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Il y a environ une centaine de clients.

Il y a environ une centaine de clients.
There are about a hundred customers.
From Lesson 229:Approximative numbers (-aine)·French

Questions & Answers about Il y a environ une centaine de clients.

How is centaine formed and what does it mean?
The suffix -aine is added to numbers to express an approximate amount. Adding it to cent (one hundred) creates the feminine noun une centaine, which means "about a hundred" or "a hundred or so."
Doesn't une centaine already mean "about a hundred"? Why add environ?
Yes, it is technically a bit repetitive! However, saying environ une centaine (roughly about a hundred) is very common in everyday spoken French to really emphasize that the number is just an estimate. You could also just drop it and say Il y a une centaine de clients.
Why is it de clients instead of des clients?
Because une centaine acts as an expression of quantity. Just like with beaucoup de (a lot of) or un groupe de (a group of), these approximative nouns are always followed by the simple preposition de (or d' before a vowel), rather than des.
Are all approximative numbers ending in -aine feminine?
Yes! Because they are technically nouns expressing a quantity, they all share the feminine gender. You will always use feminine articles with them, like une dizaine (about ten) or une cinquantaine (about fifty).

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