Quatre cent vs. quatre cents

J. D.B2Kwiziq community member

Quatre cent vs. quatre cents

Dear Sir or Madame: The last line lists "quatre cent variétés de fromage français." Why is it quatre cent vs. quatre cents?  The lesson on large numbers would lead me to believe this should be plural.  Also, how would I write out this question as posed in French?

Asked 2 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi J,

Thank you for pointing this out, this has now been fixed.

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

I agree with you. It should be quatre-cents for 400.

In addition, the lesson writes between parts of a number when it is with un (e.g., 21). The recommendation from the Académie Française is to connect all parts of a number with hyphens:

old way: vingt et un (that's still how it is in the kwiziq lesson)
new recommendation: vingt-et-un

The new way (well, it's been around since 1990) is much clearer, easier to learn and less ambiguous. You could otherwise not distinguish between

soixante et un tiers -- could be 61 thirds or 60 and one third.
soixante-et-un tiers -- this is unambiguously 61 thirds.

I strongly advocate that the lesson be changed to use the new recommended spelling.

Quatre cent vs. quatre cents

Dear Sir or Madame: The last line lists "quatre cent variétés de fromage français." Why is it quatre cent vs. quatre cents?  The lesson on large numbers would lead me to believe this should be plural.  Also, how would I write out this question as posed in French?

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