I can say and write out any number from zero to twenty, read out my phone number digit by digit, and ask the four key questions for getting to know someone.
Numbers up to twenty and four key questions
Numbers up to twenty and four key questions
From 0 to 15 each number is its own word. The numbers 16 to 19 are built from “ten and …” but written as one word: dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve; twenty is veinte. Only dieciséis has an accent mark: without it, the stress would fall on another syllable.
Phone numbers go one digit at a time: Es el seis, uno, siete, dos, cuatro, cero, cinco. In Spain they're also read in pairs — that comes later.
Counting: Cuatro y cinco son nueve. ¿Cuántos son once y dos? — Son trece. English “What's…? — It's…” becomes cuántos and the plural son. The feminine cuántas comes later.
The question words are in the table; ¿ opens each question. In them, tu means “your”; words like “my” and “his” come in the next module.
Only the accent mark separates tu (“your”) from tú (“you”), and el (“the”) from él (“he”): leave it out and the word changes. By ear, the place in the sentence tells them apart.
In a question the subject often follows the verb: ¿Es usted el señor Cifuentes?
Common mistakes:
• NOT “diez y seis” — dieciséis is one word.
• NOT “dieziséis” — the letter here is c, not z.
• NOT “¿Qué es tu número de teléfono?” — English “What is your…?” takes cuál here.
• NOT “¿Cuántos es dos y dos?” — counting takes son.
• NOT “Cómo te llamas?” — the question also needs ¿ at the start: ¿Cómo te llamas?
• NOT “Es tú número” — “your” is tu, with no accent mark.
Numbers from zero to twenty
From 16 to 19, each number is written as one word; only dieciséis has an accent mark.
| Digits | In words |
|---|---|
| 0 · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 | cero · uno · dos · tres · cuatro · cinco |
| 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 | seis · siete · ocho · nueve · diez |
| 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 | once · doce · trece · catorce · quince |
| 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 | dieciséis · diecisiete · dieciocho · diecinueve · veinte |
Question words and their answers
The ¿ mark goes at the very start of the question.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| ¿Cómo te llamas? | Me llamo Álvaro. |
| ¿Quién es? | Es la señora Ortega. |
| ¿Cuál es tu nombre? | Es Carlos. |
| ¿Cuántos son dos y cuatro? | Son seis. |
| ¿De dónde eres? | Soy de Inglaterra. |
Lesson notes
Numbers up to twenty and four key questions
From 0 to 15 each number is its own word. The numbers 16 to 19 are built from “ten and …” but written as one word: dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve; twenty is veinte. Only dieciséis has an accent mark: without it, the stress would fall on another syllable.
Phone numbers go one digit at a time: Es el seis, uno, siete, dos, cuatro, cero, cinco. In Spain they're also read in pairs — that comes later.
Counting: Cuatro y cinco son nueve. ¿Cuántos son once y dos? — Son trece. English “What's…? — It's…” becomes cuántos and the plural son. The feminine cuántas comes later.
The question words are in the table; ¿ opens each question. In them, tu means “your”; words like “my” and “his” come in the next module.
Only the accent mark separates tu (“your”) from tú (“you”), and el (“the”) from él (“he”): leave it out and the word changes. By ear, the place in the sentence tells them apart.
In a question the subject often follows the verb: ¿Es usted el señor Cifuentes?
Common mistakes:
• NOT “diez y seis” — dieciséis is one word.
• NOT “dieziséis” — the letter here is c, not z.
• NOT “¿Qué es tu número de teléfono?” — English “What is your…?” takes cuál here.
• NOT “¿Cuántos es dos y dos?” — counting takes son.
• NOT “Cómo te llamas?” — the question also needs ¿ at the start: ¿Cómo te llamas?
• NOT “Es tú número” — “your” is tu, with no accent mark.