Language/French/Grammar/Measurements-and-comparisons-in-French-—-Numeral-nouns-and-approximations
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Measurements and comparisons in French — Numeral nouns and approximations
The following numeral nouns describe approximate, rather than specific, numbers:
French | English |
une dizaine | ten or so |
une quinzaine | fifteen or so |
une vingtaine | twenty or so |
une trentaine | thirty or so |
une quarantaine | forty or so |
une cinquantaine | fifty or so |
une soixantaine | sixty or so |
une centaine | a hundred or so |
- Je reviendrai dans une quinzaine (une huitaine) de jours
I'll come back in about a fortnight (a week) or so
- Il a environ la trentaine
He is thirty something
- Elle a une quarantaine d'années
She is in her forties
- J'approche de la cinquantaine
I'm approaching my fifties
une douzaine (une demi-douzaine), however, means 'a dozen (a half-dozen) exactly: une douzaine d'oeufs 'a dozen eggs'.
A variety of other expressions, when used with numbers, also express approximations:
- Ça coûte environ 30€/à peu près 30€/dans les 30€/près de 30€
That costs around/about/nearly 30 euros
- Il a cinquante ans et quelques
He is over fifty
- Il a autour de cinquante ans
He is around fifty
- Elle va sur ses vingt-six ans
She is going on twenty-six
- Le train arrive vers 11 h/aux alentours de 11 h/aux environs de 11 heures
The train arrives around 11 a.m.
NB: ans is always present when describing a person's age.
Other Chapters[edit | edit source]
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- il or ça alternating with clauses or infinitives as subjects
- Irregular plurals for nouns ending in –ail
- The irregular verb être
- Demonstrative determiners
- Regular plurals in French
- Use of an année, jour journée, matin matinée, soir soirée
- Polite Form
- Agreement with a preceding direct object in a relative clause when the participle is followed by an infinitive
- Compare numbers
- Use of il, ce, cela and ça as impersonal pronouns
- Fused forms of the definite article
- Stressed pronouns with ne — que and ni — ni — ne
- How to use half, third and quarter in French
- Formation of the passive in French
- Negations