Learn Spanish (Spain): ¿Dónde están los diecisiete chicos?

It comes from combining diez (ten), y (and), and siete (seven). When pushed together into one word, the z changes to a c, and the y becomes an i, making diecisiete. This is the exact same pattern used for the numbers 16, 18, and 19.

Why do we put los before the number?

Just like in English, you can place a number right after the word for 'the'. Los is the plural masculine form of 'the'. So los diecisiete chicos translates perfectly to 'the seventeen boys'.

Why is the verb están used here instead of son?

Están comes from the verb estar, which we use to talk about location. Since we are asking where the boys are, we must use estar. We use the plural 'they' form, están, because there are seventeen boys.

Why does Dónde have an accent mark?

In Spanish, all question words get a written accent mark when they are used to ask a question. So, dónde (where) always gets an accent over the o when asking a question.