387 388 389 numbers 389 sure which structure is used to express a particular compound idea. The most common expressions will be leamt by experience; in cases of doubt, a good dictionary will often show which form is correct. now (that) Now (that) can be used as a conjunction. In an informal style, that is often dropped (see 584). Now (that) Andrew is married, he hus become much more responsible. Now the exams are over I can enjoy myself. nowadays Nowadays is an adverb meaning ‘these days’, ‘at the present time’. People seem to be very depressed nowadays. Nowadays we think nothing of space travel. Nowadays cannot be used as an adjective. I don't like modern fashions, (Not Fdon't Hike the nowadays fashions.) numbers fractions and decimals: two fifths; nought point four We say simple fractions like this: 4 alone quarter "ye eleven sixteenths Yq an/one eighth 3% — three and three quarters 4p three sevenths 6%, six and one eighth 4 two fifths More complex fractions can be expressed by using the word over. "oq three hundred and seventeen over five hundred and nine We write and say decimals like this: 0.4 nought point four (Not netght-eomme four) 0.375 nought point three seven five (Not neught-peintthree hundred-and-seventy-five) 4.7 four paint seven For the difference between a(n) and one with numbers, see paragraph 11 below. before nouns With fractions below 1, we use of before nouns. three quarters of an hour seven tenths of a mile @ third of the students Half is not always followed by of (see 231). half an hour half (of) the students > page 361numbers 389 Offs also possible with decimals below 1. nought point six of a mile 0.1625 cm nought point one six two five of a centimetre However, decimals below J are often followed directly by plural nouns. nought point six miles (Nov nought-peint-six-mite) nought point one three two five centimetres Fractions and decimals over J are normally followed by plural nouns. one and a half hours (Nov one-and-a-half hor) three and three eighths miles 1.3 millimetres (Not -3-mitimetre) Note also the structure a... and a half. I've been waiting for an hour and a half. singular or plural verbs Singular verbs are normally used after fractions, decimals, and other expressions referring to amounts and measurements (for mote details, see 527). Three quarters of a ton is too much. (Nov Fhree-quarters-of a-tor-are-. . 3.6 kilometres is about 2 miles. But plural verbs are used when we are talking about numbers of people or things, even after a singular fraction. A third of the students are from abroad. (Not Athird-of the-studentsis-...) Half of the glasses are broken. After expressions like one in tltree, one out of five + plural noun, both singular and plural verbs are possible. One in three new cars break/breaks down in the first year. nought, zero, nil etc The figure 0 is usually called nought in British English and zero in American English. When we say numbers one figure at a time, 0 is often called oh (like the letter 0). My account number is four one three oh six. In measurements of temperature, 0 is called zero in both British and American English. Zero is followed by a plural noun. Zero degrees Celsius is thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit. Zero scores in team games are called 1i/ (American zero or nothing). In tennis and similar games, the word dove is used (originally from French l’oeuf, meaning ‘the egg’ - the figure 0 is egg-shaped). ‘And the score at half-time is: Scotland three, England nil. Forty-love; Andrews to serve. telephone numbers We say each figure separately, pausing after groups of three or four (not two). When the same figure comes twice, British people usually say double. 307 4922 three oh seven, four nine double two (AmE three zero seven, four nine two two) page 36210 numbers 389 Roman numbers Roman numbers (J, I, II, IV etc) are not common in modern English, but they are still used in a few cases — for example the names of kings and queens, page numbers in the introductions to some books, the numbers of paragraphs in some documents, the numbers of questions in some examinations, the figures on some old clock faces, and occasionally the names of centuries. It was built in the time of Henry V. For details, see Introduction page ix. Do question (vi) or question (vii), but not both. @ fine XVII Century English walnut chest of drawers The Roman numbers normally used are as follows: 1 10 Xx 40 XL xl 2 11 XI xi 45 XLV xlv 3 12 XI xi 50 LI 4 13 XIW xiti 60 IX kk 5 14 XIV xiv 90 XC xc 6 19 XIX xix 100 Cc 7 20 XX xx 500 D 8 VINE viii 21 XXI xxi 1000 M 9 IX ix 30 XXX xxx 1995 MCMXCV cardinal and ordinal numbers: books, chapters etc; kings and queens After a noun we usually use a cardinal number (one, two etc) instead of an ordinal number (first, second etc). This structure is common in titles. Compare: the fourth book — Book Four the third act - Act Three Mozart's thirty-ninth symphony - Symphony No. 39, by Mozart the third day of the course - Timetable for Day Three However, the names of kings and queens are said with ordinal numbers. Henry VII: Henry the Eighth (sor Henry-Eight) Louis XIV: Louis the Fourteenth Elizabeth U: Elizabeth the Second centuries Note how the names of centuries relate to the years in them. The period from 1701 — 1800 is called the 18th century (not the 17th); 1801 — 1900 is the 19th century, etc. floors The ground floor of a British house is the first floor of an American house; the British first floor is the American second floor, etc. and; punctuation In British English we always put and between hundred/thousand! million and numbers below a hundred. In American English, and can be dropped. 310 three hundred and ten (AmE also three hundred ten) 5,642 _five thousand, six hundred and forty-two 2,025 two thousand and twenty-five > page 3631 12 13 numbers 389 In measurements containing two different units, and is possible before the smaller, but is usually left out. two hours (and) ten minutes two metres (and) thirty centimetres In writing we generally use commas (,) to divide large numbers into groups of three figures, by separating off the thousands and the millions. Full stops (.) are not used in this way. 3,127 (Not 3-427) 5,466,243 We do not always use commas in four-figure numbers, and they are not used in dates. 4,126 oR 4126 the year 1648 Spaces are also possible. There are 1 000 millimetres in a metre. Note the hyphen between the tens and units in tiventy-one, twenty-two, thirty-six, forty-nine etc. a and one We can say an eighth ot one eighth, a hundred ot one hundred, a thousand or one thousand, a million or one million, etc. One is more formal. I want to live for a hundred years. (nor .. for-trmdred-years) Pay Mr J Baron one thousand pounds. (on a cheque) A can only be used at the beginning of a number. Compare: alone hundred three thousand one hundred (Not three-thousand-a-hundred) A thousand can be used alone, and before and, but not usually before a number of hundreds. Compare: alone thousand alone thousand and forty-nine one thousand, six hundred and two (More natural than a thousand, six hundred and two.) We can use @ or one with measurement words. The rules are similar. a/jone kilometre (BUT one kilometre, six hundred metres} an/one hour and seventeen minutes (BUT one hour, seventeen mrinutes) alone pound (BUT one pound twenty-five) numbers with determiners Numbers can be used after determiners. Before determiners, a structure with of is necessary. You're my one hope. One of my friends gave me this. (Nov One-my-friend-....) eleven hundred etc In an informal style we often use eleven hundred, twelve hundred etc instead of one thousand one hundred etc. This is most common with round numbers between 1,100 and 1,900. We only got fifteen hundred pounds for the car. This form is used in historical dates (see 152). He was born in thirteen hundred. It was built in fifteen (hundred and) twenty-nine. page 36414 15 16 17 18 numbers 389 billion A billion is a thousand million. (But in older British usage a billion was a million million.) five hundred etc without -s After a number, the words dozen, lnundred, thousand, million and billion have no final -s, and of is not used. This also happens after several and a few. Compare: — five hundred pounds — a few million years Jumdreds of pounds millions of years - several thousand times It cost thousands. Singular forms are used as modifiers before nouns in plural measuring expressions. @ five-pound note (nor @-five-pounds- note) @ three-mile walk a four-foot deep hole six two-hour lessons a six-foot tall man @ three-month-old baby In an informal style, we often use foot instead of feet in other structures, especially when we talk about people’s heights. ‘My father’s just over six foot two. For the use of be in measurements, see 92. For the use of possessive forms in expressions of time (e.g. ten minutes’ walks four days" journey), see 440-444. British money (pre-euro) There are 100 pence in a pound. Sums of money are named as follows: Ip one peniy (informal one p (|piz/) or a penny) Sp_five pence (informal five p) £3.75 three pounds seventy-five (pence) or three pounds and seventy-five pence (more formal) Some people now use the plural pence as a singular in informal speech; pound is sometimes used informally as a plural. That's two pounds and one pence, please. It cost me eight pound fifty. Singular forms are used in expressions like a five-pound note (see above). However, pence is often used instead of penny (a five pence stamp). American money There are 100 cents (¢) in a dollar (§). One-cent coins are called pennies; five-cent coins are nickels; ten-cent coins are dimes; a twenty-five cent coin is a quarter. non-metric measures In recent years, Britain has adopted some metric measurement units, but non- metric measures are still quite widely used. America uses mainly non-metric units. Approximate values are as follows: > page 36519 20 21 22 numbers 389 1 inch (1 in) = 2.5 cm 12 inches = 1 foot (30 cm) 3 feet (3 fi) = 1 yard (90 cm) 5,280 feet / 1,760 yards = 1 mile (1.6 km) 5 miles = 8 km 1 ounce (1 oz) = 28 gn 16 ounces = 1 pound (455 gm) 2.2 pounds (2.2 lb) = 1 kg 14 pounds (14 lb) = 1 stone (6.4 kg) (BrE only) J British pint = 56.8 cl 1 US pint = 47.3 cl 8 pints (8 pt) = 1 gallon 1 British gallon = 4.55 litres 1 US gallon = 3.78 litres 1 acre = 4,840 square yards = 0.4 hectares 1 square mile = 640 acres = 259 ha British people measure their weight in stones and pounds or (more recently) in kilograms; Americans just use pounds, Height is measured in feet; distance can also be measured in feet, but longer distances are often measured in yards, especially in British English. T weigh eight stone six. (NOT . . eight stones-six) We are now flying at an altitude of 28,000 feet. The car park's straight on, about 500 yards on the right. area and volume We say, for example, that a room is twelve feet by fifteen feet, or that a garden is thirty metres by forty-eight metres. Aroom twelve feet by twelve feet can be called twelve feet square; the total area is 144 square feet. A container 2 metres by 2 metres by 3 metres has a volume of 12 cubic metres. aand per When we relate two different measures, we usually use a/an; per is often used in formal writing. It costs two pounds a week. (or... £2 per week.) We're doing seventy miles an hour. (oR ... 70 miles per hour | mph.) numbers not used as complements after be Numbers are used as subjects or objects, but not usually as complements after be. Tve got three sisters. (Nov My-sisters-are-three.) There are twelve of us in my family. (More natural than We are twelve. ..) spoken calculations Common ways of saying calculations in British English are: 242=4 Two and two isare four. (informal) Two plus two equaistis four. (formal) 7-4=3 Four from seven is/leaves three, (informal) Seven take away four islleaves three. (informal) Seven minus four equalslis three. (formal) page 36623 390 of course 390 3 x 4=12 Three fours are twelve. (informal) Three times four is twelve. (informal) Three multiplied by four equaislis twelve. (formal) 3=3 Three(s) into nine goes three (times). (informal) Nine divided by three equalsfis three. (formal) example of a spoken calculation Here, for interest, is a multiplication (146 x 281) together with all its steps, in the words that a British English speaker might have used as he/she was working it out on paper before the days of pocket calculators. 146 x 281 29200 11680 146 41026 A hundred and forty-six times two hundred and eighty-one. beginning: Put down two noughts. Two sixes are twelve; put down two and carry one; two fours are eight and one are nine; tivo ones are two. next line: Put down one nought. Eight sixes are forty-eight; put down eight and carry four; eight fours are thirty-two and four is thirty-six; put down six and carry three; eight ones are eight and three is eleven. next line: One times 146 is 146. addition: Six and nought and nought is six; eight and four and nought is twelve; put down two and carry one; six and two are eight and one is nine and one is ten; put down nought and carry one; nine and one are ten and one is eleven; put down one and carry one; two and one are three and one are four. total: forty-one thousand and twenty-six. Note how is and are can often be used interchangeably. For ways of saying and writing dates, see 152. For ways of telling the time, see 579. of course We use of course (not) to mean ‘as everybody knows’ or ‘as is obvious’. It looks as if the sun goes round the earth, but of course that’s not true. We'll leave at eight o'clock. Granny won't be coming, of course. Of course can be used as a polite reply to a request. Could you help me? ~ Of course. But of course is not always a very polite reply to a statement of fact. It’s cold. ~It certainly is. (NOT Of course it is — this would suggest that the first speaker had said something too obvious to be worth mentioning.) For the use of of course to structure arguments, see 157.5. page 367