A1 · Unit 3 · Lesson 1
Numbers, prices, and time
From counting change at the padaria to telling the time — numbers you will use every single day.
Counting, paying, and telling the time — the numbers you'll reach for every single day in Brazil.
Numbers you'll lean on
The tens are dez, vinte, trinta, quarenta…; “e” links the parts, so 21 is “vinte e um”. The hundreds have their own words: cem, duzentos, trezentos.
vinte e cinco
twenty-five
cento e dez
one hundred and ten
quinhentos reais
five hundred reais
Telling the time with ser
Use “é” only for one o'clock and for noon/midnight; everything else takes “são”. Add “e” for the minutes past.
Spot the pattern
Only one o'clock (and noon/midnight) take “é”; from two o'clock on it's “são”. Predict the opener.
É uma hora.
It's one o'clock.
São quatro e vinte.
It's twenty past four.
São dez e meia.
It's half past ten.
Talking about prices
The currency is the “real”, plural “reais”; the small change is “centavos”. Ask the price with “Quanto custa?” or “Quanto é?”.
Custa vinte reais.
It costs twenty reais.
São doze e cinquenta.
That's twelve fifty.
Quanto custa a entrada?
How much is the ticket?
Common mistakes
- — Only 1 (and noon/midnight) take “é”; from two o'clock on, it's “são”.
- — “Cem” is exactly 100; the moment you add anything it becomes “cento”: cento e um.
- — The plural of “real” is “reais”, not “reals”.
14 exercises · pass at 85% · missed items return until you clear them