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Level 4Grade 4skill: mult_tables_12· 8 min read

Times Tables to 12

In short: The 12 times table is not a new table to memorise — it is the 10 table plus the 2 table. Split every fact into 10 × n and 2 × n, then add. The 11s just double a digit, and the 9s are one group short of the 10s.

How to handle the harder tables to 12

By Grade 4 you already own the easy tables. What trips people up now is the top-right corner of the grid: 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12. The trick is to stop treating each one as a separate list to memorise and start building the answer from facts you already know cold.

The most useful move for the whole 12 table is split into 10 and 2. Any number times 12 is that number times 10, plus that same number times 2. So 12 × 7 is just 70 + 14. You are never really multiplying by 12 — you are adding two facts you learned years ago.

The same idea rescues the 9s (one group short of the 10s) and makes the 11s almost free (double the digit). Once you can pull an answer together from two easy facts in a couple of seconds, the tables you never drilled stop feeling scary.

  1. To multiply any number by 12, first multiply it by 10.
  2. Then multiply the same number by 2.
  3. Add the two results together — that is your answer.
  4. Sanity-check the last digit: anything times 12 ends in an even digit.

Why these tricks work Why it works

12s
Split every 12 into 10 + 2, multiply each part, then add. You already know both halves.

12 × 6 = (10 × 6) + (2 × 6) = 60 + 12 = 72

11s
For 11 times a single digit, just write that digit twice — this shortcut holds through 11 × 9. For 11 × 11 and 11 × 12, split into 10 + 1 instead.

11 × 4 = 44, 11 × 8 = 88. Past a single digit you split: 11 × 11 = 110 + 11 = 121, and 11 × 12 = 120 + 12 = 132

9s
9 × n is one group short of 10 × n, so compute 10n then subtract n.

9 × 7 = 70 − 7 = 63

6s
This one is a checking tool, not a shortcut: 6 times an even number ends in that same even digit — a quick way to catch errors.

6 × 4 = 24, 6 × 8 = 48 (both end in the even digit you multiplied)

Here is the one idea worth keeping: you genuinely memorise only a handful of facts, and everything harder is two small additions away. If 10 × 7 and 2 × 7 are automatic, then 12 × 7 is already yours — you just add. That is the whole game for the top of the grid.

Worked examples

12 × 7 = 84
  1. Multiply by 10: 10 × 7 = 70.
  2. Multiply by 2: 2 × 7 = 14.
  3. Add them: 70 + 14 = 84.
12 × 8 = 96
  1. 10 × 8 = 80.
  2. 2 × 8 = 16.
  3. 80 + 16 = 96.
11 × 6 = 66
  1. For 11 times a single digit, write the digit twice.
  2. 6 becomes 66.
9 × 7 (tricky) = 63
  1. 9 × 7 is one seven short of 10 × 7.
  2. 10 × 7 = 70.
  3. 70 − 7 = 63.
12 × 12 (tricky) = 144
  1. 10 × 12 = 120.
  2. 2 × 12 = 24.
  3. 120 + 24 = 144.
11 × 12 (tricky) = 132
  1. Past a single digit, split 11 into 10 + 1: 10 × 12 = 120.
  2. 1 × 12 = 12.
  3. 120 + 12 = 132.

Common mistakes (and how to fix them)

Grabbing the fact next door

✗ 72

Asked for 12 × 7, it is easy to land on the neighbouring fact 12 × 6 = 72 instead. Your recall slid one row up the table.

Fix: Rebuild it instead of recalling it: 70 + 14 = 84. The split method never lets you drift to the wrong row.

table_neighbour

Adding when you meant to multiply

✗ 16

For 12 × 4, writing 16 means you added (12 + 4) instead of multiplying. The times sign got read as a plus.

Fix: Say the words: four groups of twelve. Four twelves is 12 + 12 + 12 + 12 = 48, not 16.

wrong_operation

Losing your place while skip-counting

✗ 59

Skip-counting the 12s (12, 24, 36, 48, 60) is reliable until you miscount a step and stop one short at 59.

Fix: Drop the counting and split: 10 × 5 = 50, 2 × 5 = 10, so 12 × 5 = 60. Two facts, no place to lose.

off_by_one

Forgetting to carry the ten

✗ 62

Multiplying 12 × 6 in columns: 6 × 2 = 12, so you write 2 and carry 1. Forget that carried 1 and 6 × 1 stays 6, giving 62 instead of 72.

Fix: Whenever a column makes ten or more, park the carry above the next column before you multiply it, then add it in: 6 + 1 = 7, so the answer is 72.

missed_carry

Dropping a zero from the tens part

✗ 24

Using the split for 12 × 8, the 10 × 8 step is 80, not 8. Write it as 8 and you add 8 + 16 = 24 instead of 80 + 16 = 96.

Fix: Multiplying by 10 always adds a zero: 10 × 8 = 80. Keep the number in its proper column so the tens stay tens.

place_value_slip

Practice: times tables to 12

Try a set of mixed questions from the 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 tables. Use the split-and-add method on the 12s and the 9s trick where it helps — then check your last digit.

Keep going

First, make sure of

Frequently asked questions

What is the fastest way to learn the 12 times table?

Split every fact into 10 and 2. For 12 × 7, do 10 × 7 = 70 and 2 × 7 = 14, then add to get 84. You are only ever adding two easy facts you already know.

Do I really need to memorise the 11 and 12 times tables?

Not as separate lists. For 11 times a single digit, just double the digit (11 × 6 = 66). For the 12s, use the 10-plus-2 split. Only 11 × 11 = 121 and 11 × 12 = 132 fall outside the double-the-digit trick, and you handle those by splitting too.

Why do I keep mixing up facts like 12 × 7 and 12 × 6?

Those are neighbour facts — one row apart, so recall easily slides to the wrong one. Rebuilding the answer with the split method (70 + 14 = 84) removes the guesswork that causes the mix-up.

What is the trick for the 9 times table?

9 × n is one group short of 10 × n. So 9 × 7 = 70 − 7 = 63. Multiply by 10, then subtract the number once.

Which order should I learn the tables to 12 in?

Lock in 2, 5 and 10 first, then 3 and 4. The 11s and 12s come almost for free once those are solid, because the tricks in this article are built on the easy tables.