🎉 First Conversations: Numbers and Time in Spanish

Imagine you have a magical time machine. To travel anywhere, you need to know the secret codes—numbers and time words! Let’s unlock these Spanish secrets together.

🔢 Cardinal Numbers: Counting Your Treasures

Think of cardinal numbers like counting your toy collection. “How many cars do I have?” These are the counting numbers!

The First Ten Magic Words

Real Life Example:

“I have tres apples” = I have 3 apples 🍎🍎🍎

Teen Numbers (11-19): The Special Ones

These are like the “teenager” numbers—they have their own unique names!

Pattern Alert! 🚀 Notice 16-19? They’re “dieci” (ten) + the small number!

The Tens Family (20-100)

Building Bigger Numbers:

• 21 = veintiuno (veinte + uno squished together!)
• 35 = treinta y cinco (thirty AND five)
• 99 = noventa y nueve

🏆 Ordinal Numbers: Who’s First in Line?

Ordinal numbers are like positions in a race. “Who came first? Second? Third?”

The Top Ten Positions

Why Two Versions? In Spanish, words change based on boy/girl things:

• “The first boy” = El primer chico
• “The first girl” = La primera chica

Example:

“I live on the tercera floor” = I live on the 3rd floor 🏢

⏰ Telling Time: Your Clock Speaks Spanish!

Imagine your clock is learning Spanish. Here’s how it talks!

The Magic Formula

Es la/Son las + HOUR + y/menos + MINUTES

Basic Time Telling

Special Rule: 🎯

• Use “Es la” ONLY for 1 o’clock
• Use “Son las” for 2-12 o’clock

Adding Minutes

Think of the clock like a pizza cut in half:

• First half (1-30 min): Use “y” (and)
• Second half (31-59 min): Use “menos” (minus)

Examples:

• 3:15 = Son las tres y quince (3 AND 15)
• 3:30 = Son las tres y media (3 AND half)
• 3:45 = Son las cuatro menos quince (4 MINUS 15)

Special Time Words

Real Conversation:

“¿Qué hora es?” = What time is it? “Son las ocho y media de la mañana” = It’s 8:30 AM ☀️

📅 Days of the Week: Your Weekly Adventure

Imagine each day is a character in your week’s story!

graph TD
    A[🌙 lunes<br/>Monday] --> B[🔥 martes<br/>Tuesday]
    B --> C[💧 miércoles<br/>Wednesday]
    C --> D[⚡ jueves<br/>Thursday]
    D --> E[💕 viernes<br/>Friday]
    E --> F[🌟 sábado<br/>Saturday]
    F --> G[☀️ domingo<br/>Sunday]
    G --> A

The Days

Fun Fact: Spanish days are NOT capitalized! Write “lunes” not “Lunes”!

Example Sentences:

“Hoy es viernes” = Today is Friday “Mañana es sábado” = Tomorrow is Saturday

🗓️ Months and Seasons: The Year’s Calendar

The 12 Months

Notice: Many look similar to English! They’re cousins from the same Latin family. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Fun Fact: Months are NOT capitalized in Spanish either!

The 4 Seasons

Example:

“Me gusta el verano” = I like summer “En primavera hay flores” = In spring there are flowers 🌷

📆 Dates and Years: Marking Special Days

How to Say the Date

The formula is simple:

Day + de + Month + de + Year

Examples:

• December 25, 2024 = el veinticinco de diciembre de dos mil veinticuatro
• July 4, 2000 = el cuatro de julio de dos mil

Important Date Vocabulary

Years in Spanish

Years are said as regular numbers:

• 2024 = dos mil veinticuatro (two thousand twenty-four)
• 1999 = mil novecientos noventa y nueve
• 2000 = dos mil

Asking About Dates:

“¿Cuál es la fecha de hoy?” = What’s today’s date? “¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?” = When is your birthday?

Example Answer:

“Mi cumpleaños es el quince de mayo” = My birthday is May 15th 🎂

🎯 Quick Reference: Putting It All Together

Here’s a complete example of using everything:

La cita es el martes, veinte de abril de dos mil veinticinco, a las tres y cuarto de la tarde.

“The appointment is Tuesday, April 20th, 2025, at 3:15 PM.”

You just learned:

• ✅ Cardinal numbers (counting)
• ✅ Ordinal numbers (positions)
• ✅ Telling time (clocks)
• ✅ Days of the week
• ✅ Months and seasons
• ✅ Dates and years

You’re now a Time Traveler in Spanish! 🚀🇪🇸

Remember: Learning a language is like filling a treasure chest, one gold coin at a time. You just added a whole pile of gold today! ✨