Numbers

[Ree-Ford]

Hi,

I've been learning numbers and I'm curious to know, when you count from 11 to 19 the first five numbers end in 'ce' whereas the last few have dieci at the beginning and then the whole number at the end. Is there any particular reason?

Also the twenties are like veintiuno, veintidos etc and then you get to the thirties and its like trenta y uno, trenta y dos? Is there any reason why the 20's arent like this? Also, with 'trenta y' I can't really hear the 'y', just mainly the the 'a' at the end of trenta when others say it, are they actually pronouncing the 'y'?

One more thing, I can't roll my r's. Is it important that people learning Spanish should learn to support pronouniation?

Thanks

[Rusty]

As far as the reason for the numbers turning out the way they did, you'd need a Spanish language history lesson.
The numbers that are used the most have changed over time. This also explains the reason there are irregular verbs. The vocabulary that is used the most tends to change the most.

Aside from the teens and the twenties, treinta (not trenta) and the rest of the tens are followed by 'y'. You should hear both the final vowel 'a' and the intermediate 'i' vowel before the digit in the ones position is vocalized.
The two-vowel combination (a diphthong) should sound like the English word 'I'.

Rolling one's r's can be quite difficult. Some people acquire the skill faster than others. Some people never learn how to roll an 'r'. In fact, there are a couple of places in the Spanish-speaking world where the 'r' is not trilled (rolled). You'll be understood if you don't roll the 'r', but you should strive to mimic the native speakers around you. There is no American 'r' sound in the Spanish language, not at all. The Spanish 'r' is pronounced two different ways, depending on where or how it appears in written form.