How to read numbers in English. English numbers with transcription and Russian pronunciation, education, examples

Numbers in English begin to be taught from the first stages of acquaintance with the English language. Particularly in teaching children, the first ten English numbers are perhaps the easiest words to teach with visual support. As soon as you show pictures with numbers or start bending your fingers, the simple numbers fit into your head by themselves.

Older students also encounter numbers in English almost immediately - already at the stage of acquaintance dialogues. They are needed to tell about ages, give dates, and are a common addition for plural words.

The principle of formation of English numerals

The rules for forming English numerals are logical and easy to understand. The English numbers from 1 to 20 need to be memorized (this is quite easy to do, because their order corresponds exactly to their Russian equivalents), and to form the rest, certain suffixes are needed that need to be added to the first ten numerals.

For greater clarity, let's put the numbers in a table and analyze how suffixes affect the meaning of words.

Numbers with “teen”

From this table it is easy to see that the English numerals of the second ten, starting with thirteen, are formed using the suffix -teen. Everyone knows the word teenager (teenager), which came to us from the English language, which contains this very suffix, as well as the word age (age). This word means teenager, i.e. a person between the ages of thirteen and nineteen. It is in these English numerals (the second section of the table) that the suffix -teen is used.

Dozens

If you look at the third section of the table, it is easy to understand the principle of the formation of numerals meaning tens (twenty, thirty, etc.) - they require the suffix -ty. The suffixes -teen and -ty are added to the corresponding numerals of the first ten. The only exceptions are 11 (eleven) and 12 (twelve), which are learned along with the first ten digits. Also look at the numbers three, four and five in the table and their derived numerals with suffixes. Remember the changes in their spelling.

Compound numerals

So, we have examined the principle of the formation of English numerals up to one hundred. All that remains is to figure out what needs to be done to name compound numerals - of such an order as, for example, seventy-eight, fifty-four, etc. In fact, there is no difficulty here. Similar numbers in English are called similarly to Russian. The result is a direct translation: seventy-eight - seventy-eight, fifty-four - fifty-four, etc. The only detail worthy of attention is that in English numerals of this type, unlike Russian ones, a hyphen is needed between parts.

Large numbers in English

We also suggest that you familiarize yourself with the method of forming large numbers in English.

As for hundreds, they are formed as follows: the base “hundred” is taken (translated into Russian as “hundred”), and the quantity that is needed is added to it. If we're talking about about two hundred sheep, then we say “two hundred”; if we mean a hundred years, we use “one hundred”, etc.

Further, the counting in English is constructed as follows: ten hundreds form a thousand, which translates as “thousand”. If it is necessary to indicate a specific number of thousands, you must resort (as in the case of hundreds) to numbers from 1 to 999. For example, “two thousand” is “two thousand” in English, five is “five thousand”.

Now let's write the numbers in Russian and translate them into English:

378 - three hundred and seventy-eight - three hundred and seventy- eight

5964 - five thousand nine hundred sixty-four - five thousand _ nine hundred and sixty-four

Please note:

• hundreds and thousands in complex numerals are put in the singular, not in the plural (without ending -s at the end of the word);
• before the last part of the numeral we insert the conjunction and (and);
• Don’t forget about the hyphen in compound numerals with tens and ones.

Difficulties, as a rule, arise when reading precisely such complex numbers. Four-digit numbers in English in educational texts are most often found as years of some events. Beginners need not be afraid of such numbers indicating years (up to 2000). After all, when pronouncing them in English, they are usually divided into two parts: first we read the number from the first two digits, and then from the second two.

For example, someone was born in 1967 - in 1967. You need to read not “in (one) thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven,” as it would be in the Russian version, but “in nineteen sixty-seven” (“in nineteen sixty-seven ").

For the first ten years since 2000, the usual rule applies, i.e. 2000 - two thousand, 2007 - two thousand (and) seven.

Starting from 2011, you can again simplify the reading - twenty - eleven (twenty eleven), twenty - twelve (twenty-twelve), etc.

Ordinal numbers in English

It is also important to know how ordinal numbers are formed, since they have their own characteristics. The main rule in in this case is the substitution of the ending -th to the cardinal numeral, for example, eleventh (eleven), fifteenth (fifteen). At the same time, we recommend remembering the first nine ordinal English numbers - they deviate slightly from the general rule:

If we are talking about a serious scientific article or official document, then it is better to use “firstly, secondly, thirdly”. However, in situations of everyday communication, we recommend using “first, second, third” - this will be easier and more familiar to the ear of any native speaker.

Fractions in English

Fractions require a separate discussion. There are only a few rules for ordinal ones:

1. The numerator is read as a cardinal number, and the denominator as an ordinal number.
2. If the numerator is more than one, the denominator gets an “-s” at the end.
3. The integer part, if present, is joined to the fractional part using the conjunction “and”.

For example, ⅓ is pronounced as “one third”, ⅗ as “three fifths”, 1⅔ in speech is reproduced as “one and two thirds”.

With decimal fractions everything is much simpler - the available characters are read in order. If there is a zero in front, we use “nought”. The point between the integer and fractional parts is “point”.

For example, 55.5 - five five point five; 0.4—nought point four, 1.22—one point two two.

Pronunciation of English numerals

In the following table we present numbers in English from 1 to 20 with transcription and Russian pronunciation:

Taking into account all the above information, now you can name any number in English. Continue this table yourself, for example, continue counting in English from 1 to 100.

By the way, to learn to confidently name numbers in English, you can ask relatives or friends to name any numbers in Russian, but you will need to pronounce them in English. In addition, name the birth years of your relatives in English, mentally pronounce in English the prices in the supermarket, the time on the electronic clock, etc.

Exercises for memorizing English numbers

Practice and test your knowledge. Do three exercises to practice English numerals.

Choose the options where the numbers are written correctly.

Write the result of the calculation in words.

Choose the correct corresponding ordinal number.

What can't a person do without when starting to learn English? What should your child learn for school? Without which you can't even tell what time it is? Of course, without numbers. Learning numbers in English is quite easy. You can learn them with the help of interesting color pictures, you can sing them like a song, you can memorize them like a tongue twister - there is room for imagination and creativity!

How to say numbers in English

Let's list the main numbers in English:

• 0 – zero – zero;
• 1 – one – one;
• 2 – two – two;
• 3 – three – three;
• 4 – four – four;
• 5 – five – five;
• 6 – six – six;
• 7 – seven – seven;
• 8 – eight – eight;
• 9 – nine – nine.

The following numbers do not lend themselves to general rules of formation:

• 10 – ten – ten;
• 11 – eleven – eleven;
• 12 – twelve – twelve;
• 100 – hundred – one hundred;
• 1000 – thousand – thousand.

How to pronounce them correctly in English?

You can pronounce numbers correctly, and all other words of the English language, only by knowing the transcription. Transcription is a special recording of a word as it is pronounced (for example, the Russian word “to draw” can be transcribed as [risavatsa]).

And learning English numbers with transcription is much easier than without it.

• Here's how the English numbers are read:
• 0 – 🔊 Listen zero – [‘ziərəu];
• 1 – 🔊 Listen one – ;
• 2 – 🔊 Listen two – ;
• 3 – 🔊 Listen three – [θri:];
• 4 – 🔊 Listen four – ;
• 5 – 🔊 Listen to five – ;
• 6 – 🔊 Listen to six. – ;
• 7 – 🔊 Listen to seven – [‘sev(ə)n];
• 8 – 🔊 Listen eight – ;
• 9 – 🔊 Listen to nine –;
• 10 – 🔊 Listen ten – ;
• 11 – 🔊 Listen eleven – ;
• 12 – 🔊 Listen to twelve – ;
• 100 – 🔊 Listen hundred – ;

1000 – 🔊 Listen thousand – [θʌuzend].

• But what if you don’t know how the transcription is read? For those who are just about to learn English from scratch, numbers with Russian transcription will be very useful:
• 0 – zero – [zero];
• 2 – two – [that];
• 3 – three – [sri];
• 4 – four – [fo];
• 5 – five – [five];
• 6 – six – [six];
• 7 – seven – [seven];
• 8 – eight – [ate];
• 9 – nine – [nine];
• 10 – ten – [ten];
• 11 – eleven – [ileven];
• 12 – twelve – [tvelv];
• 100 – hundred – [handred];
• 1000 – thousand – [southend].

All possible numbers, the largest numbers imaginable, are just combinations of nine digits, from zero to nine. Numbers are formed according to special rules.

Rules for forming numbers in English

In general, numbers in English can be divided into:
simple;
derivatives;
compound.

Understanding which number is which is very simple. Simple consist of one word (for example: five, nine, thousand). Derivatives consist of one word, but at the same time have the suffixes –teen (from 13 to 19) or –ty (tens from 20 to 90). Composite but, as their name suggests, they consist of several numerals.

How to form derivative numerals?

To form derivatives of the numbers 13 to 19, take a number from 3 to 9 and add the suffix –teen. Some letters may change! Be careful!

13 – three + teen = thirteen;
14 – four + teen = fourteen;
15 – five + teen = fifteen;
16 – six + teen = sixteen;
17 – seven + teen = seventeen;
18 – eight + teen = eighteen;
19 – nine + teen = nineteen.

The stress in these numerals will fall on the suffix. The numerals are read in accordance with the transcription of the first parts (for example: fifteen - [fiftin], eighteen - [eitin]).

To form derivatives of numbers from 20 to 90, take the number from 2 to 9 and add the suffix –ty.

20 – two + ty = twenty;
30 – three + ty = thirty;
40 – four + ty = forty;
50 – five + ty = fifty;
60 – six + ty = sixty;
70 – seven + ty = seventy;
80 – eight + ty = eighty;
90 –nine + ty = ninety.

The stress in these numerals will fall on the root. They are read in the same way as the first parts: (for example: sixty - [sixty], forty - [foti]).

How to form compound numbers?

Compound numerals are formed using tens + ones (if the number is less than a hundred), hundreds + tens + ones (if the number is less than a thousand), etc.

For example, let's say you want to form the number "twenty-one". You need to write two words: “twenty” and “one”. Thus, twenty-one is twenty-one! In this case, two-digit numbers are written with a hyphen.
Similarly, you can form any numbers up to a hundred:

Fifty-three – fifty + three = fifty-three.
Forty-nine – forty + nine = forty-nine.
Seventy two – seventy + two = seventy-two.
Thirty-six – thirty + six = thirty-six.
Ninety-nine – ninety + nine = ninety-nine.

Learn how to write English numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 20, 30, 50, 100, 1000, 1000000 in words and learn how to count in English.

The VoxBook audio course has many examples of using numbers and numerals. So in the novel “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson from the famous song:

Fifteen men on the dead man's chest [fifteen men on a dead man's chest]
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum [yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum]!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest [drink and the devil will bring you to the end]
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

Below are the numbers in English with transcription and translation. Next, we discuss in detail the methods of forming cardinal numerals (Cardinal Numerals) and English counting.

Numbers in English 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

The numbers in English from 1 to 12 are i.e. indicate the number of objects and consist of one word (see table). The spelling of English numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 must be remembered. Based on their first ten, all other English numbers are formed.

Numbers in English from 13 to 19.

In English the numbers are 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19.
To form them, the suffix -teen is added to the English number from 1 to 10 from the third column of the table. The result is the figure needed to count from 13 to 19:

13 thirteen - thir teen[ˌθɜːˈtiːn]
14 fourteen - four teen[ˌfɔːˈtiːn]
15 fifteen - fif teen[ˌfɪfˈtiːn]
16 sixteen teen
17 seventeen - seven teen[ˌsevnˈtiːn]
18 eighteen - eigh teen[ˌeɪˈtiːn]
19 nineteen - nine teen[ˌnaɪnˈtiːn]

Stress on numerals with the suffix -teen.
In English, numerals ending in the suffix -teen have two stresses, on the first and second syllables (ˌ weak secondary stress and ˈ primary stress). Look at the transcription so as not to make mistakes in pronunciation:
13 - thirteen [ˌθɜːˈtiːn]
14 - fourteen [ˌfɔːˈtiːn]
15 - fifteen [ˌfɪfˈtiːn]

If a numeral with the suffix -teen is not followed by a noun, then during pronunciation the main emphasis falls on the suffix -teen:
fifteen
sixteen

When a numeral with the suffix -teen is a modifier of a noun (i.e. it is followed by a noun), then the stress does not fall on the suffix, but only on its first syllable:
fifteen pencils [ˈfɪftiːn ˈpensl̩z]
sixteen boxes [ˈsɪkstiːn ˈbɒksɪz]

In the VoxBook audio course in the fairy tale “The Fish and the Ring” from the collection English Fairy Tales, in which you can hear a similar emphasis (to do this, install the audio course on your computer and listen for yourself):

English numbers 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90.

English numbers denoting whole tens 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 are derived cardinal numerals. To form them, the suffix -ty is added to the tens digit from the third column of the table. The result is the required number of tens:

20 twenty - twen ty[ˈtwenti]
30 thirty - thir ty[ˈθɜːti]
40 forty - for ty[ˈfɔːti]
50 fifty - fif ty[ˈfɪfti]
60 sixty - six ty[ˈsɪksti]
70 seventy - seven ty[ˈsevnti]
80 eighty - eigh ty[ˈeɪti]
90 ninety - nine ty[ˈnaɪnti]

Please note that in the English numbers 20, 30, 40 and 50, the root of 2 two, 3 three, 4 four and 5 five are modified, and in the number 80 the repetition of the letter t disappears:

2 two - 20 ty [ˈtwenti]
3 three - 30 ty [ˈθɜːti]
4 four - 40 ty [ˈfɔːti]
5 five - 50 ty [ˈfɪfti]
8 eight - 80 ty [ˈeɪti]

Stress of numerals with the suffix -ty.
In English numerals ending in the suffix -ty, the stress falls only on the first syllable. Check out the transcription and pronunciation:
40 - forty [ˈfɔːti]
50 - fifty [ˈfɪfti]
60 - sixty [ˈsɪksti]

English numbers 100, 1000, 1000000.

English numbers from 100 to 1000 and 1000000 are presented at the end of the table (see above).

In English, before 100 hundred, 1000 thousand, 1000000 million, either the indefinite article a (which has the meaning one) or the word one is placed:

100 hundred - a(one) hundred [ə wʌn ˈhʌndrəd] (i.e. a hundred or one hundred)
1000 thousand - a(one) thousand

Please note that the article is not used with other cardinal numbers:
Three pencils.
Three pencils.

Two girls.

Two girls.
100 hundred, 1000 thousand and 1000000 million do not have the ending -s, including when they are preceded by another number other than one, for example:
100 hundred (one hundred) - one hundred or a hundred
200 two hundred - two hundred
300 three hundred - three hundred
400 four hundred - four hundred
500 five hundred - five hundred
600 six hundred - six hundred
700 seven hundred - seven hundred
800 eight hundred - eight hundred
900 nine hundred - nine hundred
Further
1000 thousand (one thousand) - one thousand or a thousand
2000 two thousand - two thousand
3000 three thousand - three thousand
4000 four thousand - four thousand
5000 five thousand - five thousand
etc.
1000000 million (one million) - one million or a million
2000000 two million - two million
3000000 three million - three million
4000000 four million - four million
4000 four thousand - four thousand

5000000 five million - five million

6000000 six million - six million Thus, the numeral is never given the ending -s, however...
However: the word meaning number can refer not only to a numeral (which does not need to end with -s), but also to a noun, which may already have an ending -s. For example, 100 hundred, 1000 thousand and 1000000 million end with -s when they express an indefinite number of hundreds, thousands or millions. In this case, they are nouns, and the noun that follows them (if there is one) is used with the preposition of:
Three millions of tons of coal.
Three million tons of coal. Hundred ideas for learning.
Hundreds of teaching ideas. Some birds can fly thousand kilometers. Some birds fly thousands of kilometers. Four or five millions of specie had been lately thrown into circulation.

Four, five million specie (for)
Lately
were put into circulation.

Everything said above also applies to other English numbers from 2 and above, which act as a noun:

Magnificent seven. The Magnificent Seven. (singular) How many seven do you have? [they live without comforts and risk the gallows], but they eat and drink like fighting cocks [but they eat and drink like kings: “fighting cocks” = show off], and when a cruise is done, why, it’s hundreds of pounds instead of hundreds of farthings in their pockets [and when the voyage is over = after sailing, well, they have hundreds of pounds in their pockets instead of hundreds of farthings = pennies].

(R.L. Stevenson - "TREASURE ISLAND")

Note. In addition, the ending -s can be added to million when it is preceded by two, three, etc. provided there is no other number after it. In this case, million is followed by a noun with the preposition of:
Two millions of books. - Two million books.

English account. Compound cardinal numbers in English.

When counting in English in composite numbers from 20 to 99 (i.e., consisting of two numbers - tenths and units), a hyphen (dash) is placed between the tens and the following units:
20 - twenty [ˈtwenti]
21 - twenty-one [ˈtwenti wʌn]
22 - twenty-two [ˈtwenti ˈtuː]
4000 four thousand - four thousand
30 - thirty [ˈθɜːti]
31 - thirty-one [ˈθɜːti wʌn]
32 - thirty-two [ˈθɜːti ˈtuː]
4000 four thousand - four thousand

In English counting with composite numbers over 100, within every three digits, the conjunction and is placed before the tens (and if there are none, then before the units):
235 - two hundred thirty-five
407 - four hundred seven
2034 - two thousand thirty-four
2004 - two thousand four
5236 - five thousand two hundred thirty-six
250129 - two hundred fifty thousand, one hundred twenty-nine
4221589 - four million two hundred twenty-one thousand five hundred eighty-nine
203000000 - two hundred three million

In American English, the conjunction and is omitted, for example: 235 - two hundred hidden-five.

Some rules for translating numerals into English:

1. Russian genitive case of nouns after cardinal numbers do not do it translate into English with a noun with the preposition of (a common mistake):

In the VoxBook audio course in the fairy tale "JACK THE GIANT-KILLER" from the collection English Fairy Tales, in which this exact incident occurs:

...he is a huge and monstrous giant [he is a huge and monstrous giant] with three heads [with three heads]; he"ll fight five hundred men in armor [he will defeat/fight five hundred people in armor], and make them fly before him [and “will”= make them run away in front of him]."

(English Fairy Tales - "JACK THE GIANT-KILLER")

2. A Russian noun in the singular after compound numerals ending in one (one, one) should be translated into English as a plural noun:
twenty one day - twenty one day
three hundred fifty-one books - three hundred and fifty-one book

3. Cardinal numbers can appear as a definition after the word being defined. This especially applies to cases of designating page numbers, paragraphs, chapters and parts of books, house numbers, rooms, clothing and shoe sizes, bus numbers and has the meaning of an ordinal number, although it is replaced by a cardinal number:
part two - second part
chapter seven - chapter seven
Read lesson three.
- Read the third lesson. Open your book on page nineteen.
- Open your books to page nineteen. He lives in apartment 12 (twelve).

- He lives in apartment 12.

4. Combinations of two of my sisters, five of your books, two of his friends, etc. two of my sisters, five of your books, two of his friends are translated into English (and not: two my brothers, five your books, two his friends - a common mistake).

For example, in the VoxBook audio course in the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, with exactly this example: There were six of the Buccaneers , all told[there were six pirates there, "all counted" = in total] ; not another man was left alive[no one else survived] . Five of them were on their feet, flushed and swollen,

(R.L. Stevenson - "TREASURE ISLAND")

[five of them were on their feet, with red and swollen /faces/]

The topic of English numerals is quite complex, since the formation of English numerals differs from the formation of Russian ones. There are rules and there are exceptions, and both have their own peculiarities. Let's look at English numbers with transcription and Russian pronunciation, give striking examples and focus on exceptions. Go ahead for new knowledge!

Numbers in English are formed in different ways. Numerals from 1 to 10 have some rules of formation, from 13 to 20 - others. Tens, hundreds and thousands also have peculiarities of education.

Features of the formation of numerals from 1 to 12

• tU'elv
• We wanted one cake, two bananas ang eight apples => We wanted one cake, two bananas and eight apples.
• Three kilos of meat, four big tomatoes, five eggplants and garlic will make this evening much more better. I will prepare very delicious dish by my own recipe! => Three kilograms of meat, four large tomatoes, five eggplants and garlic will make the evening much better. I will prepare a very tasty dish according to my own recipe!
• Eleven foxes and twelve wolves were seen on this week at this place => Eleven foxes and twelve wolves were seen this week at this place.

Features of the formation of numerals from 13 to 20

The table shows that numerals from 13 to 19 (inclusive) are written according to the same rules; a particle is added to the cardinal number (one, two, three) –teen. And do not confuse cardinal numbers with ordinal numbers! in English they are formed in a completely different way!

On a note! It must be remembered that every rule has exceptions. In this case, the exceptions will be the numerals 13 and 15. Their roots three and five will have a modified form:

• Three => thirteen
• Five => fifteen.

Not threeteen/fiveteen!!!

Some examples:

• Seventeen girls were seen at this party while only eight boys came. — Seventeen girls were seen at the party, while only eight guys came.
• Seventeen pieces of cake were given to all those children. — All these children were given seventeen pieces of pie.
• There is a lot of fish in this river. Nineteen kinds were known 5 years ago. — There are a lot of fish in this river. Five years ago, nineteen species were known.

Tens of English numerals

The table clearly shows that tens of numbers are formed using a particle (suffix) –ty. These numerals are derivatives of cardinal ones, but you also need to add the suffix –ty.

Important! Remember that when forming the numbers 20,30, 40 and 50, the root of the quantitative digits, which serve as the basis for the formation of tens, will change:

• two – 20 twenty [ˈtwenti]
• three – 30 thirty [ˈθɜːti]
• four – 40 forty [ˈfɔːti]
• five – 50 fifty [ˈfɪfti]

And one more nuance: the number 80 [ˈeɪti] is characterized by the absence of repetition of the letter t: eight (eight) = eighty(eight+ty =eightty).

Examples:

• Thirty exotic animals were needed to make the idea of ​​the movie complete => Thirty exotic animals were needed to make the idea of ​​the movie complete.
• Sixty soldiers will come on parade in front of the palace => Sixty soldiers will come to the parade that will be in front of the palace.
• Fifty of them knew the road but only thirty agreed to follow us => Fifty of them knew the road, but only thirty agreed to follow us.

As for the stress of numerals that are formed with the help of –ty, then everything is simple - stress Always will be on the first syllable.

Reference: It happens that beginning students find it difficult to separate numerals with –ty and –teen in colloquial speech. And here stress comes to the rescue - if it is on the first syllable, then 100% we are dealing with tens of numerals.

Basics: How numbers are formed in English

When studying the formation of English numbers, it is important to remember that numbers from 1 to 12 are simple cardinal numbers. Their task is to indicate the number of objects. Such numerals consist of one word. It is very important to remember the spelling of the first twelve digits, since they are the basis for the formation of all other digits - from thirteen to a billion.

How to pronounce numerals that are formed by adding the particle –teen? Here you need to be very careful => the pronunciation of numerals (English numbers) will have two stresses: on the first and second syllable. At the same time, we immediately note that the stresses will not be equal in strength. One of them will be secondary, and the other will be primary.

For example, how do you pronounce thirteen? From the transcription of [ˌθɜːˈtiːn] it is clear that the word has two stresses. The bottom line indicates secondary stress, the top line indicates primary stress. The same goes for fourteen [ˌfɔːˈtiːn] and fifteen [ˌfɪfˈtiːn]. There are also two stresses here – main and additional.

What to do to avoid making mistakes with pronunciation? To do this, you should always look at the transcription. Each numeral, like any other word, should be studied according to the following scheme: transcription - translation - the presence of several meanings.

Note! In some dictionaries, the stress of numerals is determined by the presence (absence) of a noun after it. For example, if a numeral is next to a noun, then the stress falls on the first syllable =>

• fifteen rivers [ˈfɪftiːn ˈrɪvər z]
• sixteen cats [ˈsɪkstiːn ˈkæts]

But! If a numeral stands alone in a sentence, without a noun, then the stress falls on the second syllable (on the suffix –teen):

• fifteen
• sixteen

Examples:

• Fifteen cats were sold this week (emphasis is on the first syllable) => Fifteen cats were sold this week
• How many cats were sold this week? – Fifteen (emphasis on the suffix –teen) => How many cats were sold this week? - Fifteen.

A hundred, a thousand, a million: is there a difference?

First of all, it should be noted that before the numerals hundred (one hundred), thousand (thousand) and million (million) there will always be either the word one or the indefinite article a (meaning ‘one’).

• a/one hundred => One h’andrid [ə wʌn ˈhʌndrəd]
• a/one thousand => One Southend
• one million => One m'ilyan.
• One hundred and twenty => one hundred and twenty
• One hundred singers => one hundred singers
• One hundred thirty eight cars => one hundred thirty eight cars.

But! Other cardinal numbers are characterized by the absence of an article! =>

• Five dresses => Five dresses.
• Eight balls => Eight balls.

Important! The numerals hundred, thousand and million do not have the ending –s, which determines the plural.

• Two hundred => two hundred
• Five hundred => five hundred
• Nine hundred => nine hundred, etc.

If we are talking about thousands, then the same rule applies:

• thousand (one thousand) – one thousand or a thousand
• five thousand – five thousand
• seven thousand – seven thousand.

Millions are formed by the same principle:

• million (one million) – one million or a million
• seven million – seven million
• nine million – nine million.

But! English wouldn't be as fun to learn if it didn't have exceptions. What would it be like without them? Students will be interested to know that the ending –s in millions, thousands and hundreds is still used. When does this happen? When measures denote an indefinite number of these same millions, thousands and hundreds.

Examples

• Hundreds of pages to read for understanding => Read hundreds of pages to understand (something, a foreign language, for example).
• Five millions of tons of gold => Five million tons of gold.
• Thousands of kilometers to walk to win marathon => Walk thousands of kilometers to win the marathon.

From the examples it is clear that after hundreds, thousands and millions with the ending –s (when translated into English) comes a noun or verb. In most cases, the additional part of the sentence will still be a noun. And if it is present, it must be with the preposition of:

• Seven or eight thousand of specie were made of pure silver => Seven or eight thousand metal coins were made of pure silver.

A song about English numbers for children

Let's sum it up

Numbers in English are formed in a different way from the one we studied in Russian grammar. Tens and hundreds have their own peculiarities of education, in which, naturally, there will certainly be exceptions to the rules. At the same time, in order to learn numerals correctly, it is extremely important to learn how to pronounce them correctly.

When writing numerals, they also have their own nuances; you also need to know the subtleties of spelling. Therefore, we are learning the topic of English numbers with transcription and Russian pronunciation little by little and with examples (translation) in order to better understand the intricacies of the material. And don’t forget to regularly review the topics you’ve already studied so that you don’t forget them.

Good luck and new achievements! Remember that everything was not given to anyone at once. Start small and gradually develop your abilities. If you want, you will succeed! See you again and more interesting topics to study!

A couple more videos on the formation of English numbers from 1 to 100 and from 100 and above from an English-speaking teacher:

Not a day goes by without using numbers. Find out what time it is; write down the phone number of a business partner or a girl you like; dictate the delivery address for sushi or pizza—everywhere you will need to know the number in English. As in the Russian language, British vocabulary has its own characteristics depending on the area of ​​use. Let's look at them.

Writing numbers in words

Many people remember with pain their school Russian language lessons on the topic “Numerals”. There were so many rules, exceptions and caveats! How difficult were the numerals to decline? But English numbers, like many other aspects, are much simpler.

Initially, you will need to remember 13 basic numerals:

zero - zero or thought
one - one
two - two
three - three
four - four
five - five
six - six
seven - seven
eight - eight
nine - nine
ten - ten
eleven - eleven
twelve - twelve

Most likely, these words are familiar to everyone, since they are often used in popular songs, and are also part of the school English curriculum.

To continue counting in English, you only need two suffixes: - teen And - ty, which are attached to the root of one of the 13 basic numerals. Teen used for numbers from 13 before 19 . For education ten(twenty, thirty, forty, etc.) the suffix is ​​used - ty.

For example, to write the number 13 we take the root of the number three - thir and add the suffix to it - teen — thirteen. And for 30 in English you need the same root thir, but already the suffix ten - ty — thirty thirty.

The suffixes -teen and -ty sound very similar, so confusion arises. But there is a tricky hint that will help put everything in its place once and for all. Remember who they are teenagers? Once again, simple English provides a clue for all times. age- age, teen- numeral suffix " transitional» ages - from 13 to 19. For other numbers in English you will need the suffix -ty. We hope this trick will forever help clear up the confusion between whether 17 is seventeen or seventy in English. We remember about teenagers - and voila!

To use it in any area of ​​linguistic communication, you only need to remember 2 points: there are two types or classes of numerals in English speech - ordinal and cardinal.

Ordinal, based on the name, indicates what the subject is in order. For example, first in line or forty-ninth on the list.

Quantitative, therefore, answers the question “how much?” and indicate the total quantity. For example: one house, three horses, a thousand things to do.

Numbers in English, as in Russian, have the same root. All except the first three. But if in our grammar there are several suffixes for forming an ordinal number from a cardinal number, but in English there is only one - th.

The table below shows how easy it is to form an ordinal number from a cardinal number. The only thing you shouldn’t forget about is the definite article “ the”, which must be placed before ordinal numbers.

Writing numbers in digits

The English-speaking population uses the same number system as we do - Arabic, so there should not be any difficulties with writing cardinal numbers. It is worth paying attention to the use of ordinal numbers, where the following abbreviations are used:

the first-1st
the second-2nd
the third-3rd
the fourth-4th
the eleventh-11th
the twenty first-21st

As you can see, the general principle of abbreviation is to drop the article and add the last two letters of the ordinal number written in words to the number. Despite the fact that in writing the article is dropped, when reading a number in English it is still necessary to add an article.

1st prize -the first prize

Numbers in addresses

The numbers in English as part of the address, in general, are no different from the writing of our addresses. Cardiac numbers are used to indicate the number of a house, building, apartment or office. If the name of a street or business contains an ordinal number, then the abbreviation from the previous section should be used:

1st Avenue - 1st Avenue

To save space on the envelope, numbers are written digitally rather than in capital letters. But it is worth noting that the building number in the English version is indicated before the street name, and not after, as in our case. You can read more about writing an address in English.

Numbers in years and months

A common mistake when writing the day of the month in English is to use a cardinal number instead of an ordinal number. That is, not 21 -e(what?) March, and 21 (How many?) March. Rely on your native language when translating dates:
22 -e April(which order is the cardinal number) - 22nd April.

Twenty second of April - the twenty second of April

Please note: when writing abbreviated date, article omitted the and preposition of, indicating the genitive case. When reading abbreviated dates must be added article And pretext. Otherwise, it will turn out not “April 22nd”, but “April twenty-second”. Alternatively, the date can be written like this:

April 22, 2017 - the twenty second of April twenty seventeen

When reading the year, it is customary to divide a four-digit number in English into two pairs. In the case of the beginning of the two thousandths, from 2001 to 2009, they use the Russian analogue - two thousand and one, two thousand and nine. But not everything is analogous to Russian speech in the language of Shakespeare. The word “year” is not added at the end of the phrase:

March 8, 2029 - the eighth of March twenty twenty nine.

If it is necessary to indicate the period BC or, conversely, after the birth of Christ, the following abbreviations are used: B.C. - before Christ - before the birth of Christ (BC); A.D. - Anno Domini (lat.) - from the birth of Christ (AD).

Numbers in hours and minutes

The British use the European time system, consisting of 24 hours, but Americans prefer two by twelve - before noon and after noon. Before noon, that is, starting With 00:00 And until 12:00, denoted by letters a.m. (ANTE MERIDIEM - from Latin until noon). Beginning from lunch And until midnight numbers are used p.m. (POST MERIDIEM - from Latin after noon).

Most often, to make life easier for ourselves and for us, the English-speaking population first names the hours, then the minutes, using cardinal numerals:

It's 5:15 - it's five fifteen.

But true gentlemen, like the Russian intelligentsia, can use the following phrases in their speech:

It's quarter to ten. - A quarter to ten.
It's half past nine. - Half past nine.
It's ten past eleven. - Ten past eleven.

To easily navigate such phrases, you need to remember just three words:

quarter- quarter
past- after
to- before

We have already studied the remaining numbers in English above.

Thus, any similar expression can be constructed. A quarter of an hour is 15 minutes. Hence, a quarter to two(that is, 15 minutes left until two) will sound in English it's quarter to two. If now quarter past six(that is, 15 minutes have passed after six in the evening), then in English we will say it's quarter past six.

Often confusion is caused by the indication of half an hour. In Russian we use half of the next hour - half past nine - 8:30. The British rely on facts - what has already happened: 8:30 - thirty minutes after eight - It's half past eight.

ID numbers

Identification numbers include any numbering of objects, phenomena and even people. It would seem that numbering implies the use of ordinal numbers, but in reality this does not always happen.

When talking about people, it is customary to use ordinal numbers with articles:

Peter I - Peter the First

When talking about events, we use cardinal numbers:

The Second World War - World War Two

In other cases, cardinal numbers are most often used:

Channel Nine - Channel Nine, platform 9 3/4 - Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

A similar principle should be used when identifying buildings and structures, car numbers, and so on. It is allowed to add the word “ number» when numbering objects: car No. 13 - carriage number thirteen/carriage thirteen.

Numbers in fractions and percentages

We use numbers in English in fractions and percentages in the same way as in Russian:

1/2 - one second part. This phrase uses a cardinal number (one), an ordinal number (second).

1/2 - one second part - one second

One part is often called another numeral. 1/2 is half, 1/3 is a third, 1/3 is a quarter, etc. In English, for this, the number “one” is replaced by the article “a”:

1/2 - half - a half
1/3 - third - a third
1/4 - quarter - a forth

If there are parts two, then it will sound in Russian already in plural number, which means we also use the plural in a foreign language:

2/9 - two ninths - two ninths

Percentages are expressed using decimal fractions, and here the British implement what Russian mathematics teachers everywhere prohibit - they simply name the numbers before and after the point! Moreover, the word itself “ dot" sounds like " point».

1.11 - one point one one
12.842 - one two point eight four two
999.209 - nine nine nine point two night nine/ nine nine nine point two o nine

Zero in mathematics most often sounds like “ thought", but in everyday life it is acceptable to use " zero" And " o" If there is a zero before the point, it can be omitted:

0.4 - thought point four/point four
0.02 - nought point nought two / point nought two / point o two
0.34 -thought point three four/point three four

Chapter and page numbering

In books, numbers in English are used according to the principle of identifying objects - the cardinal number is placed after the name of the object:

Chapter I (Chapter One) - Chapter I (Chapter One)

Page 487 (page four hundred eighty seven) - page 487 (page four hundred and eighty seven)

Spelling large numbers

Large numbers in English are written similarly to our numerals:

two thousand four hundred seventy two - two thousand four hundred and seventy two
Three million fifteen thousand two hundred two - three million fifteen thousand two hundred and two

If the number can be reduced to half, then the word “ half»:

Seven and a half billion people live on earth. - There are seven and a half billion people on earth.

Important: indicating the exact quantity, ending with " s" For plural not added to the words hundred, thousand,million, billion billion etc. Plural is used only when it is necessary to emphasize the mass character without indicating the exact number in English:

There were hundreds of people there. - There were hundreds of people there.

Remember: between hundreds and tens in large numbers it is customary to add the conjunction “ and».

Numbers in business documents

English numbers in documents are used according to general rules, but require mandatory duplication in written and numerical equivalent:

17,200 (seventeen thousand two hundred) inconsistencies were identified. - There were 17,200 (seventeen thousand and two hundred) discrepancies found.

Numbers in statistics

Similar to official papers, numbers in English are used in statistics. It is allowed not to use duplication here, but it is required maintaining uniformity: either all data is indicated in numbers, or everything is written in words.

Numbers at the beginning of sentences

It is not customary to use English numbers at the beginning of a sentence; they should be replaced with capital numerals:

10 little black kids went to dinner. - Ten piccaninnies went out to dine.

Combined numbers

Combined numbers include the use of both alphabetic and digital equivalents of numerals. According to writing ethics, it is preferable to use only one of the options throughout the text. But in cases where the abundance of numbers may interfere with the perception of information, the use of words and numbers is allowed:

In West Virginia, 15 two-story buildings burned to the ground last night. - Last night fifteen 2-storied buildings burnt down to ashes in West Virginia.

Conclusion

Despite the vastness of the topic “Numbers in English,” remembering the basic rules is not difficult. The key to success in using a language is constant practice. Take your old school math notebooks and try to translate the examples and problems into English. Read newspapers and periodicals with statistical data. And best of all, go to the “Series” section and watch Sillicon Valley, where you are guaranteed to encounter large sums and abundant statistical data, which will help you remember numbers in English forever! Well, or sign up for our individual lessons via Skype!

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