numbers an vocabulary

1. NUMBERS IN ENGLISH
There are two main types of numbers:
• Cardinal Numbers - 1 (one), 2 (two) etc.
(Used mainly for counting)
• Ordinal Numbers - 1st (first), 2nd (second) etc. (Used
mainly for putting things in a sequence)

2. CARDINAL NUMBERS
Cardinal numbers are normally used when you:
• count things: I have two brothers. There are thirty-one days in January.
• give your age: I am thirty-three years old. My sister is twenty-seven years old.
• give your telephone number: Our phone number is two-six-three, three-eight-four-seven.
(481-2240)
• give years: She was born in nineteen seventy-five (1975). America was discovered in
fourteen ninety-two (1492)
Notice how we divide the year into two parts. This is the form for year up to 1999. For the year 2000 and on, we say two
thousand (2000), two thousand and one (2001), two thousand and two (2002) etc.

3. ORDINAL NUMBERS
You can normally create Ordinal numbers by adding -TH to the end of a Cardinal
Number.
Ordinal numbers are normally used when you:
• give a date: My birthday is on the 27th of January. (Twenty-seventh of January)
• put things in a sequence or order: Liverpool came second in the football
league last year.
• give the floor of a building: His office is on the tenth floor.
• have birthdays: He had a huge party for his twenty-first birthday.
• refer to centuries: Shakespeare was born in the 16th century.
For the name of a king or queen
in written English, Roman
numerals are used =
Henry VIII
but in Spoken English you would
say Henry the Eighth.

4. • 1 - one
• 2 - two
• 3 - three
• 4 - four
• 5 - five
• 6 - six
• 7 - seven
• 8 - eight
• 9 - nine
• 10 - ten
• 11 - eleven
• 12 - twelve
• 13 - thirteen
• 14 - fourteen
• 15 - fifteen
• 16 - sixteen
• 17 - seventeen
• 18 - eighteen
• 19 - nineteen
• 20 - twenty
• 21 - twenty-one
• 22 - twenty-two
• 23 - twenty-three
• 30 - thirty
• 40 - forty
• 50 - fifty
• 60 - sixty
• 70 - seventy
• 80 - eighty
• 90 - ninety
• 100 - one hundred*
• 101 - one hundred and one
• 200 - two hundred
• 300 - three hundred
• 1000 - one thousand
• 1,000,000 - one million
• 10,000,000 - ten million
• Instead of saying One Hundred, you
can say A hundred.
e.g. (127) one hundred and twenty-seven
OR (127) a hundred and twenty-seven.
The same rule applies for one thousand (a thousand) and
one million (a million)
Notice that you need to use a hyphen (-) when you write
the numbers between 21 and 99.

7. The Number 0
We normally say 'zero' for the number '0'.
BUT when we give our telephone number, we often say O like the name of the letter O.
e.g. 505-1023 = five-O-five, one-O-two-three
nil Used to report sports
scores

8. Fractions and Decimals
We use ordinal numbers (at the end position) to talk about fractions.
• 1/2 - a half
• 1/3 - a third
• 2/3 - two thirds
• 1/4 - a quarter (a fourth)
• 3/4 - three quarters (three fourths)
• 1/5 - a fifth
• 2/5 - two fifths
• 1/6 - a sixth
• 5/6 - five sixths
• 1/7 - a seventh
• 1/8 - an eighth
• 1/10 - a tenth
• 7/10 - seven tenths
• 1/20 - a twentieth
• 47/100 - forty-seven hundredths
• 1/100 - a hundredth
• 1/1,000 - a thousandth
Notice that for 1/4, you can say a
quarter OR a fourth.
IF we have a whole number with a
fraction, we use the word AND
between the two parts.
e.g. 2 3/5 = two and a three-fifths

9. For parts of whole numbers, we use a decimal point (and NOT a comma).
e.g. 2 1/2 (two and a half) = 2.5 (two point five)
If there is more than one number after the decimal point, we say each number
individually.
e.g. 3,456.789 = three thousand, four hundred and fifty-six point seven eight
nine.
The exception to this rule is when we are talking about dollars and cents (or
pound and pence)
e.g. $21.95 = twenty-one dollars, ninety-five (cents). Saying the word cents at
the end is optional.

10. Pronouncing percentages
Percentages are easy to read aloud in English. Just say the number and then add
the word "percent".
5% five percent
25% twenty-five percent
36.25% thirty-six point two five percent
100% one hundred percent
400% four hundred percent

11. Reading sums of money
To read a sum of money, first read the whole number, then add the currency
name. If there is a decimal, follow with the decimal pronounced as a whole
number. Note that normal decimals are not read in this way. These rules only
apply to currency.
Written Spoken
25$ twenty-five dollars
52€ fifty-two euros
140₤ one hundred and forty pounds
$43.25 forty-three dollars and twenty-five cents (shortened to
"forty-three twenty-five" in everyday speech)
€12.66 twelve euros sixty-six
₤10.50 ten pounds fifty

12. Written Said
3.04+2.02=5.06 Three point zero four plus two point zero two
makes five point zero six.
There is a 0% chance of rain. There is a zero percent chance of rain.
The temperature is -20⁰C. The temperature is twenty degrees below zero.
You can reach me at 0171 390 1062. You can reach me at zero one seven one, three
nine zero, one zero six two
I live at 4604 Smith Street. I live at forty-six o four Smith Street
He became king in 1409. He became king in fourteen o nine.
I waited until 4:05. I waited until four o five.
The score was 4-0. The score was four nil.

13. 1. Suma
En inglés, el término para esta operación es Addition y el símbolo (+) se
conoce y pronuncia como plus.
Ejemplo: Eight plus two is ten. / Ocho más dos es diez.
2. Resta
Para referirnos a esta operación, utilizamos el término Subtraction, y su
símbolo (-) se conoce como minus.
Ejemplo: Eight minus two is six. / Ocho menos dos es seis.

14. 3. Multiplicación
En este caso, la operación en inglés se denomina como Multiplication. Su símbolo
(x) se nombra como times. Esto, para referirse a la cantidad de veces que se repite.
Ejemplo: Six times two is twelve. / Seis por dos es doce.
4. División
A la hora de mencionar esta operación, debes referirte a ella con el término Division,
y el término que se emplea para su símbolo (÷) es divided by.
Ejemplo: Twelve divided by four is three. / Doce dividido por cuatro es tres.

15. How to say an email address in English
• info@example.com
This is a simple email address. How can we say this email?