NUMBERS ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE PRE INTERMEDIATE

 

ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE PRE INTERMEDIATE UNIT 61 NUMBERS

 

A Cardinal numbers 379 = three hundred and seventy-nine 2,860 = two thousand, eight hundred and sixty 5,084 = five thousand and eighty-four 470,000 = four hundred and seventy thousand 2,000,000 = two million 3,000,000,000 = three billion Language help   There is no plural ‘s’ after hundred, thousand, million and billion when they are part of a number. When we are talking generally, they are plural, e.g. thousands of people, millions of insects. B Dates With dates, we write them and say them in a different way. We can write 4 June or June 4th, but say the fourth of June or June the fourth. We can write 21 May or May 21st, but say the twenty-first of May or May the twenty-first. 1997 = nineteen ninety-seven; 2016 = two thousand and sixteen or twenty sixteen. Common mistakes   The seventh of April (NOT The seven April); the fourth question (NOT the four question) C Fractions and decimals 1¼ = one and a quarter 1.25 = one point two five 1½ = one and a half 1.5 = one point five 1¾ = one and three quarters 1.75 = one point seven five D Percentages 26% is spoken as twenty-six per cent. More than 50% of something is the majority of it, less than 50% of something is the minority: The vast majority of the students (e.g. 95%) agreed with the new plan, only a small minority (e.g. 5%) were unhappy. E Calculations There are four basic processes. Notice how they are said when we are working out [trying to calculate] the answer. + = addition e.g. 6 + 4 = 10 (six plus/and four equals/is ten) – = subtraction e.g. 6 – 4 = 2 (six minus four is two) x = multiplication e.g. 6 x 4 = 24 (six multiplied by / times four is twenty-four) ÷ = division e.g. 8 ÷ 2 = 4 (eight divided by two is four) Some people are not very good at adding up numbers [putting numbers together to reach a total], and often get stuck [have a problem] if they have to work out something quite difficult. The easiest way is to use a calculator [a small electronic machine for working out numbers]. F Saying ‘0’ ‘0’ can be spoken in different ways in different situations: telephone number: 603449 = six oh three, double four nine OR six zero three, double four nine mathematics: 0.7 = nought point seven; 6.02 = six point oh two OR six point nought two temperature: –10 degrees = ten degrees below zero OR minus ten degrees   EXERCISES 61.1 How do you say these numbers in English? Write the answers in words, then practise saying them. 1 462  _________four hundred and sixty-two_____________________ 2 2½ ______________________________________________ 3 2,345 ______________________________________________ 4 0.25 ______________________________________________ 5 1,250,000 ______________________________________________ 6 10.04 ______________________________________________ 7 47% ______________________________________________ 8 10 September ______________________________________________ 9 940338 (phone number) ______________________________________________ 10 -5 Celsius ______________________________________________ 11 in 1996 ______________________________________________ 12 2012 ______________________________________________ 61.2 Correct the mistakes. 1 Two thousand and five hundred. __________Two thousand, five hundred ____________ 2 After the game, I heard that the crowd was over twenty thousands. _____________________ 3 We arrived on the seven June. _____________________ 4 There were two hundred twenty altogether. _____________________ 5 My birthday is the thirty-one August. _____________________ 6 My phone number is seven twenty-three, six nought nine. _____________________ 61.3 Complete the sentences. 1 Eight _____multiplied_____ by seven is fifty-six. 2 The ______________ were in favour of the new airport; about 80%, I think. 3 A small ______________ did not support the idea, but it was only 5%. 4 I’m not very good at arithmetic. I always have to use a ______________. 5 When I tried to add ______________ all the numbers, I couldn’t it out. 6 I can do simple calculations, but I get ______________ if the numbers are very big. 61.4 Can you work out the answers? If you find it difficult, use paper or a calculator. 1 23 and 36 is ____fifty-nine ___________. 2 24 times 3 is ___________________. 3 80 minus 20 is ___________________. 4 65 divided by 13 is ___________________. 5 Add 10 and 6, multiply by 3, then subtract 15 and divide by 11. What number is left? ___________________ 6 Divide 33 by 11, multiply by 7, add 10, and subtract 16. What number is left? ___________________ 61.5

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