Lesson 5 Numbers

In the last lesson you learned about some ways Spanish uses the verb “to be.” We’ll learn
more about that in Chapter 2.4. Now, it’s time to learn Spanish numbers.
Starting out: 0 to 35

0 – cero 12 – doce 24 – veinticuatro

1 – uno 13 – trece 25 – veinticinco
2 – dos 14 – catorce 26 – veintiséis
3 – tres 15 – quince 27 – veintisiete
4 – cuatro 16 – dieciséis 28 – veintiocho
5 – cinco 17 – diecisiete 29 – veintinueve
6 – seis 18 – dieciocho 30 – treinta
7 – siete 19 – diecinueve 31 – treinta y uno
8 – ocho 20 – veinte 32 – treinta y dos
9 – nueve 21 – veintiuno 33 – treinta y tres
10 – diez 22 – veintidós 34 – treinta y cuatro
11 – once 23 – veintitrés 35 – treinta y cinco

Once you master the basic pattern, you can construct any number. For example, how would
you say 135? Simply remember: 135 = 100 + 30 + “and” + 5.
Ciento + treinta + y + cinco = ciento treinta y cinco
Although the number 100 is cien, any number between 101 and 199 starts with ciento.
199 = ciento + noventa + y + nueve = ciento noventa y nueve
Asking How Much or How Many

60 – sesenta y uno

70 – setenta

90 noventa y uno

100 – cien

Cientouno

Ciento noventa y nueve

500 – quinientos

Seis cientos

Setecientos uno

Ocho cientos
Novecientos

1000 mil

1001 mil uno

1100 milcien

1101 mil cientouno

1200 mil doscientos

In Spanish, the question “How many?” is asked with one simple word:
¿Cuántos?

If you are asking how many oranges (las naranjas) there are, however, you must ask, “¿Cuántas?”
as oranges are feminine.

If you want to know how much something costs (el costo), ask: “¿Cuánto cuesta?” Can
you guess why you use cuánto instead of cuántos Here’s a hint: is “el costo” singular
or plural?

A response to “How many?” will often begin “There are….” For example,
How many (orange are there)? ¿Cuántas (naranjas hay)?
There are 10 oranges. Hay diez naranjas.
Fortunately, in Spanish there is no difference between “there is” and “there are.” You can
say both of them with a single word:
hay
You can also use “hay” to ask the questions: “Is there?” or “Are there?”

Por ejemplo:
1. ¿Cuántas cosas hay en la maleta?
No hay nada.
- How many things are in the bag?
There isn’t anything

2. ¿Hay flores en tu jardín?

No hay flores en mi jardín.
- Are there flowers in your garden?

Los Ba
 There are no flowers in my garden.

3. ¿Cuántas manzanas hay en el refrigerador?

Hay una manzana en el refrigerador.
- How many apples are there in the refrigerator?
There is one apple in the fridge.
You may also be interested to know that the words unos and unas can also mean “some.” For
example:
• Tengo unas flores. I have some flowers.
• Quiero unos pantalones. I want some pants.-
Numbers from 101

Be careful … some of these numbers can be tricky.

101 ciento uno 1100 mil cien
102 ciento dos 2000 dos mil
110 ciento diez 3000 tres mil
150 ciento cincuenta 5000 cinco mil
200 dos cientos 100,000 cien mil
500 quinientos 500,000 quinientos mil
700 setecientos 1,000,000 un millón (de)
900 novecientos 2,000,000 dos millones (de)
1000 mil 100,000,000 cien millones (de)

Unlike English, you do not say “one thousand” for the number 1000 in Spanish (un mil is
incorrect), but simply use the word “mil.”
Also note that when you get to the thousands, the word for “thousand” in Spanish, mil, does
not have a separate plural form. Two thousand is dos mil, NOT ‘dos miles.’
The only time mil is used in its plural form (miles) is when you talk about “thousands” of
something in general, using it in the sense of “many” rather than any particular number. For
example,
Hay miles de peces en el mar.
- There are thousands of fish in the sea.
Tengo un millón doscientos mil quinientos pesos en el banco.
- I have 1,200,500 pesos in the bank.
Hay cincuenta mil automóviles en la carretera.
- There are 50,000 automobiles on the highway.

En Chile hay más o menos trece millones de habitantes.

- In Chile, there are more or less 13,000,000 inhabitants.
Don’t Forget the Gender

Not only will you continue to change the gender of numbers ending in 1 when used as a
quantity, you will also change the gender of numbers ending in –tos (i.e., the hundreds) to
reflect the noun they describe.

Por ejemplo:
1. El rancho tiene cuatrocientas vacas.
- The ranch has four hundred cows.
2. Hay dos cientas niñas en la escuela.
- There are two hundred girls in the school.
3. Manejamos seiscientos clientes en mi compañía.
- We manage six hundred clients in my company.
Reverse Puncuation: How to Write Big Numbers

If you are in Spain and about to write down a number for some Spanish friends, you need to be
careful with your punctuation! Periods and commas are reversed in Spanish numbers. For
example, if you want to tell them that something costs $12,870.65, you need to write it down as
$12.870,65.
Although some parts of the Spanish-speaking world do follow the American convention, it helps
to know that €99,95 is not a typo in Spain, so don’t go looking for a missing final digit!
Lesson 6 Telling the time

Do you want to know what time it is? Asking the time is simple in Spanish. All you need to ask
is:
¿Qué hora es?
Literally, this question means: What hour is it? But we translate it as: What time is it?
If you wish to ask a stranger for the time in a more polite way, you could say
¿Me puede decir la hora, por favor?
This question means, Can you please tell me the time?
You already have all the vocabulary you need to understand the answer. All you need are the
verb ser and the numbers.
The sentence structure for telling the time is similar to English.
What time is it? – It is twelve thirty.
¿Qué hora es? – Son las doce y media.
In most cases, you will start the answer with Son las….
Por ejemplo:
1. ¿Qué hora es? (9:25) – Son las nueve y veinticinco.
2. ¿Me puede decir la hora, por favor? (3:32) –Son las tres y treinta y dos.
Exception at One O’Clock

Nevertheless, there is an exception. If it is only one o’clock, you will start the answer with Es
la….
¿Qué hora es? (1:00) – Es la una

That is because the verb ser must agree with the quantity of the subject, hours.
Do you know why the feminine “la” and “las” are used?
Hint: what gender is “hora”?- 32
International Variations

In some parts of the Spanish-speaking world, you hear the question, “¿Qué hora es?” asked as
“¿Qué hora son?” Your answer will always begin “Son las…”, regardless of whether the hour
that follows is singular or multiple. Por ejemplo … “¿Qué hora son?” “Son las una.”
Talking about Quarter Hours and Thirty Minutes

As in English, you can also tell the time in 15- or 30-minute chunks.
15 min/quarter = cuarto
30 min/half = media
Por ejemplo:
1. ¿Qué hora es? (2:15) – Son las dos y cuarto. It’s a quarter past two.
2. ¿Qué hora es? (1:30) – Es la una y media. It’s half past one.
You can also tell how much time remains until striking the hour. For example,
a quarter to… = cuarto para las…
Por ejemplo:
1. ¿Qué hora es? (3:45) – Es cuarto para las cuatro.
2. ¿Qué hora es? (2:55) – Son cinco para las tres.
Is it Morning or Night?

You can indicate morning or afternoon by using am and pm just as you would in English.
Alternatively, you may say
de la mañana for in the morning
de la tarde for in the afternoon, or
de la noche for in the evening.
Por ejemplo:
1. ¿Qué hora es? (10:23am) – Son las diez y veintitrés de la mañana
2. ¿Qué hora es? (6:05pm) – Son las seis y cinco de la tarde
3. ¿Qué hora es? (11:45pm) – Es cuarto para las doce de la noche

Asking at What Time Something will Occur

When you need to ask the time that a meeting or certain activity is going to take place, you can
use the phrase:
¿A qué hora…?
This means, At what time…?

Por ejemplo:
1. ¿A qué hora te levantaste hoy?
- At what time did you get up today?

2. ¿A qué hora nos juntamos esta noche?

- At what time should we meet tonight?
.

Vocabulary List #1
Spanish English
SUSTANTIVOS NOUNS
actor (el) actor
ajo (el) garlic
artista (el, la) artist
atleta (el, la) athlete
automóvil (el) automobile
avión (el) airplane
banco (el) bank, bench
boleto de avión (el) plane ticket
carretera (la) highway
chica (la) girl
chico (el) boy
cliente (el, la) client
compañía (la) company
computadora (la) computer
contribución (la) contribution
conversación (la) conversation
cosa (la) thing
costo (el) cost
cuchillo (el) knife
destrucción (la) destruction
día (el) day
dinero (el) money
doctor (el) doctor
doctora (la) doctor (female)
edad (la) age
escuela (la) school
España Spain
estudiante (el, la) student
familia (la) family
flor (la) flower
florero (el) vase
futuro (el) future
gata (la) cat (female)
gato (el) cat (male)
gracias (las) thanks
guitarra (la) guitar
habitante (el, la) inhabitant
hombre (el) man
hora (la) hour
invitación (la) invitation
jardín (el) garden
mano (la) hand
lápiz (el) pencil
librería (la) bookstore
libro (el) book
maleta (la) bag, suitcase
manzana (la) apple
mañana (la) tomorrow
mar (el) sea
mujer (la) woman
naranja (la) orange
niña (la) girl
noche (la) night
novia (la) girlfriend
Nueva Zelanda New Zealand
padres (los) parents
país (el) country
pantalones (los) pants
pasaje de tren (el) train fare
pasaporte (el) passport
pelo (el) hair
perra (la) dog (female)
perro (el) dog (male)
pesa (la) weight
pez (el) fish
pianista (el, la) pianist
piloto (el) pilot
problema (el) problem
profesora (la) professor (female)
puerta de salida (la) exit door
puerta (la) door
rancho (el) ranch
refrigerador (el) refrigerator
señor (el) gentleman, Mr.
señora (la) lady, Mrs.
sistema (el) system
sociedad (la) society
tarde (la) afternoon
universidad (la) university
vaca (la) cow
ventana (la) window
VERBOS VERBS

comprar to buy

correr to run

cortar to cut

costar to cost

decir to say, to tell

estar to be (temporary state e.g,

health, emotion)

gustar to be pleasing to (to like)

juntarse to get together, to join
levantar to lift
levantarse to get up
llorar to cry
manejar to manage, to drive
necesitar to need
poder to be able to, can, may
salir to leave
ser to be (permanent condition)
tener to have
tocar to touch
ver to see