Chiffres romains
Roman numerals are used far more often in French than in English, as both cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers.* They are commonly used to express all of the following:
Arrondissements
| le IIe arrondissement |
|
2nd district |
| le XVIIIe arrondissement |
|
18th district |
Book terminology
| introduction p. vi |
|
introduction, page 6 |
| volume III |
|
volume 3 |
| appendice V |
|
appendix 5 |
| titre xi |
|
title 11 |
Divisions of plays
| Acte I |
|
Act 1 |
| Scène II |
|
Scene 2 |
Events and assemblies
| les jeux de la XXIXe Olympiade |
|
Games of the 29th Olympiad |
| IIIe Sommet de l’APF |
|
Third summit of the APF |
Governments
| la Ve République |
|
the 5th Republic |
| la XXe dynastie |
|
the 20th dynasty |
Music and poetry: verses and stanzas
| couplet II |
|
verse 2 |
| strophe V |
|
stanza 5 |
Proper names
| Pope John Paul II |
|
Pope John Paul II |
| Louis XIV |
|
Louis the 14th |
Time periods
| XVIe siècle |
|
16th century |
| trimestre II |
|
second quarter |
| IIIe millénaire |
|
third millenium |
Especially in official documents and on monuments
| établi MMIX |
|
established 2009 |
| © MMXVII |
|
© 2017 |
* I’m not saying you can’t ever use Roman numerals like this in English, but they are far less common than in French, especially for ordinal numbers. Terms like Xe siècle will virtually always be translated as “10th century.”
More French numbers
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Is your French as rusty as an old can? Did you live in France years ago or study it in high school—and promptly forget everything upon leaving? The fact is that language ability fades with lack of practice. If you used to know French but haven’t spoken it in years or decades, the bad news is that it probably won’t come rushing back all at once. But the good news is that you can relearn it much more quickly than if you were starting out without that previous knowledge.
N’importe literally means “no matter” or “(it) doesn’t matter.” This indefinite expression can precede an interrogative adjective, adverb, or pronoun when talking about something indefinite or non-specific.