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Contents overview numbersacreacre 322.1710029area and volumearea and volumevolumearea 322.1810133areasareas 322.1810134centcent 322.1610309centuries: numberingcenturies: numbering numbering 322.710312cubic metre, etccubic metre, etccubic metrecubic footcubic centimetrecubic inch 322.1810422dimedime 322.1610473dollardollar 322.1610498dozen and dozensdozen and dozensdozendozens 322.1410507first floor, etcfirst floor, etc 322.810647floors: first floor, etcfloors: first floor, etcfloorfirst floorsecond floor first floor, etc 322.810654gallon: British and Americangallon: British and American British and American 322.1710701ground floor, etcground floor, etc 322.810746inchinch 322.1710898metre, etcmetre, etcmetremetercentimetremillimetre 322.1711100milemile 322.1711105mph: (= miles per hour)mph: (= miles per hour)mphmiles per hour (= miles per hour) 322.1911138nickelnickel 322.1611167ounceounce 322.1711281penny, pennies and pencepenny, pennies and pencepennypenniespence, pennies and pence 322.1511322per: (e.g. 70 miles per hour)per: (e.g. 70 miles per hour) (e.g. 70 miles per hour) 322.1911324pint: British and Americanpint: British and American British and American 322.1711348quarter: (American money)quarter: (American money) (American money) 322.1611450Roman numerals: (I, II, III, etc)Roman numerals: (I, II, III, etc) (I, II, III, etc) 322.511525square foot, mile, etcsquare foot, mile, etcsquare footsquare milesquare metresquare kilometre, mile, etc 322.1811667storey: first floor, etcstorey: first floor, etc first floor, etc 322.811685telephone numberstelephone numbers 322.411742volume and areavolume and areavolumearea 322.1811898yard: (measurements)yard: (measurements) (measurements) 322.1712004Vocabulary Areas322 numbers1fractions and decimals: two fifths; nought point fourWe say simple fractions like this:| ¼ | a/one quarter | | ⅛ | an/one eighth | | ³⁄₇ | three sevenths | | ⅖ | two fifths | | ¹¹⁄₁₆ | eleven sixteenths | | 3¾ | three and three quarters | | 6⅛ | six and one eighth |
More complex fractions can be expressed by using the word over.| ³¹⁷⁄₅₀₉ | three hundred and seventeen over five hundred and nine |
We write and say decimals like this:| 0.4 | nought/zero point four (not 0,4) or nought comma four | | 0.375 | nought/zero point three seven five (not nought point three hundred and seventy-five) | | 4.7 | four point seven |
For the difference between a(n) and one with numbers, 322.10 below.2before nounsWith fractions below 1, we use of before nouns.three quarters of an hourseven tenths of a milea third of the studentsHalf is not always followed by of (478).half an hour half (of) the studentsOf is also possible with decimals below 1.nought point six of a mile0.1625cm: nought point one six two five of a centimetreHowever, decimals below 1 are often followed directly by plural nouns.nought point six miles (not nought point six mile)nought point one six two five centimetresFractions and decimals over 1 are normally followed by plural nouns.one and a half hours (not one and a half hour)three and three eighths miles1.3 millimetres (not 1.3 millimetre)Note also the structure a … and a half.I've been waiting for an hour and a half.3singular or plural verbsSingular verbs are normally used after fractions, decimals, and other expressions referring to amounts and measurements (for more details, 129).Three quarters of a ton is too much. (not Three quarters of a ton are …)3.6 kilometres is about 2 miles.But plural verbs are used when we are talking about numbers of people or things, even after a singular fraction.A third of the students are from abroad. (not A third of the students is …)Half of the glasses are broken.After expressions like one in three, one out of five + plural noun, both singular and plural verbs are possible.One in three new cars break/breaks down in the first year.4telephone numbersWe say each figure separately, pausing after groups of three or four (not two). 0 is often called oh (like the letter O).| 307 4922 | three oh/zero seven, four nine two two |
5Roman numeralsRoman numerals (I, II, III, IV, etc) are not common in modern English, but they are still used in a few cases – for example the names of kings and queens, page numbers in the introductions to some books, the numbers of paragraphs in some documents, the numbers of questions in some examinations, the figures on some old clock faces, and occasionally the names of centuries.It was built in the time of Henry V.For details, see Introduction page ix.Do question (vi) or question (vii), but not both.a fine XVIII Century English walnut chest of drawersThe Roman numerals normally used are as follows:| 1 | I i | 10 | X x | 40 | XL xl | | 2 | II ii | 11 | XI xi | 45 | XLV xlv | | 3 | III iii | 12 | XII xii | 50 | L l | | 4 | IV iv | 13 | XIII xiii | 60 | LX lx | | 5 | V v | 14 | XIV xiv | 90 | XC xc | | 6 | VI vi | 19 | XIX xix | 100 | C c | | 7 | VII vii | 20 | XX xx | 500 | D | | 8 | VIII viii | 21 | XXI xxi | 1000 | M | | 9 | IX ix | 30 | XXX xxx | 1995 | MCMXCV |
6cardinal and ordinal numbers: books, chapters, etc; kings and queensAfter a noun we usually use a cardinal number (one, two, etc) instead of an ordinal number (first, second, etc). This structure is common in titles. Compare:the fourth book – Book Fourthe third act – Act ThreeMozart's thirty-ninth symphony – Symphony No. 39, by Mozartthe third day of the course – Timetable for Day ThreeHowever, the names of kings and queens are said with ordinal numbers.Henry VIII: Henry the Eighth (not Henry Eight)Louis XIV: Louis the FourteenthElizabeth II: Elizabeth the Second7centuriesNote how the names of centuries relate to the years in them. The period from 1701 – 1800 is called the 18th century (not the 17th); 1801 – 1900 is the 19th century, etc.8floorsThe ground floor of a British house is the first floor of an American house; the British first floor is the American second floor, etc.9and: punctuationIn British English we always put and between hundred/thousand/million and numbers below a hundred. In American English, and can be dropped.| 310 | three hundred and ten (AmE also three hundred ten) | | 5,642 | five thousand, six hundred and forty-two | | 2,025 | two thousand and twenty-five |
In measurements containing two different units, and is possible before the smaller, but is usually left out.two hours (and) ten minutestwo metres (and) thirty centimetresIn writing we generally use commas (,) to divide large numbers into groups of three figures, by separating off the thousands and the millions. Full stops (.) are not used in this way.3,127 (not 3.127)5,466,243We do not always use commas in four-figure numbers, and they are not used in dates.4,126 or 4126the year 1648Spaces are also possible.There are 1 000 millimetres in a metre.Note the hyphen between the tens and units in twenty-one, twenty-two, thirty-six, forty-nine, etc.10a and oneWe can say an eighth or one eighth, a hundred or one hundred, a thousand or one thousand, a million or one million, etc. One is more formal.I want to live for a hundred years. (not … for hundred years)He was fined one thousand pounds for dangerous driving.A can only be used at the beginning of a number. Compare:a/one hundredthree thousand one hundred (not three thousand a hundred)A thousand can be used alone, and before and, but not usually before a number of hundreds. Compare:a/one thousanda/one thousand and forty-nineone thousand, six hundred and two We can use a or one with measurement words. The rules are similar.a/one kilometre an/one hour and seventeen minutes a/one pound 11numbers with determinersNumbers can be used after determiners. Before determiners, a structure with of is necessary.You're my one hope.One of my friends gave me this. (not One my friend …)12eleven hundred, etcIn an informal style we often use eleven hundred, twelve hundred, etc instead of one thousand one hundred, etc. This is most common with round numbers between 1,100 and 1,900.We only got fifteen hundred pounds for the car.This form is used in historical dates before 2000 (324).He was born in thirteen hundred.It was built in fifteen (hundred and) twenty-nine.13billionA billion is a thousand million. (But in older British usage a billion was a million million.)14five hundred, etc without -sAfter a number, the words dozen, hundred, thousand, million and billion have no final -s, and of is not used. This also happens after several and a few. Compare:–five hundred poundshundreds of pounds–several thousand timesIt cost thousands.–a few million yearsmillions of yearsSingular forms are used as modifiers before nouns in plural measuring expressions.a five-pound note (not a five-pounds note)a three-mile walksix two-hour lessonsa three-month-old babya four-foot deep holea six-foot tall manIn an informal style, we often use foot instead of feet in other structures, especially when we talk about people's heights.My father's just over six foot two.For the use of be in measurements, 25.2.For the use of possessive forms in expressions of time (e.g. ten minutes' walk; four days' journey), 124.5.15British moneyThere are 100 pence in a pound. Sums of money are named as follows:1p5p £3.75 one penny (or a penny)five pence three pounds seventy-five (pence) or three pounds and seventy-five penceSome people now use the plural pence as a singular in informal speech; pound is sometimes used informally as a plural.That's two pounds and one pence, please.It cost me eight pound fifty.Singular forms are used in expressions like a five-pound note (see above). However, pence is often used instead of penny (a five-pence stamp).16American moneyThere are 100 cents (¢) in a dollar ($). One-cent coins are called pennies; five-cent coins are nickels; ten-cent coins are dimes; a twenty-five cent coin is a quarter.17metric and non-metric measuresBritain uses not-metric measures (miles, yards and feet) for road distances; heights are often given in feet.The car park's straight on, about 500 yards on the right.We are now flying at an altitude of 28,000 feet.Metric measures are now standard for most other purposes, but non-metric measures are also sometimes used. The US generally uses non-metric units.It's 30 miles to the nearest hospital.The lightest road bike ever weighs around 6 pounds.Other English-speaking countries use the metric system. Approximate equivalents are as follows:1 inch (1in) = 2.5cm12 inches = 1 foot (30cm)3 feet (3ft) = 1 yard (90cm)5,280 feet / 1,760 yards = 1 mile (1.6km)5 miles = 8km1 ounce (1oz) = 28gm16 ounces = 1 pound (455gm)2.2 pounds (2.2lb) = 1kg14 pounds (14lb) = 1 stone (6.4kg) 1 British pint = 568ml1 US pint = 473ml8 pints (8pt) = 1 gallon1 British gallon = 4.55 litres1 US gallon = 3.78 litres1 acre = 4,840 square yards = 0.4 hectares1 square mile = 640 acres = 259 hectares18area and volumeWe say, for example, that a room is twelve feet by fifteen feet, or that a garden is thirty metres by forty-eight metres.A room twelve feet by twelve feet can be called twelve feet square; the total area is 144 square feet.A container 2 metres by 2 metres by 3 metres has a volume of 12 cubic metres.19a and perWhen we relate two different measures, we usually use a/an; per is often used in formal writing.It costs two pounds a week. (or … £2 per week.)We're doing seventy miles an hour. (or … 70 miles per hour / mph.)20numbers not used as complements after beNumbers are used as subjects or objects, but not usually as complements after be except in calculations, 322.21 below.I've got three sisters. (not My sisters are three.)There are twelve of us in my family. 21spoken calculationsCommon ways of saying calculations in British English are:| 2 + 2 = 4 | Two and two is/are four. (informal) Two plus two equals/is four. (formal) | | 7 − 4 = 3 | Four from seven is/leaves three. (informal) Seven take away four is/leaves three. (informal) Seven minus four equals/is three. (formal) | | 3 × 4 = 12 | Three fours are twelve. (informal) Three times four is twelve. (informal) Three multiplied by four equals/is twelve. (formal) | | 9 ÷ 3 = 3 | Three(s) into nine goes three (times). (informal, especially BrE) Nine divided by three equals/is three. (formal) |
22example of a spoken calculationHere, for interest, is a multiplication (146×281) together with all its steps, in the words that a British English speaker might have used as he/she was working it out on paper before the days of pocket calculators.| | 146× 2812920011680 14641026 | | | A hundred and forty-six times two hundred and eighty-one. | | beginning: | Put down two noughts. Two sixes are twelve; put down two and carry one; two fours are eight and one are nine; two ones are two. | | next line: | Put down one nought. Eight sixes are forty-eight; put down eight and carry four; eight fours are thirty-two and four is thirty-six; put down six and carry three; eight ones are eight and three is eleven. | | next line: | One times 146 is 146. | | addition: | Six and nought and nought is six; eight and four and nought is twelve; put down two and carry one; six and two are eight and one is nine and one is ten; put down nought and carry one; nine and one are ten and one is eleven; put down one and carry one; two and one are three and one are four. | | total: | forty-one thousand and twenty-six. |
Note how is and are can often be used interchangeably.For ways of saying and writing dates, 324.For ways of telling the time, 325.Previous Next |