Basic Numbers & Introduction

Basic numbers & Introduction

Introduction

This section contains several useful tools to practice English as well as convert numbers and do basic calculations.

This is especially useful when going on a trip, for reading news articles, or books that don't use SI or metric units.

This tool is very useful for those who speak english as a second language when writing reports

There is some variation in how very large numbers are named. Don't be surprised if the Writer and the whole number list disagree.

Integers/whole numbers

0, zero - It is null and between positive and negative.
It has many pronunciations from Zero, oh, null, nought, and naught. The pronunciations vary according to dialect and context.

1 one

2 two

3 three

4 four

5 five

6 six

7 seven

8 eight

9 nine

10 ten

11 eleven

12 twelve

13 thirteen

14 fourteen

15 fifteen

16 sixteen

17 seventeen

18 eighteen

19 nineteen

20 twenty

21 twenty-one

For numbers over 20 just add 1-9 to the end of the multiple of 10 if below 100 and if higher add 1-20 or follow the previous rule. for example 31: thirty-one or 115: one hundred and fifteen.

30 thirty

40 forty - notice that forty doesn't have a 'u'

50 fifty

60 sixty

70 seventy

80 eighty

90 ninety

100, one hundred

1,000, one thousand

10,000 ten thousand

100,000 one hundred thousand

1,000,000 one million (one thousand hundred)

10,000,000 ten million

100,000,000 one hundred million

1,000,000,000 one billion (one thousand million)

1,000,000,000,000 one trillion

For higher numbers based on powers of ten see the wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10000000000_%28number%29

When reading quantities you should say 'and' or a short nasal /n/ sound between the hundreds and tens place and if the tens place is empty then say it between the hundreds and onces places. Examples:

110 one hundred and ten
505 five hundred and five
432 four hundred and thirty two

To find out how to pronounce years go to the Time page

Pronouncing telephone numbers in English does vary a little however they are typically read digit by digit. Sometimes they are grouped into smaller numbers if they are easy to pronounce or it they repeat. Sometimes Zero is pronounced as oh like the letter O in the alphabet.

Pronouncing numbers used as names for example a street address is rather complicated or in a sense quite simple. Basically, you don't follow any rules at all! Just read the number aloud with any combination of digits that sound good to you or just say the number as you hear others say it.

Be careful when pronouncing 13-19 and multiples of ten: twenty, thirty, etc.. Teen has a long E followed by N sound while ty normally is pronounced quickly and has no N.

The T in the -ty ending is often dropped when talking quickly. In American English it sometimes sounds like -dy instead of -ty.

Customary numbers

dozen - 12

baker's dozen - 13

score - 20

couple - 2