| number | France | French-speaking Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | soixante-dix | septante (also in Belgium) |
| 71 | soixante et onze | septante et un |
| 80 | quatre-vingts | huitante (Vaud, Valais, Fribourg); quatre-vingts (Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura) |
| 90 | quatre-vingt-dix | nonante |
| 99 | quatre-vingt-dix-neuf | nonante-neuf |
Why "quatre-vingts" (four twenties)? It's an old system that counts in twenties (4 × 20). The Swiss and Belgian forms are more logical and everyone understands them.
et un for 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, 71 (vingt et un), but quatre-vingt-un. Hyphens between numbers below 100 (dix-sept, trente-deux); since the 1990 spelling reform you may link them all: vingt-et-un, deux-cent-trois.
-s on vingt and cent only when multiplied and at the end: quatre-vingts, deux cents, but quatre-vingt-trois, deux cent trois. mille never takes an -s: deux mille. un million de, un milliard de are nouns: trois millions d'habitants (three million inhabitants).
Ordinals: premier / première (first), deuxième or second, troisième, quatrième, cinquième (+ u), neuvième (f → v). Dates use the normal number, except the first: le 1er mai (1 May), le 2 mai (2 May).
Times: the 24-hour clock is common: 14 h 30 = quatorze heures trente (2.30 pm). Prices: 12,50 francs = douze francs cinquante.
Translate the words from your reading, review them as flashcards and practise with gap-fill sentences.
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