Números Cardinales - Spanish RPG Grammar

🔢 Los Números Cardinales 🔢

Master the Art of Counting in Spanish!

Your Quest Begins: Welcome to the Treasury of Numbers, brave adventurer! Numbers are the foundation of communication in any language. From buying groceries to discussing ages, dates, and quantities, cardinal numbers are essential tools in your Spanish arsenal. Spanish numbers follow logical patterns once you understand the rules. Master this ancient knowledge, and you'll be able to count to millions with confidence! Let the counting quest begin!

⚠️ Why This Power Matters

Cardinal numbers are fundamental to everyday communication. You need them for prices, phone numbers, addresses, ages, dates, quantities, and so much more. Unlike English, Spanish has some special rules about gender agreement and when to use "y" (and). Once you master the patterns, you'll be able to express any number with ease!

CORE TRUTH: Spanish numbers follow PATTERNS | Learn the patterns = Count to infinity!
NÚMEROS 1-10
(The Foundation Stones - Memorise These!)

These are the most fundamental numbers. They're completely unique and must be memorised. Everything else builds upon these!

Number Spanish
1 uno
2 dos
3 tres
4 cuatro
5 cinco
6 seis
7 siete
8 ocho
9 nueve
10 diez
💡 Special Rule for UNO (1):
UNO changes depending on what comes after it!
• uno (alone, no noun after it) → "Tengo uno." (I have one.)
• un (+ masculine noun) → "un libro" (one book)
• una (+ feminine noun) → "una casa" (one house)
This also applies to 21, 31, 41... any number ending in 1!
NÚMEROS 11-15
(Five More Unique Forms)

Numbers 11-15 are also irregular and need to be memorised individually. They don't follow a pattern yet!

Number Spanish
11 once
12 doce
13 trece
14 catorce
15 quince
💡 Memorisation Tip:
Notice that 11-15 all end in -CE. Create a rhythm: "once, doce, trece, catorce, quince". Say it out loud until it becomes automatic!
NÚMEROS 16-19
(First Pattern: DIECI- + Number)

Finally, a pattern appears! Numbers 16-19 use DIECI- (from "diez" = 10) + the number 6-9. These are written as one word.

The DIECI- Pattern
DIECI + SEIS = DIECISÉIS

Notice the accent marks! They maintain the stress from the original numbers.

Number Spanish Pattern
16 dieciséis dieciséis
17 diecisiete diecisiete
18 dieciocho dieciocho
19 diecinueve diecinueve
✍️ Writing Rule:
16-19 are always written as ONE WORD. Never write "dieci seis" or "dieci-seis". It's always: dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve.
NÚMERO 20
(The Gateway to the Twenties)

Twenty is special in Spanish because it starts the VEINT- pattern for 21-29. You must learn this one!

⭐ Number 20:

20 = VEINTE

This becomes VEINT- for numbers 21-29!

NÚMEROS 21-29
(The VEINTI- Pattern - Written Together!)

Numbers 21-29 follow a special pattern: VEINTI- + the number 1-9. These are also written as one word!

The VEINTI- Pattern
VEINTI + UNO = VEINTIUNO

Just like 16-19, these form ONE WORD. The magic happens in the twenties!

Number Spanish Pattern
21 veintiuno veintiuno
22 veintidós veintidós ⚠️
23 veintitrés veintitrés ⚠️
24 veinticuatro veinticuatro
25 veinticinco veinticinco
26 veintiséis veintiséis ⚠️
27 veintisiete veintisiete
28 veintiocho veintiocho
29 veintinueve veintinueve
⚠️ Accent Alert!
Numbers 22, 23, and 26 need accent marks to maintain proper stress: veintidós, veintitrés, veintiséis. Don't forget these!
Special: 21 with Gender Agreement

Remember, veintiuno changes like uno!

veintiún libros (21 books - masculine)
tengo veintiuno = I have 21 (no noun after the number)
veintiuna casas (21 houses - feminine)

This pattern continues for 31, 41, 51... any number ending in 1!

LAS DECENAS (30, 40, 50... 90)
(The Ten Building Blocks)

The tens (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90) are unique words that you must memorise. These form the foundation for all numbers in between!

Number Spanish
30 treinta
40 cuarenta
50 cincuenta
60 sesenta
70 setenta
80 ochenta
90 noventa
💡 Pattern Recognition:
Most tens end in -ENTA! Only 30 is different (treinta). Notice how they relate to the base numbers: cuatro→cuarenta, cinco→cincuenta, seis→sesenta (becomes SE-).
NÚMEROS 31-99
(The Y Rule - Three Separate Words!)

Here's where Spanish differs from 16-29! From 31 to 99, numbers are written as THREE SEPARATE WORDS using Y (and) to connect them.

⚡ THE "Y" RULE (The Golden Pattern)

TENS + Y + ONES

31 = treinta y uno (three words!)

42 = cuarenta y dos

55 = cincuenta y cinco

68 = sesenta y ocho

79 = setenta y nueve

83 = ochenta y tres

96 = noventa y seis

Critical Comparison!
16-29: Written as ONE WORD
dieciséis, veintidós, veintinueve
31-99: Written as THREE WORDS with Y
treinta y uno, cuarenta y dos, noventa y nueve
💡 When Does Y Appear?
Y (and) only appears between tens and ones!
• ✅ treinta y cinco (35) - tens + y + ones
• ❌ NEVER in hundreds: ciento cinco (105) - NO "y"!
• ❌ NEVER in thousands: mil cien (1,100) - NO "y"!
Y is ONLY for connecting 30-90 with 1-9!
NÚMERO 100
(CIEN vs CIENTO - The Critical Distinction)

One hundred has two forms in Spanish: CIEN and CIENTO. Using the wrong one is a common mistake!

CIEN vs CIENTO Rules

Use CIEN when:

1. It stands alone: Tengo cien. (I have one hundred.)

2. Directly before a noun: cien libros (one hundred books)

3. Before mil: cien mil (one hundred thousand)

4. Before millones: cien millones (one hundred million)

Use CIENTO when:

1. Followed by another number (1-99): ciento uno, ciento cincuenta

✅ Examples:
✅ cien personas = 100 people (before noun)
✅ cien mil euros = 100,000 euros (before mil)
✅ ciento dos = 102 (before another number)
✅ ciento cincuenta = 150 (before another number)
❌ ciento libros → ✅ cien libros
🧠 Memory Trick:
Think: CIENTO = CIEN + another number (the -TO hints at "plus more")
CIEN = exactly 100, nothing after it (shorter form!)
NÚMEROS 101-199
(CIENTO + Number - NO Y!)

From 101-199, you use CIENTO + the number. CRITICAL: There is NO "Y" after ciento!

⚡ The 100s Pattern (NO Y!)

CIENTO + NUMBER

101 = ciento uno ⚠️ NO "y"!

105 = ciento cinco

120 = ciento veinte

134 = ciento treinta y cuatro (Y only between tens and ones!)

156 = ciento cincuenta y seis

199 = ciento noventa y nueve

⚠️ Common Mistake Alert!
❌ ciento y uno (WRONG!)
✅ ciento uno (CORRECT!)

The "Y" ONLY goes between tens (30-90) and ones (1-9). It NEVER goes after hundreds!
LAS CENTENAS (200, 300... 900)
(Gender Agreement Alert! 🚨)

Here's where Spanish gets juicy! The hundreds from 200-900 have GENDER AGREEMENT, they change ending based on whether the noun is masculine or feminine!

GENDER AGREEMENT IN HUNDREDS!

Unlike 100 (cien/ciento) which never changes, 200-900 have masculine and feminine forms!

♂️ MASCULINE (-OS)

Use with masculine nouns

doscientos libros
(200 books)

trescientos euros
(300 euros)

♀️ FEMININE (-AS)

Use with feminine nouns

doscientas casas
(200 houses)

trescientas personas
(300 people)

Number Masculine Feminine
200 doscientos doscientas
300 trescientos trescientas
400 cuatrocientos cuatrocientas
500 quinientos quinientas
600 seiscientos seiscientas
700 setecientos setecientas
800 ochocientos ochocientas
900 novecientos novecientas
Complete Examples with Gender:
doscientos libros = 200 books (masculine)
doscientas páginas = 200 pages (feminine)
quinientos euros = 500 euros (masculine)
quinientas libras = 500 pounds (feminine)
setecientos coches = 700 cars (masculine)
setecientas personas = 700 people (feminine)
💡 Gender Agreement Rule:
Only 200-900 change for gender!
• 100 (cien/ciento) = NEVER changes
• 1,000+ (mil, millón) = NEVER change*
• But 200-900 = ALWAYS agree with the noun's gender!

*Except "millón" which we'll cover below
Building Numbers 201-999

Combine hundreds with the patterns you already know!

234 = doscientos treinta y cuatro

567 = quinientos sesenta y siete

789 = setecientos ochenta y nueve

999 = novecientos noventa y nueve

Remember: Y only between tens and ones!

NÚMERO 1,000
(MIL - Never Plural for "One"!)

One thousand in Spanish is MIL. Unlike English, you NEVER say "un mil" for 1,000!

The MIL Rules

Rule 1: One Thousand

❌ un mil (WRONG!)

✅ mil (CORRECT!)

mil libros = 1,000 books (NOT "un mil libros"!)

Rule 2: MIL Never Changes for Gender

✅ mil euros (masculine) = 1000 euros

✅ mil libras (feminine) = 1000 pounds

Same word for both!

Rule 3: Multiple Thousands Use MIL (singular!)

❌ dos miles (WRONG!)

✅ dos mil (CORRECT!)

✅ tres mil = 3,000

✅ cinco mil = 5,000

✅ diez mil = 10,000

⚠️ Common Mistake Alert!
English speakers often want to say "un mil" because we say "one thousand" in English. DON'T DO IT!

• ✅ mil = 1,000
• ✅ dos mil = 2,000
• ✅ tres mil = 3,000
• ❌ un mil, dos miles, tres miles = ALL WRONG!
NÚMEROS 1,001 - 999,999
(Building Large Numbers - The Complete Pattern)

Now you can combine everything you've learnt to create numbers in the thousands! The pattern is logical once you understand it.

The Large Number Formula
THOUSANDS + MIL + HUNDREDS + TENS Y ONES

Each section follows the rules you've already learnt!

Examples Building Up

1,234 = mil doscientos treinta y cuatro
(mil + 200 + 30 y 4)

2,500 = dos mil quinientos
(2 mil + 500)

15,678 = quince mil seiscientos setenta y ocho
(15 mil + 600 + 70 y 8)

99,999 = noventa y nueve mil novecientos noventa y nueve
(99 mil + 900 + 90 y 9)

365,789 = trescientos sesenta y cinco mil setecientos ochenta y nueve
(365 mil + 700 + 80 y 9)

🧠 Strategy for Building Large Numbers:
1. Break the number into chunks: thousands + hundreds + tens & ones
2. Say the thousands part + "mil"
3. Add the hundreds (remember gender agreement!)
4. Add tens "y" ones (only Y here!)
5. Never use Y between thousands, hundreds, or tens + hundreds!
LOS MILLONES
(Millions - Different Rules!)

Millions in Spanish work differently from thousands. Here are the special rules you need to know!

MILLÓN / MILLONES Rules

Rule 1: One Million

✅ un millón (we DO use "un" here, unlike mil!)

✅ un millón de euros = 1 million euros

Rule 2: Plural MILLONES

✅ dos millones = 2 million (plural!)

✅ tres millones = 3 million

✅ cien millones = 100 million

Rule 3: DE Before Nouns

✅ un millón de personas

✅ dos millones de dólares

⚠️ If there's another number after millón, NO "DE":
dos millones quinientos mil (2,500,000) euros

Rule 4: MILLÓN Has Gender Agreement!

❌ un millón (masculine - but this is standard!)

Actually, millón itself doesn't change, but numbers before it do!
doscientos millones (200 million - masculine)
doscientas millones (200 million - feminine)
The "millones" is always masculine, so numbers agree with it!

Complete Million Examples:
1,000,000 = un millón
2,000,000 = dos millones
1,500,000 = un millón quinientos mil
2,345,678 = dos millones trescientos cuarenta y cinco mil seiscientos setenta y ocho
un millón de habitantes = 1 million inhabitants
tres millones de euros = 3 million euros
Mil vs Millón Key Differences:
MIL (1,000):
• No "un" → just "mil"
• Always singular (dos mil, never dos miles)
• No "de" before nouns

MILLÓN (1,000,000):
• Use "un" → "un millón"
• Has plural "millones"
• Needs "de" before nouns (un millón de...)

📋 Complete Rule Summary

The Complete Y (AND) Rule

Y ONLY appears between TENS (30-90) and ONES (1-9)!

✅ treinta y cinco (35) - between tens and ones

✅ doscientos cuarenta y siete (247) - only between 40 and 7

❌ ciento y uno → ✅ ciento uno

❌ mil y cien → ✅ mil cien

❌ doscientos y treinta → ✅ doscientos treinta

Writing Numbers: One Word vs Separate

ONE WORD (written together):

• 16-19: dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve

• 21-29: veintiuno, veintidós, veintitrés, veinticuatro... veintinueve

SEPARATE WORDS:

• 31-99: treinta y uno, cuarenta y dos, noventa y nueve

• 100+: ciento cinco, doscientos treinta, mil quinientos

Gender Agreement Rules

NUMBERS THAT CHANGE:

• UNO → un (masc.) / una (fem.) - and 21, 31, 41, etc.

• 200-900 → -os (masc.) / -as (fem.)

NUMBERS THAT NEVER CHANGE:

• 100 (cien/ciento)

• 1,000 (mil)

• All other numbers

🌟 ¡Enhorabuena, Aventurero! 🌟

You've mastered the complete system of Spanish cardinal numbers! From uno to millones, you now have the power to express any quantity in Spanish. Remember the key rules: "Y" only between tens and ones, gender agreement for 200-900, cien vs ciento, and mil never needs "un". Now you're ready to count your way through any Spanish adventure! ¡A practicar!

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