Numbers
CARDINAL and ORDINAL NUMBERS
The cardinal numbers (one, two, three, etc.) are adjectives referring
to quantity, and the ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) refer
to distribution.
Number
|
Cardinal
|
Ordinal
|
| 1 | One | First |
| 2 | Two | Second |
| 3 | Three | Third |
| 4 | Four | Fourth |
| 5 | Five | Fifth |
| 6 | Six | Sixth |
| 7 | Seven | Seventh |
| 8 | Eight | Eighth |
| 9 | Nine | Ninth |
| 10 | Ten | Tenth |
| 11 | Eleven | Eleventh |
| 12 | Twelve | Twelfth |
| 13 | Thirteen | Thirteenth |
| 14 | Fourteen | Fourteenth |
| 15 | Fifteen | Fifteenth |
| 16 | Sixteen | Sixteenth |
| 17 | Seventeen | Seventeenth |
| 18 | Eighteen | Eighteenth |
| 19 | Nineteen | Nineteenth |
| 20 | Twenty | Twentieth |
| 21 | Twenty-one | Twenty-first |
| 22 | Twenty-two | Twenty-second |
| 23 | Twenty-three | Twenty-third |
| 24 | Twenty-four | Twenty-fourth |
| 25 | Twenty-five | Twenty-fifth |
| 26 | Twenty-six | Twenty-sixth |
| 27 | Twenty-seven | Twenty-seventh |
| 28 | Twenty-eight | Twenty-eighth |
| 29 | Twenty-nine | Twenty-ninth |
| 30 | Thirty | Thirtieth |
| 31 | Thirty-one | Thirty-first |
| 40 | Forty | Fortieth |
| 50 | Fifty | Fiftieth |
| 60 | Sixty | Sixtieth |
| 70 | Seventy | Seventieth |
| 80 | Eighty | Eightieth |
| 90 | Ninety | Ninetieth |
| 100 | One Hundred | Hundredth |
| 500 | Five Hundred | Five Hundredth |
| 1,000 | One Thousand | Thousandth |
| 100,000 | One Hundred Thousand | Hundred Thousandth |
1,000,000
|
One Million
|
Millionth
|
Examples:
- There are twenty-five people in the room.
- He was the fourteenth person to win the award since 1934.
- Six hundred thousand people were left homeless after the earthquake.
- I must have asked you twenty times to be quiet.
- He went to Israel for the third time this year.
Fractions and Decimals
Said
|
Written
|
Said
|
| half | 0.5 | point five |
| a quarter | 0.25 | point two five |
| three quarters | 0.75 | point seven five |
Percentages
Written
|
Said
|
| 25% | twenty five percent |
| 50% | fifty percent |
| 75% | seventy five percent |
| 100% | a/one hundred percent |
Units
Written
|
Said
|
| $1,200 | one thousand two hundred dollars |
| £16,486 | sixteen thousand four hundred and eighty-six pounds |
| 545kms | five hundred and forty-five kilometres |
| $25.35 | twenty-five dollars thirty-five |
Years
Written
|
Said
|
| 1988 | Nineteen eighty-eight |
| 1864 | Eighteen sixty-four |
| 1999 | Nineteen ninety-nine |
How to say '0'
| Nought | used in mathematical expressions and decimals: 'nought times three equals nought' 0.3 = 'nought point three' (or 'point three') 0.03 = 'point nought three' |
| zero | used in scientific expressions, especially temperatures: 20oC = minus twenty degrees or twenty degrees below zero also used to mean 'the lowest point': 'The heavy rain reduced visibility to zero' |
| 'o' (the letter) | used in telephone numbers: 0171 390 0062 = 'o one seven one three nine o double o six two' |
| nil/nothing | used to express the score in games such as football: 2 - 0 = 'two nil' or 'two nothing' |
