Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Mastering French Numbers

This is a time tested two-step method of mastering numbers. The kids do this all the time.

Step 1: Count (aloud) de un à cent (one to hundred).
Step 2: Count down (aloud) de cent à un.

Do this until you can count both ways fluently. Announcements at the train stations will never be a problem again. Be careful after the magic number 69! The pattern changes.

You can get the complete listing of numbers in French and the associated quizzes here.

Note: The picture used here belongs to Valeria Moreiro.
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3 comments:

  1. AnnetteJanuary 20, 2012 at 10:07 PM

    Hi!

    I'm a French teacher so I can help learning French numbers in 4 steps (sorry the 2 steps you used are hard-work and not really efficient...).

    Step 1: learn numbers 0-19
    And you'll see how easy it is from 17: 10 (dix)+7(sept)= dix-sept

    Step 2: learn tens and thousands
    Of course, same process for 33: 30+3

    Step 3: learn the French numbers' rule=
    You have to use the conjunction "et" for 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71

    Step 4: write like a native with 2 additional rules many learners don't know=
    # Mille (1000) is never plural
    # When vingt (20) and cent (100) are multiplied they become plural but they are singular when followed by another number

    If you want to test your knowledge in French numbers, there are interactive exercises on this page:

    http://www.learnfrenchlab.com/french-numbers.html

    I actually created this website to help people learning French for free and to support my current students.

    Enjoy it!
    X

    Annette

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    Replies
    1. Amitabh MukherjeeJanuary 20, 2012 at 11:00 PM

      Thank you Annette for your valuable feedback and the link to the interactive exercises. I will definitely try the exercises. You are right that the method you have suggested is the way to learn numbers in French. However, in this blog I expect my readers to already know a bit of French. Hence I named this post "Mastering French Numbers" instead of "Learning French Numbers". I always found repeating numbers in the reverse order is very satisfying.

      Delete
    2. French Spanish OnlineApril 29, 2014 at 5:52 AM

      Then you need to have a look at the pronunciation as dix livres is not the same as dix amis, the first is "di" and the other one is like diz, here it is explained: http://www.frenchspanishonline.com/beginnersfrench/school/nombres/nombres20.html

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