French Number Expressions

There are several confusing pairs and difficult expressions related to French numbers.

I.	The numbering system of the floors in a building may be difficult for American English speakers.
		American English	British English
	Rez-de-chaussée Premier étage Deuxième étage	First floor Second floor Third floor	Ground floor First floor Second floor
II.	The meaning of premier changes depending on the preposition that precedes it.
	Au premier Au premier étage	At/On the first On the second floor	On the first floor
	En premier En premier lieu	The first in a sequence In the first place, Firstly
	De premier/première (prix, qualité)	The top (prize) or best (quality)
III.	There are two French words for the adjective second (2nd): second and deuxième. They are essentially interchangeable, but there is a general, not always followed guideline:
	Second is often used when something is the second in a series of only two things. Deuxième tends to be used when there's a third, fourth, etc. Following this guideline allows you to add some interesting nuances to your words.
	La seconde guerre mondiale	World War II (the second and last)
	La deuxième guerre mondiale	World War II (the second of how many?)
IV.	There are two words for third and fourth.
	troisième un tiers	third (in a series) one third
	quatrième un quart	fourth (in a series) one fourth
	For 5 and up, the same word is used for both fractions and ordinal numbers.
V.	In economics, un trimestre means three months. Its English equivalent is a quarter.

   

Test on confusing numbers Related lessons Cardinal numbers     Ordinal numbers More confusing pairs     French Grammar

   

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