Vocabulary Numbers

Numbers

The figure ‘ 0 ’
The figure 0 has several different names in English, although in American English zero is commonly used in all cases:
Zero
Used in precise scientific, medical and economic contexts and to talk about temperature: It was ten degrees below zero last night.
Zero inflation/growth/profit.

Nought
used in British English to talk about a number, age, etc.:
A million is written with six noughts.
The car goes from nought to sixty in ten seconds.
Clothes for children aged nought to six.
‘oh’
used when saying a bank account number, telephone number, room number etc.
Nil
used to talk about the score in a team game, for example in football:
the final score was one nil. (1-0)
used to mean ‘ nothing at all ’:
the doctors rated her chances as nil.

Telephone numbers
all numbers are said separately. 0 is pronounced /ou/
[phone]
o one eight six five, five five six seven six seven (or double five six seven six seven)
If there are two same numbers next to each other, we say ‘double’:
[phone] – o five o double eight seven five six double three

Numbers over 1000
These informal forms are most common for whole hundreds between 1100 and 1900:
A comma or a space is often used to divide large numbers into groups of 3 figures:
1000 – a/one thousand
1100 – one thousand one hundred or (informal) eleven hundred
2500 – two thousand five hundred or (informal) twenty-five hundred
33,423 or 33 423 (thirty three thousand four hundred and twenty three)
2,768,941 or 2 768 941 (two million seven hundred and sixty-eight thousand nine hundred and forty-one)

Years
From 1001 to 1999 – we divide a year into two numbers: a teen number + the second number
E.G.:
1998 – nineteen ninety-eight
1801 – eighteen o one
1712 – seventeen eleven
After 2000, we say ‘two thousand’ + the second number:
E.G.:
2012 – two thousand twelve
2005 – two thousand five
2222 – two thousand two hundred and twenty two

Money, percentages, decimals and fractions
₤2.5 – two ______________ fifty
$8.99 – eight ____________ ___________-________
€3.20 – three ____________ ____________
50% - fifty _______ cent
0.5 – nought ________ five
3.9 - __________ ___________ _________
½ - a/one ___________
⅓ - a/one ___________
¼ - a/one ___________
¾ - _________ ________

Let’s practice!

Telling the time

Let’s practice!

♪ David Guetta feat. Usher – Without you

Definitions

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