This is an English lesson which teaches you all about numbers, including: ordinal numbers, fractions, decimals, dates,big numbers, and even the numbers that appear in the names of Kings and Queens.
Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers are numbers used to indicate order, for example: 1st, 2nd, 3rd.
Most of them are formed by adding ‘th’ to the end of regular numbers, for example: fourth (four-th), sixth (six-th), seventh (seven-th). However, there are a few irregular ones: first (1st), second (2nd), third (3rd), fifth (5th), ninth (9th) and twelfth (12th). Here is a list of the ordinal numbers from 1st to 19th.
For multiples of ten, the ‘y’ at end of the word changes to ‘ie’ and the suffix ‘eth’ is added. For example, ‘twenty’ becomes ‘twentieth’. Here is a list of the multiples of ten from 20 to 90:
Note: You say 100th as ‘one hundredth’.
Fractions
In order to say a fraction, we say the top number (numerator) as a regular number and we say the bottom number (denominator) as an ordinal number. For example, 1/8 is spoken as ‘one-eighth’.
If the top number is more than 1, then we pronounce the ordinal number as a plural. For example, 3/8 is spoken as ‘three-eighths. Here are some examples:
3/5 – three-fifths
7/12 – seven-twelfths
99/100 – ninety-nine one hundredths
There are two irregular fractions: half is used in place of second and quarter is used in place of fourth. For example, ½ is not said as ‘one-second’, it is called ‘one-half’, ‘a half’ or just ‘half’. Likewise, ¼ is not spoken as ‘one-fourth’, it is called ‘one-quarter’ or ‘a quarter’.
1 ½ – one and a half
2 ¼ – two and a quarter
For fractions above 1, the terms of measurement is made plural:
1 ½ hours – one and a half hours
1 1/3 miles – one and a third miles
2 1/8 tons – two and one-eighth tons
Big Numbers
We do not make hundreds, thousands and millions plural when the number in front is more than 1. For example:
100 – one hundred
200 – two hundred
1000 – one thousand
4000 – four thousand
1,000 000 – one million
5,000 000 – five million
However, when there is no number in front, we do add an ‘s’. For example:
Hundreds of pounds
Thousands of eggs
Millions of dollars
The word ‘and’ is used between the hundreds and the tens in a number. For example:
420 – four hundred and twenty
2, 765 – two thousand, seven hundred and sixty-five
When the first figure is 1, we can say other ‘one’ or ‘a’. For example:
“He lived for a hundred years”
“You owe me one hundred dollars”
Dates
To pronounce the date within a month, we use ordinal numbers and the word ‘of’. For example:
15th March – fifteenth of March or March the fifteenth
12th September – twelfth of September or September the 12th
To pronounce a year before 2000 we usually pronounce it in two parts. For example:
1922 – 19/22 – nineteen twenty-two
1814 – 18/14 – eighteen fourteen
If there is a 0 in the ten position, we usually pronounce it ‘oh’. For example:
1908 – nineteen oh eight
1409 – fourteen oh nine
Compare to:
1980 – nineteen eighty
1490 – fourteen ninety
For years after 2000, we usually pronounce the whole number:
2002 – two thousand and two
2010 – two thousand and ten (a more informal way is to say twenty ten)
Kings and Queens
When Kings and Queens have numbers after their names, we pronounce them as ordinal numbers with the word ‘the’ in front. For example:
Henry VIII – Henry the eighth
Louis XII – Louis the twelfth
Time to practice your numbers: how much does it cost?
B. Telling the time
Watch the following video about telling the time...UK style. Afterwards, we'll go over the minor differences with American English.
American English examples
10:05 It's ten oh five OR It's five after 10.
10:15 It's ten fifteen or a quarter AFTER 10
10:40 It's ten forty OR It's 20 'til 11.
10:30 It's ten thirty
If the person knows about what hour it is, you can say It's 20 'til. instead of saying It's 20 "til 11.
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