Tally Marks — 42 — free printable diagram

How do you show 42 in tally marks?

These tally marks stand for 42. They are drawn as 8 groups of five with 2 single marks left over, so counting in fives gives 42.

Number shown

42

In words

forty-two

Groups of five

8

Single marks

2

As a sum

(5 × 8) + 2 = 42

• A tally is drawn in fives: four upright strokes, then a fifth stroke struck diagonally across them to close the group. Counting the closed groups in fives is faster and less error-prone than counting every mark.
• Counting the groups in fives gives 5 × 8 = 40, then add the 2 leftover marks to reach 42.
• In other words 42 = (5 × 8) + 2, which is what dividing 42 by 5 tells you: 8 remainder 2.