salío should not be salió or salía?
Be careful not to mix up fractions (to describe a part of a whole: half, third, fourth...) and ordinal numbers (to describe an order/rank: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th...).
For ordinal numbers, see Forming ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 10th...)
Look at these examples of fractions:
To express fractions in Spanish, you usually use both cardinal (un/dos/tres...) and ordinal numbers (cuarto/quinto...) the same way as in English (one fifth, two thirds...).
Note also that just like in English, the second number is plural if the first is. (dos quintos)
Half and Double
To say half and double we normally use the definite articles el and la.
Have a look at these examples to see fractions in context:
Me he comido dos tercios de la pizza.
I had two thirds of the pizza.
Un cuarto de la población votó en contra.
A quarter of the population voted against.
Puse solo la mitad de la harina en el bol.
I only put half the (quantity of) flour in the bowl.
Ella tiene el doble de hermanos que él.
She has twice as many siblings as he does.
Notice how, as we generally talk about a fraction "of" a whole, you will usually find "de" after the fraction.
Bear in mind that to say "half" [of something] you can also use "medio/media".
Notice how we use medio when we refer to a masculine noun (e.g., melón) and media when we refer to a feminine noun (e.g., sandía). It is only possible to use medio/a with singular nouns, not plural nouns:
"Medio pueblo salió a la calle a celebrar la fiesta."
"La mitad del pueblo salió a la calle a celebrar la fiesta."
"La mitad de los jóvenes salió a la calle a celebrar la fiesta."
"Medio/Medios jóvenes salieron a la calle a celebrar la fiesta."
Also notice above how medio/a are not followed by "de".
Here is a list of fractions from half to a tenth:
1/2 la mitad [de] - medio/-a
1/3 un tercio [de]
1/4 un cuarto [de]
1/5 un quinto [de]
1/6 un sexto [de]
1/7 un séptimo [de]
1/8 un octavo [de]
1/9 un noveno [de]
1/10 un décimo [de]
Here are more examples of fractions:
Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics
Examples and resources
Ella tiene el doble de hermanos que él.
She has twice as many siblings as he does.
Puse solo la mitad de la harina en el bol.
I only put half the (quantity of) flour in the bowl.
Me he comido dos tercios de la pizza.
I had two thirds of the pizza.
He cortado media sandía para nuestra cena.
I cut half a watermelon for our dinner.
Un cuarto de la población votó en contra.
A quarter of the population voted against.
He cortado medio melón para nuestra cena.
I cut half a melon for our dinner.
Q&A Forum 2 questions, 2 answers
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Third example
I would like to point out that the third example does not contain any fraction.
Asked 3 weeks ago
Emanuel asked:View original
Third example
I would like to point out that the third example does not contain any fraction.
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