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English Numbers

English counting is largely regular, with a couple of small historical exceptions right at the start that trip up learners more than the rest of the system combined.

Eleven and twelve don't follow the "teen" pattern

Thirteen through nineteen follow a clear pattern (three+teen, four+teen), but eleven and twelve don't — they come from older Germanic words roughly meaning "one left over" and "two left over" (past ten), rather than fitting the "-teen" pattern the way "thirteen" does.

Tens and units combine predictably above twenty

From twenty onward, English numbers combine tens and units in a simple, additive way ("twenty-one," "thirty-five"), matching the same underlying logic used in many other languages, including Turkish's otuz bir (see Turkish Numbers).

Tarc does not yet offer a English course — it's planned for a future release, built on the same gamified, spaced-repetition method as the existing Arabic and Latvian courses. Ask to be notified when English launches.

Frequently asked questions

Why don't eleven and twelve follow the same pattern as thirteen through nineteen?

They come from older Germanic words roughly meaning "one left over" and "two left over" past ten, rather than fitting the regular "-teen" pattern used from thirteen onward.

Are English numbers above twenty built regularly?

Yes — they combine tens and units in a simple, additive way ("twenty-one," "thirty-five"), the same basic logic used in many other languages.

Is English number grammar simpler than Russian or Arabic numbers?

In terms of noun agreement, yes — English doesn't change the following noun's grammatical form based on the number the way Russian case agreement or Arabic gender-reversal do.

Will number vocabulary be part of the future English course?

Yes, as core vocabulary content, matching the approach used in Tarc's existing courses.

Get notified when English launches on Tarc →

See also: English Vocabulary · English Grammar · Learn English