Dates
We can say dates either with the day before the month, or the month before the day:
The first of January / January the first.
Remember to use ordinal numbers for dates.
(The first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the twenty-second, the thirty-first etc.)
Years
For years up until 2000, separate the four numbers into two pairs of two:
1965 = nineteen sixty-five
1871 = eighteen seventy-one
1999 = nineteen ninety-nine
For this decade, you need to say “two thousand and —-” in British English:
2001 = two thousand and one
2009 = two thousand and nine
Large numbers
Divide the number into units of hundreds and thousands:
400,000 = four hundred thousand (no s plural)
If the number includes a smaller number, use “and” in British English:
450,000 = four hundred and fifty thousand
400,360 = four hundred thousand and three hundred and sixty
Fractions, ratios and percentages
½ = one half
1/3 = one third
¼ = one quarter
1/5 = one fifth
1/ 6 = one sixth etc
3/5 = three fifths
1.5% = one point five percent
0.3% = nought / zero point three percent
2:1 = two to one
Saying 0
Depending on the context, we can pronounce zero in different ways:
2-0 (football) = Two nil
30 – 0 (tennis) = Thirty love
604 7721 (phone number) = six oh four…
0.4 (a number) = nought point four / zero point four
0C (temperature) = zero degrees
Talking about calculations
+ (plus)
2 + 1 = 3 (two plus one equals three)
- (minus / take away)
5 – 3 = 2 (five minus three equals two / five take away three equals two)
x (multiplied by / times)
2 x 3 = 6 (two multiplied by three equals six / two times three equals six)
/ (divided by)
6 / 3 = 2 (six divided by three equals two)
22 comments on “Saying dates and numbers in English”
hi, english at home is an excellent site. i think it can be more helpful that reading bo0ks, beacuse reading and learnng from net is more exciting. please send me your guidlines. i am an english student in iran. i am trying to be accepted in the ma exam. thanks bye@};-
i relly love this site so much! thank u so very much….
As I see it, nowadays, numbers are very important in our lives. From some points of view, it is not possible to live without using numbers. We need to learn how to say numbers in English. Thank you very much for your help. There is often an "and" after "hundred", what is the reason? Is there any important point?
All the best,
Behnam, 9 February, 2009
When we add a number to "hundred", we use "and".
So, "three hundred", but "three hundred AND sixty".
I love these website, I will visit every day
thank's so much
eben, February, 11 2009.
Hi Clare,
how to use "per" ?
3/8 can we say 3 per 8 ?
No, you can say "three eightths".
i'm looking for how to learn english at home since long time.i,m very interesting about this learning method specially the topics.thanks a lot for you,r great help.
many thanks
I know a little more about dates and calculations.
Thanks a lot!
June the twenty second, two thousand and nine
How can we pronounce 455,365?
Four hundred and fifty-five thousand, three hundred and sixty-five.
How do you pronouce $49.99?
Forty-nine (dollars) ninety-nine.
hi
this the best language site I have ever seen
please go on
thanks alot
Many thanks
how do we pronounce 3200 B.C.E.?
2130 B.C.E.?
2335 B.C.E.?
What does BCE stand for? Are you talking about dates? If so, maybe it's three thousand two hundred BC.
How can I pronounce 2010 or 2130? I pronounce 2009 two thousand and nine, but if I have to pronounce 2010 can I say twenty ten????? At the same time if I have 2130 can I say twenty thirty or I have to say two thousand one hundred and thirty?
Thank you very much!
I'd say "two thousand and ten" but not "twenty ten". I'm not sure for the next century – maybe "twenty one thirty" as the alternative just sounds too long.
Saying "and" in a number denotes a decimal or a fraction. It is improper and inaccurate to read 455,365 as "four hundred and fifty-five thousand, three hundred and sixty-five" is painful to my ears and hints of illiteracy. You read 455, 365 as "four hundred fifty-five thousand, three hundred sixty-five" if you want to be accurate, proper, and sound educated.
The year 2010 is "Two thousand ten."
Thanks for your comment.
I think this is another one of those UK / US differences. In British English we put "and" to show fractions of hundreds / thousands. I can assure you there's no hint of illiteracy – it sounds strange to us to not put "and" in. In fact, saying something like "two thousand ten" for 2010 would probably make other people laugh at us for trying to sound "American"!
