Telling the time

Times of the clock are read out in full as follows:

At 5 at five (o’clock)

At 5.15 at five fifteen, at a quarter past five, at a quarter after five (AmE)

At 5.30 at five thirty, at half past five

At 5.45 at five forty-five, at a quarter to six, at a quarter of six (AmE)

At 5.50 at five fifty, at ten (minutes) to six

At 6.10 at ten (minutes) past six, at ten minutes after six (AmE); at six ten can be used when one is referring e.g. to a timetable.

Fractions

Fractions are read out in full as follows:

Simple fractions are expressed by using ordinal numbers (third/s, fourth/s, fifth/s, etc.):

¹/₂ (a) half They stayed (for) a half hour / half an hour

¹/₄ a quarter They stayed (for) a quater of an hour

¹/₁₀ a/one tenth a tenth of the population

³/₄ three quarters three quaters of an hour

²/₃ two-thirds two thirds of the population

1¹/₂ one and a half one and a half hours or an hour and a half

3¹/₅ three and a/one fifth three and a fifth inches

NOTE:

1. the expression one and a half takes a plural noun (e.g. one and a half kilometers);

2. expressions like ¾ hour, ⁷/₁₀ mile are said ‘three quarters of an hour, seven tenths of a mile’.

More complex fractions are often expressed by using the word over: ³¹⁷/₅₀₉ – three hundred and seventeen over five hundred and nine.

Decimals are read out in full, with each figure separate.

NOTE: they use a full stop (called ‘point’), not a comma, before the fraction:

2.5 – two point five

3.14 – three point one four (three point fourteen)

0.78 – point seventy-eight (point seven eight) or nought point seventy-eight (US: zero point seventy-eight)

How to write numbers

In writing numerals may be spelled out or be represented by figures: Boing 567.

NOTE:

In writing, commas (but not full stops) are used to separate thousands: 100, 456; 1,000,000; 1,908,367,849.

Numerals in figures or in letters?

Although there is no definite rule, there are some guidelines that should be followed.

U sually most writers spell out numbers under 100 (as one, two, the third, for seven years, forty-five years old) and use figures for 100 and over (286 buildings). But large numbers are spelled out: The house was sold for $1 million.

A number that starts a sentence should always be spelled out, even if it is over 100: Three thousand forty-four voters selected Teresa.

Whenever mentioning parts of a book (page numbers, sections, chapters, exercises), figures are used: The teacher assigned exercise 12 on page 235.

In special or technical texts cardinals and ordinals should always be indicated by figures.

Calculations

1. Addition

In small additions, they usually say and for +, and is or are for = :

Two and two is/are four.

Six and five is/are eleven.

What’s the eight and six?

In larger additions (and in more formal style) they use plus for + and equals or is for = :

Seven hundred and twelve plus a hundred and forty-five is (equals) eight hundred and fifty-seven.