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### Estimating Crowd Sizes

When a protest gathers, exact numbers are hard to count. First, you will need vocabulary like **el manifestante** (protester) and **la pancarta** (banner).

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Spanish estimates sizes using collective nouns for "a group of" or "about" a number. For tens (and fifteen), use the suffix **-ena**. 

These are singular feminine nouns, so they use **una**, connect to the counted objects with **de**, and take a **singular** verb—even though they describe multiple people!

- **una decena** (about ten)
- **una quincena** (about fifteen / a fortnight)
- **una veintena** (about twenty)

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### Higher Estimates and Hundreds

As the crowd grows and people start to **corear** (chant), you can use higher tens. The pattern remains the same:

- **una treintena** (about thirty)
- **una cuarentena** (about forty)
- **una cincuentena** (about fifty)

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For hundreds, do not use the **-ena** suffix. The word for "a hundred" or "about a hundred" is **el centenar**. Because this is a masculine noun, it pairs with **un**.

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Approximate numbers (la decena, el centenar)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and 'to be' (el, la, soy)

Masculine and feminine pairs (el hermano, la hermana)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Question	Answer
the protester	el manifestante
the banner	la pancarta
The protester was going to paint a banner last night.	El manifestante iba a pintar una pancarta anoche.
The protesters read the leader's banner.	Los manifestantes leen la pancarta del líder.
the about ten	la decena
There are about ten protesters in the square.	Hay una decena de manifestantes en la plaza.
About ten students are reading the banner now.	Una decena de estudiantes lee la pancarta ahora.
the fortnight / the about fifteen	la quincena
The demonstration was going to end a fortnight ago.	La manifestación iba a terminar hace una quincena.
There are about fifteen guards near the street.	Hay una quincena de guardias cerca de la calle.
the about twenty	la veintena
We saw about twenty protesters with banners.	Vimos a una veintena de manifestantes con pancartas.
They were going to arrive today, but only about twenty arrived.	Iban a llegar hoy, pero solo llegó una veintena.
the about thirty	la treintena
to chant	corear
About thirty people started to chant the slogan.	Una treintena de personas empezó a corear la consigna.
The people were going to chant, but the park was closed.	La gente iba a corear, pero el parque estaba cerrado.
About thirty citizens were chanting in the downtown.	Una treintena de ciudadanos coreaba en el centro.
the about forty	la cuarentena
About forty protesters were going to walk over there.	Una cuarentena de manifestantes iba a caminar hasta allí.
Are there about forty banners where the students are?	¿Hay una cuarentena de pancartas donde están los estudiantes?
the about fifty	la cincuentena
There are about fifty people, and the door is closed.	Hay una cincuentena de personas, y la puerta está cerrada.
Why were those fifty or so boys going to chant?	¿Por qué iba a corear esa cincuentena de chicos?
the hundred / the about a hundred	el centenar
A hundred leaders were going to organize the event.	Un centenar de líderes iba a organizar el evento.
A hundred employees are in the street now.	Un centenar de empleados está en la calle ahora.

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