We say fractions like this:
- 1/8 one eighth
- 3/7 three sevenths
- 2/5 two fifths
- 1/16 eleven sixteenths
We normally use a singular verb after fractions below 1.
- Three quarters of a ton is too much.
We use a plural noun with fractions and decimals over 1.
- one and a half hours (NOT one and a half hour)
- 1 -3 millimetres (NOT 1 3 millimetre)
2 Decimals
We say decimal fractions like this: 0-125 nought point one two five (NOT 0,125—nought comma one two five)
3-7 three point seven
3 nought, zero, nil etc
The figure 0 is usually called nought in British English, and zero in American English.
When we say numbers one figure at a time, 0 is often called oh (like the letter 0).
- My account number is four one three oh six.
In measurements of temperature, 0 is called zero.
- Zero degrees Centigrade is thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit.
Zero scores in team games are called nil (American zero).
Zero in tennis and similar games is called love.
4 Telephone numbers
We say each figure separately.
When the same figure comes twice, we usually say double (British English only).
- 307 4922 three oh seven four nine double two.
5 Kings and Queens
We say the numbers like this:
- Henry VIII
- Henry the Eighth (NOT Henry Eight)
- Louis XIV
- Louis the Fourteenth
6 Floors
The ground floor of a British house is the first floor of an American house;
the British first floor is the American second floor, etc.
7 and
In British English, we use and between the hundreds and the tens in a number.
- 310 three hundred and ten (US three hundred ten)
- 5,642 five thousand, six hundred and forty-two
Note that in writing we use commas (,) to separate thousands.
8 a and one
We can say a hundred or one hundred, a thousand or one thousand. One is more formal.
- I want to live for a hundred years.(NOT . . . for hundred years.)
- Pay Mr J Baron one thousand pounds, (on a cheque)
We only use a at the beginning of a number. Compare:
- a hundred
- three thousand one hundred
We can use a with other measurement words.
- a pint
- a foot
- a mile
9 Plurals without -s
After a number or determiner, hundred, thousand, million and dozen have no final -s. Compare:
- five hundred pounds
- hundreds of pounds
- several thousand times
- It cost thousands
Other number expressions have no -s when they are used as adjectives
- a five-pound note
- a three-mile walk
10 Measurements
We use be in measurements.
- She's five feet eight (inches tall).
- I'm sixty-eight kilos.
- What shoe size are you?
In an informal style, we often use foot instead of feet when we talk about people's heights.
- My father's six foot two.
11 Money
- 1p one penny or a penny
- 5p five pence
- £3.75 three pounds seventy-five
When we use sums of money as adjectives, we use singular forms.
- a five pound note (NOT a five-pounds note)
12 Adjectives
When expressions of measurement, amount and quantity are used as adjectives, they are normally singular.
- a ten-mile walk (NOT a ten-miles walk)
- six two-hour lessons
- a three-month-old baby
We can use possessives in expressions of time.
- a week's holiday
- four days' journey
13 there are . ..
When we count the number of people in a group, we often use the structure there are + number + of+ pronoun.
- There are only seven of us here today.
- There were twelve of us in my family.
(NOT We were twelve . . .)
14 Spoken calculations
Common ways of calculating are:
- 2 + 2=4
two and two is/are four (informal)
two plus two equals four (formal) - 7-4=3
four from seven is three (informal)
seven minus four equals three (formal) - 3x4 = 12
three fours are twelve (informal)
three multiplied by four equals twelve (formal) - 9 / 3=3
nine divided by three equals three
