Cardinal numbers 70-100
Key points
- Rather than having a specific word for 70, the French say soixante-dix.
- Neither does French have specific word for 80 or 90; instead the French say quatre-vingts and quatre-vingt-dix.
The cardinal numbers 70 to 99 are more complicated. Rather than having a specific word for 70, the French say the equivalent of sixty-ten, sixty-eleven up to sixty-nineteen:
soixante-dix
seventy
soixante et onze
seventy-one
soixante-dix-neuf
seventy-nine
Neither does French have a specific word for 80 or 90; instead French says the equivalent of four twenties, four twenties one up to four twenties nineteen:
quatre-vingts
eighty
quatre-vingt-un
eighty-one
quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
ninety-nine
Notice also that quatre-vingts contains an –s on its own, but no –s when followed by another number:
quatre-vingts
eighty
quatre-vingt-dix
ninety