Numbers
Zero, oh and nought
For the number 0 on its own , say zero .
Before a decimal point we say either zero or nought:
0.5
zero point five or nought point five
After a decimal point we say oh:
0.01
nought point oh one
We also say oh in telephone numbers, years, hotel rooms, bus numbers, etc.
210-5381006 My telephone number is two one oh, five three eight one oh oh six (or double oh
six)
1907 The novelist was born in nineteen oh seven
Points and commas
In English use a point (.) and not a comma (,) for decimals. Use commas when writing numbers
greater than 999.
15.001 fifteen point oh oh one
15,001 fifteen thousand and one
Decimals
In English, read all the numbers (digits) after a decimal point separately, especially if there are
more than two decimal places:
0.125
nought point one two five
2.44
two point four four
0.001
nought point oh oh one or 10 -3 ten to the power minus three
If the number after a decimal point represents a unit (of money, etc. ) it is read like a normal
number:
$ 1.50 one dollar fifty
2m18 two meters eighteen
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Hundreds, thousands, millions
100 a hundred
200 two hundred (not two hundreds)
1,000 a thousand
100,000 a hundred thousand
1,000,000 a million
1,000,000,000 a billion
123,456 a hundred and twenty-three thousand, four hundred and fifty-six (GB)
A hundred twenty –three thousand, four hundred fifty six (US)
In the singular, the words hundred, thousand, or million are preceded by a or one. In precise
numbers, or after several and a few, hundred, thousand or million do not take a plural:
We hired a hundred new workers.
There are over one million potential customers.
To be precise, we have sold eight thousand four hundred and twenty.
We expect to sell a few hundred a week from now on.
In imprecise numbers, hundreds, thousands, or millions take a plural:
We’re selling thousands a month.
We’re earning millions of pounds.
Square, cube and root
10 2 ten squared
10 3 ten cubed
√5 the square root of five
Fractions
Apart from ½ (a half), ¼ (a quarter) and ¾ (three quarters, sometimes three-fourths in the
US), fractions are mostly like ordinary numbers (fifth, sixth, twety-first, forty-second, etc.):
3½
three and a half
2¾
two and three quarters
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Calculating
10+ 6 = 16 ten plus six equals/ is sixteen
10-6= 4
ten minus six equals four (-s in equals is pronounced /z/)
10x 6=60
ten times/ multiplied by six is sixty
10÷6 =1.666 ten divided by six is one point six recurring
The verbs are to add, subtract, (or deduct, but not deduce), multiply ,divide.
Other ways of saying divide are per:
Fr/$ francs per dollar ,8% p.a. eight per cent per annum
and over
(x-y) /z
x-minus-y, over z
x- y/z
x minus y-over-z
Numbers as adjectives
When a number is used before a noun, like an adjective, it is always singular:
a fifty-minute lesson
a thirteen-week term
a ninety-five dollar price cut
a ten thousand euro car
a twenty degree fall in temperature a one and a half litre bottle
Exercise
Say the following:
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In my first job, in 1986, I earned $ 38 a week, which was exactly $1,976 a year.
Today they’re buying dollars at 1.3952 and selling them at 1. 3957.
It’s either 0.431 or 1.031 , I can’t remember.
$1,000,000? No! It’s over $ 1,560,000.
No, it’s 12,231 not 12.231!
You can fax them on 066-22 27 47.
For further information, call 0171 3585 544.
Jude is 2m 11 tall, like a basketball player.
It only cost $ 13.99.
It’s somewhere between 2 2/3 and 2 ¾.
27x365 is 9,855, plus 7 for leap years, plus 2x31, and 2x30, plus 16 days- I’m 10,000
days old today!
The equation is x2 - y3 = z.
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