Numbers

HOW NUMBERS ARE SPOKEN

Numbers over 20
21 twenty-one
22 twenty-two
32 thirty-two
99 ninety-nine

Numbers over 100
101 a/one hundred (and) one
121 a/one hundred (and) twenty-one
200 two hundred
232 two hundred (and) thirty-two
999 nine hundred (and) ninety-nine
Note: In British English the ‘and’ is always used: two hundred and thirty-two. But in American English it is often left out: two hundred thirty-two.

Numbers over 1000
1001 a/one thousand (and) one
1121 one thousand one hundred (and) twenty-one
2000 two thousand
2232 two thousand two hundred (and) thirty-two
9999 nine thousand nine hundred (and) ninety-nine

Ordinal Numbers
20th twentieth
21st twenty-first
25th twenty-fifth
90th ninetieth
99th ninety-ninth
100th hundredth
101st hundred and first
225th two hundred (and) twenty-fifth

Dates
1624 sixteen twenty-four
1903 nineteen-oh-three
1987 nineteen eighty-seven

WHAT NUMBERS REPRESENT

Numbers are often used on their own to show:
Price It cost eight seventy-five (=8 pounds 75 pence or 8 dollars 75 cents: £8.75 or $8.75).
Time We left at two twenty-five (=25 minutes after 2 o’clock).
Age She’s forty-six (=46 years old). |
He’s in his sixties (=between 60 and 69 years old).
Size This shirt is a thirty-eight (=size 38).
Temperature The temperature fell to minus fourteen (=–14°). |
The temperature was in the mid-thirties (=about 34–36°).
The score in a game He won the first set six-three (=by six games to three: 6–3).
Something marked with the stated number She played two nines and an eight (=playing cards marked with these numbers).
A set or group of the stated number The teacher divided us into fours (=groups of 4). |
You can buy cigarettes in tens or twenties (=in packets containing 10 or 20).

NUMBERS AND GRAMMAR

Numbers can be used as:
Determiners Five people were hurt in the accident. |
the three largest companies in the US |
several hundred cars
Pronouns We invited a lot of people but only twelve came/only twelve of them came. |
Do exercise five on page nine.
Nouns Six can be divided by two and three. |
Three twos make six.

IN TEXT MESSAGES

1 a way of writing ‘one’, for example SUM1 (=someone)
2 a way of writing ‘to’ or ‘too’:
Happy birthday 2 U! (=to you) |
He’s 2 (=too) cool!
4 a way of writing ‘for’:
a message 4 U (=for you)
8 a way of writing parts of words that sound like ‘-ate’, ‘eat’, or ‘-ait’:
gr8 (=great) |
I h8 (=hate) homework! |
It’s 2 l8 (=too late)