numbers

fractions and decimals: two fifths; nought point four
We say simple fractions like this:
% alone quarter n/16 eleven sixteenths
% an/one eighth 3% three and three quarters
3/7 three sevenths 6% six and one eighth
% two fifths
More complex fractions can be expressed by using the word over.
31%09 three hundred and seventeen over five hundred and nine
We write and say decimals like this:
0.4 nought point four (not nought comma four)
0.375 nought point three seven five (NOT nought point three hundred and seventy-five)
4.7 four point seven
For the difference between a(n) and one with numbers, see paragraph 11 below.
before nouns
With fractions below 1, we use of before nouns. three quarters of an hour seven tenths of a mile a third of the students Half is not always followed by of (see half).
half an hour half (of) the students ?
Of
is also possible with decimals below 1. nought point six of a mile
1625 cm nought point one six two five of a centimetre However, decimals below 1 are often followed directly by plural nouns. nought point six miles (NOT nought point six mile) nought point one three two five centimetres Fractions and decimals over 1 are normally followed by plural nouns. one and a half hours (NOT &ne and-a-half hour) three and three eighths miles 1.3 millimetres (NOT 1.3 millimetre)
Note also the structure a … and a half.
I’ve been waiting for an hour and a half.
singular or plural verbs
Singular verbs are normally used after fractions, decimals, and other expressions referring to amounts and measurements (for more details, see singular and plural 5: plural expressions with singular verbs).
Three quarters of a ton is too much, (NOT Three-quarters-of a ton are…) 3.6 kilometres is about 2 miles.
But plural verbs are used when we are talking about numbers of people or things, even after a singular fraction.
A third of the students are from abroad, (NOT A-third of the students is …) Half of the glasses are broken.
After expressions like one in three, one out of five + plural noun, both singular and plural verbs are possible.
One in three new cars break/brealcs down in the first year.
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 O).
My account number is four one three oh six.
In measurements of temperature, 0 is called zero in both British and American English. Zero is followed by a plural noun.
Zero degrees Celsius is thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit.
Zero scores in team games are called nil (American zero or nothing). In tennis and similar games, the word love is used (originally from French I’oeuf meaning ‘the egg’ – the figure 0 is egg-shaped).
And the score at half-time is: Scotland three, England nil.
Forty-love; Andrews to serve.
telephone numbers
We say each figure separately, pausing after groups of three or four (not two). When the same figure comes twice, British people usually say double.
307 4922 three oh seven, four nine double two
(AmE three zero seven, four nine two two)
Roman numbers
Roman numbers are not common in modern English, but they are still used in a few cases – for example the names of kings and queens, page numbers in the introductions to some books, the numbers of paragraphs in some documents, the numbers of questions in some examinations, the figures on some old clock faces, and occasionally the names of centuries.
It was built in the time of Henry V.
For details, see Introduction page ix.
Do question (vi) or question (vii), but not both, a fine XVIII Century English walnut chest of drawers The Roman numbers normally used are as follows:
1
I i
10
X x
40
XL xl
2
ii a
11
XI xi
45
XLV xlv
3
III iii
12
XII xii
50
L I
4
IV iv
13
XIII xiii
60
EX Ix
5
V v
14
XIV xiv
90
XC xc
6
VI vi
19
XIX xix
100
C c
7
VII vii
20
XX xx
500
D
8
VIII viii
21
XXI xx i
1000
M
9
IX ix
30
XXX xxx
1995
MCMXCV
cardinal and ordinal numbers: books, chapters etc; kings and queens
After a noun we usually use a cardinal number (one, two etc) instead of an ordinal number (first, second etc). This structure is common in titles. Compare: the fourth book – Book Four the third act – Act Three Mozart’s thirty-ninth symphony – Symphony No. 39, by Mozart the third day of the course – Timetable for Day Three However, the names of kings and queens are said with ordinal numbers. Hemy VIII: Henry the Eighth (NOT Henry Eight)
Louis XIV: Louis the Fourteenth Elizabeth II: Elizabeth the Second
centuries
Note how the names of centuries relate to the years in them. The period from 1701 – 1800 is called the 18th century (not the 17th); 1801 – 1900 is the 19th century, etc.
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.
and; punctuation
In British English we always put and between hundred I thousand I million and numbers below a hundred. In American English, and can be dropped.
310 three hundred and ten (AmE also three hundred ten)
5,642 five thousand, six hundred and forty-two
2,025 two thousand and twenty-five ?
In measurements containing two different units, and is possible before the smaller, but is usually left out. two hours (and) ten minutes two metres (and) thirty centimetres In writing we generally use commas (,) to divide large numbers into groups of three figures, by separating off the thousands and the millions. Full stops (.) are not used in this way.
3,127 (NOT 3^27) 5,466,243
We do not always use commas in four-figure numbers, and they are not used in dates.
4,126 OR 4126 the year 1648
Spaces are also possible.
There are 1 000 millimetres in a metre.
Note the hyphen between the tens and units in twenty-one, twenty-two, thirty-six, forty-nine etc.
a and one
We can say an eighth or one eighth, a hundred or one hundred, a thousand or one thousand, a million or one million, etc. One is more formal.
want to live for a hundred years, (NOT .. .-for hundred years)
Pay Mr J Baron one thousand pounds, (on a cheque)
A
can only be used at the beginning of a number. Compare: a/one hundred
three thousand one hundred (NOT three thousand a hundred)
A thousand
can be used alone, and before and, but not usually before a number of hundreds. Compare:
alone thousand alone thousand and forty-nine
one thousand, six hundred and two
(More natural than a thousand, six hundred and two.)
We can use a or one with measurement words. The rules are similar. alone kilometre (BUT one kilometre, six hundred metres) an/one hour and seventeen minutes (BUT one hour, seventeen minutes) alone pound (BUT one pound twenty-five)
numbers with determiners
Numbers can be used after determiners. Before determiners, a structure with of is necessary.
You’re my one hope.
One of my friends gave me this, (NOT One my friend …)
eleven hundred etc
In an informal style we often use eleven hundred, twelve hundred etc instead of one thousand one hundred etc. This is most common with round numbers between 1,100 and 1,900.
We only got fifteen hundred pounds for the car.
This form is used in historical dates (see dates).
He was born in thirteen hundred.
It was built in fifteen (hundred and) twenty-nine.
billion
A billion is a thousand million. (But in older British usage a billion was a million million.)
five hundred etc without -s
After a number, the words dozen, hundred, thousand, million and billion have no final -s, and of is not used. This also happens after several and a few. Compare:
five hundred pounds – a few million years hundreds of pounds millions of years
several thousand times It cost thousands.
Singular forms are used as modifiers before nouns in plural measuring expressions.
a five-pound note (NOT a-five-pounds note) a three-mile walk a four-foot deep hole
six two-hour lessons a six-foot tall man
a three-month-old baby
In an informal style, we often use foot instead of feet in other structures, especially when we talk about people’s heights.
My father’s just over six foot two.
For the use of be in measurements, see be and have.
For the use of possessive forms in expressions of time (e.g. ten minutes’ walk; four days’ journey), see possessives 2: noun + ‘s use-444.
British money (pre-euro)
There are 100 pence in a pound. Sums of money are named as follows: lp one penny (informal one p C/pi:/) or a penny)
5p five pence (informal five p)
Ј3.75 three pounds seventy-five (pence) OR three pounds and seventy-five pence (more formal)
Some people now use the plural pence as a singular in informal speech; pound, is sometimes used informally as a plural.
That’s two pounds and one pence, please.
It cost me eight pound fifty.
Singular forms are used in expressions like a five-pound note (see above). However, pence is often used instead of penny
American money
There are 100 cents (<t) in a dollar ($). One-cent coins are called pennies; five-cent coins are nickels; ten-cent coins are dimes; a twenty-five cent coin is a quarter.
non-metric measures
In recent years, Britain has adopted some metric measurement units, but nonmetric measures are still quite widely used. America uses mainly non-metric units. Approximate values are as follows: *?
1 inch (1 in) = 2.5 cm
inches = 1 foot (30 cm)
3 feet (3 ft) = 1 yard (90 cm)
5,280 feet / 1,760 yards = 1 mile (1.6 km)
5 miles = 8 km 1 ounce (1 oz) = 28 gm 16 ounces = 1 pound (455 gm)
2.2 pounds (2.2 lb) – 1 kg
14 pounds (14 lb) = 1 stone (6.4 kg) (BrE only)
1 British pint = 56.8 cl 1 US pint = 47.3 cl
pints (8 pt)
= 1 gallon 1 British gallon = 4.55 litres 1 US gallon = 3.78 litres 1 acre = 4,840 square yards = 0.4 hectares 1 square mile = 640 acres = 259 ha British people measure their weight in stones and pounds or (more recently) in kilograms; Americans just use pounds. Height is measured in feet; distance can also be measured in feet, but longer distances are often measured in yards, especially in British English.
weigh eight stone six. (NOT … eight stones six)
We are now flying at an altitude of28,000 feet.
The car park’s straight on, about 500 yards on the right.
area and volume
We say, for example, that a room is twelve feet by fifteen feet, or that a garden is thirty metres by forty-eight metres.
A room twelve feet by twelve feet can be called tivelvefeet square; the total area is 144 square feet.
A container 2 metres by 2 metres by 3 metres has a volume of 12 cubic metres.
a and per
When we relate two different measures, we usually use alan; peris often used in formal writing.
It costs two pounds a week, (OR … Ј2 per week.)
We’re doing seventy miles an hour, (OR … 70 miles per hour / mph.)
numbers not used as complements after be
Numbers are used as subjects or objects, but not usually as complements after be.
I’ve got three sisters, (NOT My sisters-etre three.)
There are twelve of us in my family. (More natural than We are twelve…)
spoken calculations
Common ways of saying calculations in British English are:
+ 2 = 4 Two and two is/are four, (informal)
Two plus two equals/is four, (formal)
7-4 = 3 Four from seven is/leaves three, (informal)
Seven take away four is/leaves three, (informal)
Seven minus four equals/is three, (formal)
x 4 = 12 Three fours are twelve, (informal)
Three times four is twelve, (informal)
Three multiplied by four equals/is twelve, (formal)
— 3 = 3 Three(s) into nine goes three (times), (informal)
Nine divided by three equals/is three, (formal)
example of a spoken calculation
Here, for interest, is a multiplication (146×281) together with all its steps, in the words that a British English speaker might have used as he/she was working it out on paper before the days of pocket calculators.
146 x 281
29200
11680
146
41026
A hundred and forty-six times two hundred and eighty-one.
beginning: Put down two noughts. Two sixes are twelve; put down two and cany one; two fours are eight and one are nine; two ones are two.
next line: Put down one nought. Eight sixes are forty-eight; put down eight and carry four; eight fours are thirty-two and four is thirty-six; put down six and cany three; eight ones are eight and three is eleven.
next line: One times 146 is 146.
addition: Six and nought and nought is six; eight and four and nought is
twelve; put down two and cany one; six and two are eight and one is nine and one is ten; put down nought and carry one; nine and one are ten and one is eleven; put down one and cany one; two and one are three and one are four.
total: forty-one thousand and twenty-six.
Note how is and are can often be used interchangeably.
For ways of saying and writing dates, see dates.
For ways of telling the time, see telling the time.

For more information consult a good dictionary like Langman, Oxford, Merriam Webster, or Collins.