Number + nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun.
The number goes directly before the nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun., without an articlearticleA short word placed before a noun that shows its gender and number, such as el or la.. From dos onwards, the nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. is pluralpluralThe grammatical form used for more than one person or thing.: dos cafés, tres hermanos, catorce años. The number itself stays the same, whether the nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. is masculinemasculineA noun's gender that typically takes el or un in Spanish. or femininefeminineA noun's gender that typically takes la or una in Spanish.: dos hermanos, dos hermanas.
To ask about a quantity, use ¿cuántos? or ¿cuántas?, depending on the nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun.: ¿Cuántos años tienes? – Tengo veinte años. ¿Cuántas hermanas tienes? – Tengo dos hermanas.
The number one: uno, un or una
On its own, for example when counting or as a short answer, the number one is uno: ¿Cuántos cafés? – Uno. Before a nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. it changes just like the indefinite articlearticleA short word placed before a noun that shows its gender and number, such as el or la.: un before masculinemasculineA noun's gender that typically takes el or un in Spanish. nounsnounsA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. (un café, un hermano), una before femininefeminineA noun's gender that typically takes la or una in Spanish. nounsnounsA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. (una hermana, una casa).
The same applies to numbers ending in one: before a masculinemasculineA noun's gender that typically takes el or un in Spanish. nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun., veintiuno becomes veintiún (with an accent) and treinta y uno becomes treinta y un: Tengo veintiún años. Enero tiene treinta y un días. What matters is the nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun., not the person: a woman also says Tengo veintiún años., because año is masculinemasculineA noun's gender that typically takes el or un in Spanish..
The hundreds: doscientos or doscientas
The hundreds from 200 to 900 agree with the nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun.: -cientos before masculinemasculineA noun's gender that typically takes el or un in Spanish. nounsnounsA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun., -cientas before femininefeminineA noun's gender that typically takes la or una in Spanish. nounsnounsA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun.. So doscientos euros, but doscientas personas; quinientos libros, but quinientas casas. This also applies in longer numbers: trescientas veinte personas.
cien, ciento and mil, on the other hand, never change: cien personas, ciento veinte personas, mil euros. And one more typical mistake: y only goes between the tens and the units, never directly after the hundreds. The correct forms are ciento veinte and doscientos cinco, not "ciento y veinte".
Examples
- Tengo dos hermanas.
- Tengo veintiún años.
- Enero tiene treinta y un días.
- En la fiesta hay doscientas personas.
- Son cien euros.