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Saying Numbers
The above are all ways of saying O in English.
We say the following:
In English, we use a point (.) and not (,) for decimals. We use commas in figures only when writing thousands. 10,001 is ten thousand and one.
10.001 is ten point oh oh one.
In English all the numbers after a decimal point are read separately.
You will also hear people say:
0.05 zero point oh five or 10ˉ oh point oh five
But if the number after the decimal point is a unit of money, it is read like a normal number: ₤12.50 twelve pounds fifty DM 2.95 two marks ninety five
NB. This is very important on the phone, say nought point three seven five (0.375) and not nought point three hundred and seventy five. If the listener missed the word point, you might lose a lot of money. Say the digits separately after the point. Now say the following:
The stress is on the cent of per cent ten perCENT Notice the following when talking about interst rates:
0.5% a half of one per cent 0.25% a quarter of a percentage point
For example: The Bank of England raised interest rates this morning by a quarter of a percentage point. Now say the following:
Note: It is likely that different people will refer to the early years of the 21st century in different ways. Remember that the year 1066 is always referred to as ten sixty six –not one thousand and sixty six.
1,000,000 is a million of ten to the power of six (10°) 1,000,000,000 is a billion or ten to the power of ten (10°)
This is now common usage. British English used to be that a billion was ten to the power of twelve 10 but now everyone has accepted the current American usage. Now say the following:
10 is ten squared 10 is ten cubed √6 is square root of 6
We usually give telephone and fax numbers as individual digits: 01273 736344 oh one two seven three, seven three six, three four four 344 can also be said as three double four 44 26 77 double four, two six, double seven 777 can be said as seven double seven or seven seven seven
7. FRACTIONS
Fractions are mostly like ordinal numbers (fifth, sixth, twenty third etc):
a third a fifth a sixth
Notice, however, the following:
a half a quarter three quarters three and a half two and three quarters
Now read the following news item:
In an opinion poll published today, over ¼ of the electorate say they intend to vote in next month's referendum/ ¼ of voters say they will definitely vote 'Yes', while 1/3 will vote 'No'. But that leaves over 2/3 of the voters who haven't made up their minds. Both sides remain hopeful. A spokesman for the 'Yes' campaign said, "At the moment, 2/3 of the electorate won't vote 'No'". A spokesman for the other side replied, " That's true, but ¾ won't vote 'Yes'!"
Remember to pronounce the s in equals as [z]. It is singular; the part on the left equals the part on the right.
10 + 4 = 14 ten plus four is fourteen ten and four equals fourteen 10 – 4 = 6 ten minus four is six ten take away four equals six 10 x 4 = 40 ten times four is (or equals) forty ten multiplied by four is forty 10 ÷ 4 = 2 ½ ten divided by four is two and a half + = add - = subtract (deduct) x = multiply ÷ = divide
Other ways of saying divide are:
per Fr/$ francs per dollar 6% p.a. six per cent per annum over (x - y)/z x minus y, over z which is not the same as x, minus y over z: x –y/z
9. FOREIGN CURRENCY
Notice these ways of speaking about exchange rates: How many francs are there to the dollar? How many francs per dollar did you get? The current rate is 205 pesetas to the pound.
How would you say these dollar rates?
When a number is used before a noun – like an adjective – it is always singular. We say:
a fifty-minute lesson not a fifty- minutes lesson
Here are more examples:
a sixteen-week semester a thirty-five pounds book a fifteen-minute walk a six-week waiting list a twenty- pound reduction a two and a half litre bottle a six billion dollar loan a two litre engine
Say the following in a similar way:
1. They lent us 250,000 pounds They gave us a ….. 2. Our house is 200 years old We bought a ……….. 3. We lost $50,000 We made a………….. 4. The salmon weighed 15 pounds! I caught a ………..
How many of the following can you say aloud in under 1 minute?
Date: 2015-04-20; view: 3275
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