del uno al veinte
/del uno al beinte/from spelling rules
The Spanish phrase for "one through 20" is del uno al veinte.
This phrase is used to describe a sequence of numbers starting at one and ending at twenty.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a contraction of de el uno al veinte, which literally means "from the one to the twenty".
How does it change in a sentence?
The contraction del (formed by combining de and el) is used because the numbers uno and veinte are treated as masculine nouns in this context.
Did you know?
- The word veinte shares an ancient root with the English word 'two' via the Proto-Indo-European term for 'twice', because the Latin number for twenty was constructed from the concept of 'two tens'.
- While the word for 'one' in this phrase is uno, it changes to un if it is placed before a masculine noun, such as un libro ('one book').
Examples in context
- Debes contar del uno al veinte.You must count from one through twenty.
- Las páginas van del uno al veinte.The pages go from one through twenty.
- Escribe los números del uno al veinte.Write the numbers from one through twenty.
Example conversation
Sofía and Daniel are checking the page numbers in a workbook.
- Sofía¿Qué ejercicios hay hoy?What exercises are there today?
- DanielHay que hacer los del uno al veinte.We have to do the ones from one through twenty.
- Sofía¡Eso es mucho trabajo!That is a lot of work!
- DanielNo te preocupes, Sofía.Don't worry, Sofia.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries del, uno, veinte, CC BY-SA 4.0.
