Collective numbers are numbers used when dealing with an approximate number – higher than 7 – of items or when it’s a pack of items, such as a dozen eggs.
- Most of French collective numbers are formed by adding -aine to the number itself.
--> vingt : une vingtaine (de) means about 20, or a pack of 20.
.
- If the number itself ends with an -e, the -e is dropped
--> douze : une douzaine (de)
--> trente : une trentaine (de)
.
- If the number ends with a -x, the -x becomes a –z
--> dix : une dizaine (de)
.
- Big collective numbers work a bit differently. Don’t add –aine to the number, but rather un [number] de:
--> un millier (de), un million (de), un milliard (de)
--> a thousand (of), a million (of), a billion (of)
.
- Note that before a noun, the preposition DE is added
--> une douzaine d’œufs: a dozen eggs
How to say “a person in her/his --ties”
- un/e trentenaire -- a person in her/his thirties
- un/e quarantenaire -- a person in her/his forties
- un/e cinquantenaire or quinquagénaire -- a person in her/his fifties
- un/e sexagénaire* -- a person in her/his sixties
- un/e septuagénaire -- a person in her/his seventies
- un/e octogénaire -- a person in her/his eighties
- un/e nonagénaire -- a person in her/his nineties
- un/e centenaire -- a person 100 years-old or older
* un soixantenaire est le soixantième anniversaire
Related: Buying Food . Chiffres, nombres ou numéro .
Recent Comments