This is not a full sentence. ‘How far does she live?’ How far does she live from what?
Between 20 and 69, the numbers follow the same pattern:
20: vingt -> 23: vingt-trois
40: quarante -> 41: quarante et un
Note: No hyphen with 'et'
70 = soixante-dix
In French, we actually say "sixty-ten" (60 + 10) to express 'seventy'.
71 = 60 + 11 = soixante et onze (No hyphen)
72 = 60 + 12 = soixante-douze
73 = 60 + 13 = soixante-treize
74 = 60 + 14 = soixante-quatorze
75 = 60 + 15 = soixante-quinze
76 = 60 + 16 = soixante-seize
77 = 60 + 17 = soixante-dix-sept
78 = 60 + 18 = soixante-dix-huit
79 = 60 + 19 = soixante-dix-neuf
80 = quatre-vingts
In French, to express 'eighty', we actually say "four-twenties"
(4 x 20).
Note that quatre-vingts takes an 's' when on its own, but the 's' disappears when it is followed by another number.
85 = quatre-vingt-cinq
89 = quatre-vingt-neuf
Note also that 81 does "quatre-vingt-un" with no et inbetween.
90 = quatre-vingt-dix
As for seventy, ninety becomes "eighty-ten" (80 + 10) in French.
91 = 80 + 11 = quatre-vingt-onze (Note: NO et, just like 81)
92 = 80 + 12 = quatre-vingt-douze
93 = 80 + 13 = quatre-vingt-treize
94 = 80 + 14 = quatre-vingt-quatorze
95 = 80 + 15 = quatre-vingt-quinze
96 = 80 + 16 = quatre-vingt-seize
97 = 80 + 17 = quatre-vingt-dix-sept
98 = 80 + 18 = quatre-vingt-dix-huit
99 = 80 + 19 = quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
Numbers + nouns
Note that to say how many things there are, you simply use the number + thing (plural after 1), for numbers up to 999.
For larger numbers, see lesson Expressing large numbers: thousands, millions and billions
Examples and resources
Q&A Forum 3 questions, 7 answers
SandraKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Question doesn’t make sense
"Elle habite à quatre-vingts kilomètres d'ici." How far does she live?
Asked 1 month ago
Hi Sandra,
Q: How far does she live? = Elle habite loin d'ici?
A: She lives eighty km from here = Elle habite à quatre-vingts km d'ici
Ici= here
wherever you want it to be, it is an example testing numbers.
Hope this helps!
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
"How far does she live" is a bit colloquial in English (at least to my American trained ears). It would be better to say "How far away..." or "How far off..." or "How far from here...".
Sandra asked:View original
Question doesn’t make sense
"Elle habite à quatre-vingts kilomètres d'ici." How far does she live?
This is not a full sentence. ‘How far does she live?’ How far does she live from what?
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Madhavi LathaKwiziq community member
Doubts in Dialects
Mais ....... People in Switzerland use Septante for Soxiante-Dix And Nonante for Quatre-Vingts
What if we write these in kwiz/test ?
Asked 6 months ago
They'd be graded as a mistake. But it is an interesting question also from a linguistic and historic point of view. Because septante, huitante/octante nd nonante used to be the proper way in France, too, up to about 100 or so years ago.
Here is a discussion you might find interesting: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/french-numbers-septante-huitante-octante-nonante-soixante-dix-quatre-vingts-quatre-vingt-dix.4205/
And for the record, I find quatre-vingt-dix-neuf a ludicrous way to cobble together 99: 4-20-10-9? Come on! :)
CécileKwiziq team member
Hi Madhavi,
Unfortunately the use of these archaic numbers still make French people smile and are not acceptable in French from France.
Madhavi Latha asked:View original
Doubts in Dialects
Mais ....... People in Switzerland use Septante for Soxiante-Dix And Nonante for Quatre-Vingts
What if we write these in kwiz/test ?
Don't have an account yet? Join today
StevenKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Alternative Numbers
Just a fun fact for those who might not know - A lot of Swiss and Belgians will use septante (70), huitante (80) and nonante (90) to replace soixante-dix, quatre-vingts and quatre-vingt-dix
Asked 1 year ago
Hi Steven,
Your will hear 'octante' also for 80 (quatre-vingt) and a combination of all in Belgium and certain cantons of Switzerland but I believe time are changing...
However, what is certain and that these numbers are very amusing to French ears!
Hope this helps!
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Hi Steven,
that would really make a lot of sense. The number 99 being represented in French as : 4 times 20 plus 19 (quatre-vingt-dix-huit) requires some getting used to.
-- Chris.
Steven asked:View original
Alternative Numbers
Just a fun fact for those who might not know - A lot of Swiss and Belgians will use septante (70), huitante (80) and nonante (90) to replace soixante-dix, quatre-vingts and quatre-vingt-dix
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