VocabularyNumbers, Dates & Time in French Numbers, Dates & Time in French Cardinal Numbers We use cardinal numbers to count, make calculations, and say how many of something there is. Examples: 1 – un 2 – deux 3 – trois Ordinal Numbers Ordinal numbers allow us to rank things or place them in order. Examples: le premier enfantthe first child le deuxième étagethe second floor la troisième portethe third door Fractions Fractions allow us to talk about parts of a whole. They are not just used in mathematics, but also in other day-to-day contexts such as recipes. Examples: un demi-litre de laithalf a litre of milk trois-quarts de gâteauthree quarters of the cake Time There are two ways to say the time in French; one is formal and the other is informal. We cannot mix the two. Examples: 19 h 15 → dix-neuf heures quinze (formal) 19 h 15 → sept heures et quart (informal) Dates, Days & Months There is a standard method for saying the date in French. We use cardinal numbers for all dates except for the first of the month. Examples: 14 juillet 1789 1er janvier 2010
