Cardinal Numbers in English
Cardinal numbers in English, the formation of complex numbers. The lesson gives information on the rules of reading phone numbers and some arithmetic examples.
There are two classes of numerals in the English language – cardinal and ordinal.
1. Cardinal numbers in the English language could be roughly divided into three groups (according to the word formation).
I. The first group
one – 1
two – 2
three – 3
four- 4
five – 5
six – 6
seven – 7
eight – 8
nine – 9
ten – 10
II. The second group
eleven – 11
twelve – 12
thirteen – 13
fourteen – 14
fifteen – 15
sixteen – 16
seventeen – 17
eighteen – 18
nineteen – 19
III. The third group
twenty – 20
twenty one – 21
twenty two – 22
thirty – 30
forty – 40
fifty – 50
sixty – 60
seventy – 70
eighty – 80
ninety – 90
a (one) hundred – 100
a (one) thousand – 1000
2. Numerals ending with the “-teen” suffix usually have two syllables stressed: four’teen’. In fluent speech one of the stresses could be weakened.
3. In order to form such numerals as 31, 65, 95 etc., the number of dozens is said first, and then the number for single-digit numbers.
Examples:
- thirty one
- sixty five
- ninety five
My grandmother is sixty five.
My salary is thirty one thousand dollars.
My husband is thirty one.
4. Complex numerals are formed as follows: first, the number for thousands is said, then the number for hundreds, and then everything else.
For example:
145,896 – one hundred forty five thousand eight hundred ninety six.
Phone numbers in English are read by one digit.
For example:
132-463-447 – one-three-two-four-six-three-four-four-seven.
5. If the first or the last two digits are the same, then the word “double” is used in order not to repeat it twice. For example:
4439 – double four-three-nine
6799 – six-seven-double nine
6. Arithmetic examples are read as follows:
+ – plus
= – is
– – minus
X – multiplied by
: – divided by
25+45=70 – Twenty five plus forty five is seventy.
16-4=12 – Sixteen minus four is twelve.
3×8=24 – Three multiplied by eight is twenty four.
40:9=5 – Forty divided by nine is five.
Joke!
Read the following verse and enjoy it:
45 1 0 8
37 80
3 9 5 4 0 2
20 20 20!
Fourty five one zero eight
Thirty seven eighty
Three nine five four zero two
Twenty twenty twenty!