dos tercios
/dos teɾθjos/from spelling rules
The Spanish phrase for "two thirds" is dos tercios.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of dos (two) and tercios (thirds).
How does it change in a sentence?
When expressing "two thirds of [something]", you must add the preposition de after tercios. The gender of the noun following dos tercios de determines whether you use los or las for the definite article. Because tercios is masculine, any adjective used to describe the fraction itself must be in the masculine form.
How do you pronounce it?
/dos teɾθjos/
Did you know?
- Historically, a Tercio was the name of the elite Spanish infantry units that dominated European battlefields from the 16th to the 17th centuries.
- In some Spanish dialects, when referring to a 'third' of a bottle of wine or liquor, the word tercio can specifically refer to a bottle size of about 33 centiliters.
- The Spanish word tercio is a cognate of the English word 'tierce', an archaic term for a cask that held one third of a barrel.
Examples in context
- Dos tercios de los empleados de esta compañía son ingenieros.Two thirds of the employees of this company are engineers.This sentence shows how to use dos tercios to describe a portion of employees.Tatoeba #1660309 by marcelostockle, translation #60001 by CK
- Dos tercios del tiempo estoy traduciendo oraciones o agregando nuevas.Two thirds of the time I'm around translating sentences or adding new ones.This sentence is useful for showing how to use dos tercios when discussing a portion of time.Tatoeba #1619844 by leoruilova, translation #1198854 by al_ex_an_der
- Dos tercios de los inmigrantes que vinieron a Alemania en 2015 venían de Asia.Two thirds of the immigrants who came to Germany in 2015 came from Asia.This sentence demonstrates using dos tercios to describe a proportion of immigrants.Tatoeba #10078964 by manufrutos, translation #10072407 by AlanF_US
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Elena are discussing the progress of a construction project.
- MateoYa hemos terminado dos tercios de la obra.We have already finished two thirds of the work.
- ElenaEso es una buena noticia para nosotros.That is good news for us.
- MateoSolo nos falta un tercio para acabar.We only have one third left to finish.
- Elena¡Qué bien, Mateo!That's great, Mateo!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
