Numbers are always one of the first vocabulary units we cover. Most of our students come in to class already knowing the numbers 0-20, and it is easy to continue the pattern. We will be going to 39, and practicing all four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Along with the numbers themselves, we are learning a few additional words to be able to use them in sentences.
Hay looks like "hay" (horse food) but is pronounced like "eye". It means "there is" or "there are" (or in a question, "is there/are there"). The letter H is silent in Spanish, and the A and Y form a diphthong.
¿Cuántos? and ¿Cuántas? are two of our interrogative words. Both mean, "how many?", and the difference is whether the nouns they are describing are masculine or feminine. At this point, I want the children to become familiar with the idea and to hear the difference in pronunciation, but they will not be penalized if they are not sure which one to use.
Our 4th graders will review these words and numbers, and use several of the nouns from last year, such as words for school supplies, to practice counting in the classroom.
It is important that the students practice correct spelling with the numbers. A few have accent marks. However, the most common mistake that I see with spelling is confusing the order of ie and ei. Fortunately, Spanish is spelled like it sounds. It is easy if you think of the letter I as a Y instead. The diphthong IE sounds like the YE of "yes". You can hear this in words like siete and diez. EI sounds like the EY in "hey". You can hear it in words like seis and veinte.
A couple of other pronunciation tips: the letter C sounds like an S in front of E or I, and like a K everywhere else (cinco). The letter V is pronounced more like a B. You can also listen to native speakers pronounce these words online by googling any of them.
0 – cero
1 – uno
2 – dos
3 – tres
4 – cuatro
5 – cinco
6 – seis
7 – siete
8 – ocho
9 – nueve
10 – diez
11 – once
12 – doce
13 – trece
14 – catorce
15 – quince
16 – dieciséis
17 – diecisiete
18 – dieciocho
19 – diecinueve
20 – veinte
21 – veintiuno
22 – veintidós
23 – veintitrés
24 – veinticuatro
25 – veinticinco
26 – veintiséis
27 – veintisiete
28 – veintiocho
29 – veintinueve
30 – treinta
31 – treinta y uno
32 – treinta y dos
33 – treinta y tres
34 – treinta y cuatro
35 – treinta y cinco
36 – treinta y seis
37 – treinta y siete
38 – treinta y ocho
39 – treinta y nueve
