Mais ....... People in Switzerland use Septante for Soxiante-Dix And Nonante for Quatre-Vingts
What if we write these in kwiz/test ?
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
Ma grand-mère a quatre-vingt-quatorze ans.
My grandmother is ninety-four years old.
Mon oncle a soixante-douze poules.
My uncle has seventy-two hens.
Laurent a dépensé soixante-dix-huit euros hier.
Laurent spent seventy-eight euros yesterday.
J'ai quatre-vingt-trois dollars dans ma tirelire.
I have eighty-three dollars in my piggy bank.
Il y a quatre-vingt-dix-neuf animaux dans ce zoo.
There are ninety-nine animals in that zoo.
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
Ma grand-mère a quatre-vingt-quatorze ans.
My grandmother is ninety-four years old.
Mon oncle a soixante-douze poules.
My uncle has seventy-two hens.
quatre-vingt-trois
eighty-three
Il y a quatre-vingt-dix-neuf animaux dans ce zoo.
There are ninety-nine animals in that zoo.
soixante-dix-sept
seventy-seven
J'ai quatre-vingt-trois dollars dans ma tirelire.
I have eighty-three dollars in my piggy bank.
quatre-vingt-quinze
ninety-five
Laurent a dépensé soixante-dix-huit euros hier.
Laurent spent seventy-eight euros yesterday.
quatre-vingt-quatorze
ninety-four
Q&A Forum 2 questions, 5 answers
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 ?
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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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