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Knowing numbers and counting in French is a really useful skill. In this section, you can learn more about numbers and numeracy in French.

In English, you use the verb 'to be' to say how old you are but in French, you use the verb 'to have' - avoir:

• J'ai __ ans

• J'ai sept ans - I am seven years old

So it is like saying 'I have seven years' rather than 'I am seven years old' as we do in English.

Did you notice that the word for 'I' has changed from Je to J'? This is because it appears in front of a vowel.

Here are some useful phrases to practise saying how old you are:

Asking someone's age

To ask someone how old they are, you first need a question phrase quel âge (what age).

Then use the word for 'you' – tu with 'have' – as.

• Quel âge as-tu ? – How old are you?

So it is like saying 'What age do you have?'.

Once you’ve learned how to count in French, you can extend your knowledge and skills by trying out some simple calculations!

How would you say these calculations in French?

Ordinal numbers are how we say 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.

• le premier - the 1st
• le deuxième - the 2nd
• le troisième - the 3rd
• le quatrième - the 4th
• le cinquième - the 5th

Tip: The only one of these we use for dates in French is le premier ('the 1st').

Example:

Aujourd'hui c'est le premier mai - Today is the 1st of May

All other dates just use the number.

Example

Demain est le deux mai - Tomorrow is the 2nd of May

Cardinal points are the points of the compass (north, south, east, west, etc). They are useful for describing where things are and are quite similar to our words in English.

(Tip: The word for words which are recognisable across languages is 'cognates'. You will come across a lot of these in French as a lot of English and French words have the same roots!)

You can combine two cardinal points to give a more specific location, just like in English.

Example:

Le nord-est - the north-east

Can you guess these ones?

To say 'in' + a compass point, we use the word dans which means 'in'.

Examples:

• Dans le sud - in the south
• Dans le nord-est - in the north-east

You can link this to talking about where you live:

• J’habite à Edimbourg dans l’est de l’Ecosse - I live in Edinburgh in the east of Scotland
• J’habite à Hawick dans le sud de l’Ecosse - I live in Hawick in the south of Scotland
• J’habite à Ullapool dans le nord-ouest de l’Ecosse - I live in Ullapool in the north-west of Scotland