Arbeitsblatt: numbers - usage

CARDINAL NUMBERS DATES These numbers are often confused. Notice that if we pronounce them singly, the stress changes. 16,60 sixteen, sixty 17,70 seventeen, seventy In British English we say and before the tens in large numbers. This is left out in US English. 465 four hundred (and) sixty-five In British English the and of are spoken but not written. 25th April 1954 comma is often written to separate the thousands in numbers over 999. (3,986) British and US English differ in the pronunciation of these very large numbers. 1,000,000,000 thousand million (BE) billion (AE) 1,000,000,000,000 billion (BE) trillion (AE) However, many British companies are now adopting the US usage,-so if in doubt, check. Some British newspapers have started to adopt the European term milliard to refer to thousand million, but many British people are still unfamiliar with the term. LONG NUMBERS In long numbers such as phone, fax, bank account, or credit card numbers, we pronounce the figures individually. 720844 seven two oh, eight double four We generally group the numbers in threes, rather than in twos as is common in Europe. MONEY Although the money signs are written in front of the numbers, we generally say them after the numbers. €56 fifty-six Euros $4m four million dollars Y92bn ninety-two billion yen MEASUREMENTS 62km 1 4 cm 6m 9m sixty-two kilometres fourteen and half centimetres six metres by nine metres Temperatures were traditionally measured in the Fahrenheit scale. Although the Celsius or centigrade scale is now officially in use, the Fahrenheit scale is still used informally for non-scientific purposes in Great Britain and the United States. 92F 4C ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit minus four degrees Celsius/centigrade The twenty-fifth of April, nineteen fifty-four or April the twenty-fifth, nineteen fifty-four In US English the date is generally written with the month first and the date second. The and of are not usually used in the spoken form. May 16 1996 May sixteenth, nineteen ninety-six This can lead to misunderstandings when dates are given in figures only. 10/12/1995 The tenth of December nineteen-ninety-five (BE) October twelfth, nineteen ninety-five (AE) FRACTIONS 1 , half, three-quarters one eighth one and two-thirds, DECIMAL FRACTIONS In British and US English, point is used when writing decimals, not comma as is common in Europe. 6.9 six point nine 0 is pronounced oh after the point and nought before the point in British English and zero or oh in US English. 8.07 eight point oh seven (BE) eight point zero seven (AE) 0.6 nought point six (BE) point six (AE) The numbers after the point are pronounced individually. 24.35 twenty-four point three five SPORTS RESULTS Zero in US English is usually pronounced oh or nought in British English. But in sports results, it can also be pronounced nil or love. Football: Real Madrid three; Ajax Amsterdam nil. Tennis: And it Federer to serve with the score at fifteen love. SUMS 156 21 fifteen plus/and six equals twenty one 32-24 thirty two minus/take away/less twenty four 6x8 six multiplied by eight/times eight 28 7 twenty-eight divided by seven 52 five squared 9 the square root of nine