From the mailbox (links and English translation of the sample sentence added):
In yesterday’s comma lesson, you gave this example: Durante los primeros 14 años de su vida, fue conocida como María. (During the first 14 years of her life, she was known as Maria.) I believe that I read somewhere that in Spanish (unlike English), cardinal numbers precede ordinal numbers. By that rule, your example should have read: “Durante los catorce primeros años, …” Sorry that I cannot remember where I read this rule — but it stuck with me due to its strangeness. Please confirm or refute, as I have no materials at hand to do so at this time. Thanks.
I’m not sure what the “rule” is, and I haven’t found it mentioned in my reference materials, but in real use both word orders seem to be quite common, although the order you give is more so.
Is It ‘Los Primeros 14 Años’ or ‘Los 14 Primeros Años’? originally appeared on About.com Spanish Language on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 13:16:33.