2.5 Numbers, Dates, Time & Measurement
Key Takeaways
Cardinal numbers are invariable except uno and the hundreds: veintiuna sillas, doscientas personas.
Ciento shortens to cien before a noun and before mil and millones, but stays ciento in 101 through 199.
Dates use cardinal numbers and the order day-month-year: el 15 de marzo de 2026, with primero the only ordinal.
Clock time uses ser plus the feminine article agreeing with the hour: es la una, son las tres y media.
Spanish separates decimals with a comma and thousands with a period in most varieties: 1.500 personas, 3,75 metros.
2.5 Numbers, Dates, Time & Measurement
Numbers are where a listening section punishes casual preparation. A train announcement gives a platform, a departure time in the 24-hour clock, and a check-in deadline in minutes — three numerical facts inside twenty seconds of audio, played once. Reading them slowly on a page is a different skill from catching them at speed, so learn the forms cold.
1. Cardinal Numbers and Their Agreement
Most cardinals are invariable. Only two families agree.
| Number family | Agreement behaviour | Example |
|---|---|---|
| uno and compounds | Shortens to un before masc. noun; becomes una before fem. | veintiún libros, veintiuna sillas, treinta y un días |
| Hundreds 200–900 | Agree in gender | doscientos hombres, doscientas mujeres, quinientas páginas |
| Everything else | Invariable | cuatro casas, mil personas |
Ciento / Cien / Mil / Millón
- cien before a noun or before mil / millones: cien euros, cien mil habitantes, cien millones.
- ciento in 101–199: ciento uno, ciento cincuenta.
- mil is invariable and takes no article: mil personas, dos mil euros (never un mil).
- millón is a noun and requires de before another noun: un millón de habitantes, tres millones de euros.
Irregular spellings worth memorizing because they are audibly distinct: quinientos (500), setecientos (700), novecientos (900). Note that they are not built regularly from cinco, siete, nueve.
2. Ordinal Numbers
| Ordinal | Form | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | primero / primera | Shortens to primer before a masc. sing. noun |
| 2nd | segundo/a | |
| 3rd | tercero / tercera | Shortens to tercer before a masc. sing. noun |
| 4th–10th | cuarto, quinto, sexto, séptimo, octavo, noveno, décimo | Agree fully |
Above tenth, Spanish generally abandons ordinals in everyday speech and uses cardinals after the noun: el siglo veintiuno, el piso quince, Alfonso XIII (trece).
3. Dates
Format: el + cardinal + de + month + de + year. Months are not capitalized.
- el 15 de marzo de 2026 — read aloud el quince de marzo de dos mil veintiséis
- Only the first of the month uses an ordinal: el primero de enero (many varieties also accept el uno de enero).
- Numeric dates run day/month/year: 5/8/2026 is 5 August, not 8 May. This inversion is a genuine comprehension trap in schedules and advertisements.
- Years are read as a single number: 1998 = mil novecientos noventa y ocho, never diecinueve noventa y ocho.
Asking and answering:
- ¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy? / ¿A cuántos estamos? -> Estamos a doce de junio.
- ¿Qué día es hoy? -> Hoy es jueves. (Days are also lower-case.)
4. Telling Time
Frame: ser + feminine definite article agreeing with the hour.
| Time | Spanish |
|---|---|
| 1:00 | Es la una. (singular!) |
| 3:00 | Son las tres. |
| 3:15 | Son las tres y cuarto. |
| 3:30 | Son las tres y media. |
| 3:45 | Son las cuatro menos cuarto. / Son un cuarto para las cuatro. |
| 3:50 | Son las cuatro menos diez. |
- At a time uses a: La clase empieza a las nueve.
- Parts of the day use de with a stated hour and por without one: a las ocho de la mañana, but estudio por la mañana.
- Schedules, transport, and official announcements use the 24-hour clock: el tren sale a las catorce horas y quince minutos = 2:15 p.m. Expect this in Section II announcements.
- en punto = on the dot; y pico = a little past.
5. Punctuation, Measurement, and Quantities
| Convention | Spanish practice | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Decimal separator | Comma in most varieties | 3,75 metros |
| Thousands separator | Period or thin space | 1.500 personas |
| Percentages | Take an article | el 20 por ciento de los alumnos |
| Temperature | Celsius | Hace 32 grados. |
| Distance | Kilometres, metres | a 40 kilómetros de la costa |
| Weight | Kilos, gramos | medio kilo de tomates |
| Currency | Follows the number | veinte euros, cien pesos |
Mexican and much of Central American usage follows the English convention (period for decimals), so a passage may show either. Read the surrounding context rather than assuming.
Approximation and Fractions
- unos / unas + number = about: unas treinta personas
- alrededor de, aproximadamente, cerca de = approximately
- la mitad (half), un tercio (a third), un cuarto (a quarter), el doble (double), el triple (triple)
- docena (dozen), decena (about ten), centenar (about a hundred), millar (about a thousand)
6. Listening Drill: Catching Numbers at Speed
When a Section II announcement plays, write only digits and one abbreviation per fact:
Audio: "El vuelo 328 con destino a Quito, previsto para las dieciséis
horas y cuarenta minutos, saldrá de la puerta B12 con un retraso
de veinticinco minutos."
Notes: vuelo 328 / QUI / 16:40 / B12 / +25
Five facts, five tokens, no sentences. Any question the item writer asks — flight number, destination, gate, delay, new departure time — is answerable from that line.
7. Worked Items
Item 1. En el auditorio había ________ personas. (A) doscientos (B) doscientas (C) dos cientas (D) doscienta
Reasoning: Hundreds agree in gender with the noun, and personas is feminine plural. (B).
Item 2. La reunión comenzará ________ una de la tarde. (A) a las (B) a la (C) son las (D) en la
Reasoning: One o'clock is singular, and at a time requires a. (B).
Item 3. La ciudad tiene más de un millón ________ habitantes. (A) que (B) en (C) de (D) con
Reasoning: Millón is a noun and requires de before the counted noun. (C).
Which sentence uses number agreement correctly?
La editorial imprimió quinientas páginas adicionales del catálogo.
La editorial imprimió quinientos páginas adicionales del catálogo.
La editorial imprimió quiniento páginas adicionales del catálogo.
La editorial imprimió cinco cientas páginas adicionales del catálogo.
An announcement states that a train departs "a las catorce horas y treinta minutos." What time is that on a twelve-hour clock?
4:30 a.m.
10:30 p.m.
12:30 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
A Spanish advertisement lists an event date as 7/9/2026. In standard Spanish convention, what date is this?
July 9, 2026
July 26, 2009
September 7, 2026
September 26, 2007
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.