) with any number below 100.

 

101

ciento uno

 

102

ciento dos

 

103

ciento tres

 

104

ciento cuatro

 

105

ciento cinco

 

120

ciento veinte

 

130

ciento treinta

 

140

ciento cuarenta

 

155

ciento cincuenta y cinco

 

169

ciento sesenta y nueve

 

Notice that you do not use y to separate the hundreds from tens. Y is only used in numbers 31-99 and other multiples of those numbers (131-199, 231-299, 331-399, etc.)

To form multiples of 100, most numbers are a combination of the numbers 1-9 + cientos, the plural form of ciento. There are, however, exceptions, so keep an eye out!

 

200

doscientos

 

300

trescientos

 

400

cuatrocientos

 

500 quinientos  (irregular!)

600

seiscientos

 

700 setecientos  (irregular!)

800

ochocientos

 

900 novecientos  (irregular!)

To form numbers up to 999, apply the rules you have already learned.

 

115

ciento quince

 

237

doscientos treinta y siete

 

493

cuatrocientos noventa y tres

 

748

setecientos cuarenta y ocho

 

999

novecientos noventa y nueve

 

Above 1,000, you can add simple cardinal numbers in front of mil  (1,000).

 

2,000

dos mil

 

13,000

trece mil

 

48,526

cuarenta y ocho mil quinientos veintiséis

 

75,372

setenta y cinco mil trescientos setenta y dos

 

99,999

noventa y nueve mil novecientos noventa y nueve

 

The multiples of 1,000 are extremely useful since you will be using them to express dates.

 

1776 - mil setecientos setenta y seis  

1999 - mil novecientos noventa y nueve  

2011 - dos mil once  

Above 999,999, you just need to learn the words for one million (un millón ) and one billion (mil millones ) and follow all the previous rules.

 

1,000,000

un millón

 

4,876,423

cuatro millones ochocientos setenta y seis mil cuatrocientos veintitrés

 

981,432,875

novecientos ochenta y un millones cuatrocientos treinta y dos mil ochocientos setenta y cinco

 

1,000,000,000

mil millones

 

78,902,465,231

setenta y ocho mil millones novecientos dos millones cuatrocientos sesenta y cinco mil doscientos treinta y uno

 

1,000,000,000,000

un billón

 

Notice that un millón  and un billón  are nouns, not adjectives like other numbers, and thus, they will have plural versions (dos millones , tres billones , etc.)

Note on extremely large numbers:

In English, the pattern of number grouping generally repeats itself after every three digits so that a newly named number grouping occurs at each successive interval.

 

1,000 = one thousand

1,000,000 = one million

1,000,000,000 = one billion

1,000,000,000,000 = one trillion

In Spanish, however, the pattern of introducing new numerical terms occurs once every six digits. Instead of introducing the term billón after 999,999,999 (as it is in English), it is only introduced after exhausting the thousand million/mil millones place value holders, which creates several false cognates!

 

1,000 = un mil  = one thousand

1,000,000 = un millón  = one million

1,000,000,000 = un mil millones  = one billion

1,000,000,000,000 = un billón  = one trillion