How to use numerals in English

All our lives we are surrounded by numbers. We count the money we earn and spend, the weight of our suitcases at the airport, the years or months we have spent somewhere or with someone, the hours and minutes we have been waiting, the meters and kilometers of distance between places, and so on. For all these measurements, we need to use numerals in our language.

Numerals

A numeral is a word (or combination of words) that represents a number. There are two main types: quantitative and ordinal numerals. Quantitative numerals are used for counting (one, two, three). Ordinal numerals indicate order (first, second, third). Numerals can be written with numbers or letters (2 or two; 25 or twenty-five; 17th or seventeenth).

In this article, we're going to discuss not only ordinal and quantitative numerals, but also fractions, and details related to the use of numerals.

Cardinal numerals

In English, in formal texts, numbers from one to one hundred, round numbers, and any numbers that can be expressed in one or two words are usually written in words.

In less formal texts, numbers from one to ten should generally be written in words, and numbers may be used for numbers greater than ten.

For example:

• She has got three brothers. 
• How many feet are there in a mile? – There are 5280 feet in a mile.

Numbers should be written as words at the beginning of a sentence. If you need to use numbers, change the sentence structure.

For example: Fifty-six workers were fired yesterday. – Yesterday 56 workers were fired.

Numerals that have the same function in a sentence are usually written the same way – either as words or numbers.

For example: He wrote one hundred and thirty essays, fifty-two stories, and seven novels./ He wrote 130 essays, 52 stories, and 7 novels.

Here are the symbols and words that represent quantitative numerals:

In both British and American English, numbers of a thousand or more are usually separated by a comma. Three digits are counted on the right side: 4,286; 12,345; 378,925; 6,540,210.

Some manuals recommend writing four-digit numbers without a comma: 1570; 2358; 5625.

In numbers written in words in British English, the conjunction "and" is used before tens, and if there are no tens, before units, starting with hundreds: one hundred and twenty-three (123); four hundred and seven (407); three thousand five hundred and thirty-eight (3,538); seventy-three thousand and five (73,005); five million three hundred thousand and fifty (5,300,050).

Note the use of more than one "and" conjunction in large numerals in British English: two million six hundred and twenty-five thousand three hundred and ten (2,625,310).

In American English, the conjunction "and" is usually not used before tens or ones: one hundred twenty-three (123); four hundred seven (407); three thousand five hundred thirty-eight (3,538); seventy-three thousand five (73,005); two million six hundred twenty-five thousand three hundred ten (2,625,310); five million three hundred thousand fifty (5,300,050).

In British English, the conjunction "and" is also used before tens or ones in ordinal numerals greater than a hundred: one hundred and tenth (110th); three thousand and fifth (3005th). But "and" is not used in American ordinal numerals: one hundred and tenth (110th); three thousand and fifth (3005th). Now let's learn more about ordinal numerals.

Ordinal numerals

As a rule, ordinal numerals are used as adjectives and come before nouns. An ordinal number is usually preceded by the article "the". They are written with words if the number is up to ten.

For example:

• The first story was interesting. The second was dull.
• John Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States.

Here are the ordinal numerals in numbers and words:

Difficult to pronounce numerals in English

Note the differences in spelling and pronunciation of the following quantitative and ordinal numerals.

• two, twelve, twenty, twenty-two – second, twelfth, twentieth, twenty-second;
• three, thirteen, thirty, thirty-three – third, thirteenth, thirtieth, thirty-third;
• four, fourteen, forty, forty-four – fourth, fourteenth, fortieth, forty-fourth;
• five, fifteen, fifty, fifty-five – fifth, fifteenth, fiftieth, fifty-fifth;
• eight, eighteen, eighty, eighty-eight – eighth, eighteenth, eightieth, eighty-eighth;
• nine, nineteen, ninety, ninety-nine – ninth, nineteenth, ninetieth, ninety-ninth;

Memorize the pronunciation of the following numerals: five [faiv] – fifth [fifθ]; nine [nain] – ninth [nainθ].

Numerals like "eighteen" have two accents: sixteen ['siks'ti:n]; eighteen ['ei'ti:n]. Depending on the position of the numeral in the sentence, the main stress can fall on the first or last syllable.

For example: He has SIXteen BOOKS. How many? – SixTEEN.

In numerals such as "eighty", the first syllable is stressed: twenty ['twenti]; sixty ['siksti]; eighty ['eiti].

Pay attention to the pronunciation of the following ordinal numerals: twentieth ['twentiiθ]; fortieth ['fo:rtiiθ]; fiftieth ['fiftiiθ]; seventieth ['seventiiθ]; ninetieth ['naintiiθ].

To learn how to write dates and other numbers in English correctly, take a short online English lesson "Numbers in English" from the interactive courses supermarket booyya.com at the link - https://bit.ly/3r8Ab3r 

Fractions

When we measure something, such as length, it is not always a whole number. Therefore, we need numbers that are smaller than 1, 2 or other digits – numbers that are parts of these digits: half, third/fourth/fifth/millionth of any digit.

The first number in a fraction written before the slash (/) is called the numerator and is expressed as a quantitative numeral. The second number written after the slash (/) is called the denominator and is expressed as an ordinal numeral. For example, 1/5 written in numbers is pronounced and written as one-fifth.

Note that you must use a hyphen (-) when writing fractions in words rather than symbols. For example: 1/7 – one-seventh. But when the numerator or denominator is already hyphenated, you don't need to use another hyphen. For example: 1/25 is one twenty-fifth, not one-twenty-fifth. Here are more examples of fractions represented by symbols and words:

• 1/2 – one-half / a half; 1/3 – one-third;
• 1/4 – one-fourth / a quarter;
• 1/5 – one-fifth; 1/8 – one-eighth;
• 1/9 – one-ninth; 1/10 – one-tenth;
• 1/12 – one-twelfth; 1/20 – one twentieth;
• 1/32 – one thirty-second;
• 1/100 – one-hundredth;
• 1/1000 – one-thousandth;
• 2/3 – two-thirds; 4/5 – four-fifths;
• 3/4 – three-fourths / three-quarters;
• 5/8 – five-eighths; 9/10 – nine-tenths;
• 7/36 – seven thirty-sixths;
• 33/100 – thirty-three hundredths;
• 65/1000 – sixty-five thousandths;
• 1 1/2 – one and a half;
• 1 1/4 – one and a quarter;
• 3 2/5 – three and two-fifths;
• 6 3/7 – six and three-sevenths.

He has already written three-quarters of his new novel.
A cent is one hundredth part of a dollar.
This box weighs two-thirds of a kilogram.

Decimal fractions

Here, a dot (not a comma) separates the whole from the fraction. Decimals are written with numbers. When we write decimals, we use the word "point" to represent a dot. The digits after the point are spelled out separately.

For example: When you have the number 1.36 we say "One point three six." 

The digits to the left of the point are usually read as a quantitative numeral, and the digits to the right are read separately.

For example: 546.132 can be read as "five hundred forty-six point one-three-two".

Squared/ Cubed/ To the power of

Numbers in a square are written 2² = Two squared.

Numbers in a cube are written 2³ = Two cubed.

You can also say "to the power of". Two to the power of two equals four. Two to the power of three equals eight. Two to the power of twelve = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 4096.

Interesting numbers

• 0

There are several ways to say 0 in English.

• 12

12 is often written as "dozen", and the number 6 is often written as "a half dozen".

For example: 

• 12 eggs= "A dozen eggs." 
• 6 eggs = "Half a dozen eggs." 
   
• 13

13 is "a baker's dozen" because in the past, bakers caught counting their customers could be severely punished, so they usually added an extra bun to compensate for the weight.

• 100

A century is equal to one hundred years. The Roman numeral for 100 is C (from centum). One hundred is the basis of a percentage (literally "per hundred"). 100% is the full amount of something.

• 1 billion

Billion in British English traditionally means million million = 1,000,000,000,000. In American English, a billion means a thousand million = 1,000,000,000. The American billion has become a standard of technical and financial usage. However, to avoid confusion, it is better to use the terms "million million" and "thousand million".

Letters as numbers

• k – is often used to represent a thousand. So, 1k = 1000. If you see a job ad that offers a salary of £12k, it means £12,000.
• m – used to represent a million. So, 1m = 1,000,000. If you see a job posting with a salary of £12m, send your resume!
• bn – these letters stand for billion. So, 1bn is usually equal to 1,000,000,000 (see above). If you see a job posting with a salary of £12bn, it's most likely a typo.
• myriad – the word used to mean 10,000. Now it's used to refer to countless things.

Sums

For example: (((1 + 6) - 2) x 2) ÷ 2.5=4: a) One plus six minus two multiplied by two divided by two point five equals four; b) One and six take away two times two divided by two point five is four. 

10% 100=10: Ten percent of one hundred equals ten.

So, the next time you talk about math in English, about the top speed of your new car, about the piece of cake your friend ate, you will know which numeral to use, how to spell it, and what symbols to use.

If you want to practice, follow the link where you will find exercises: English Numbers (ego4u)