Expressing Numbers in English

When expressing large numbers (more than one hundred) read in groups of hundreds. The order is as
follows: billion, million, thousand, hundred. Notice that hundred, thousand, etc. is NOT followed by an
‘s’.
Two hundred NOT two hundreds
NOTE: British English takes 'and' between 'hundred and ...' American English omits 'and'. In the
examples below, this is represented: (AND)
Hundreds
350 – three hundred (AND) fifty 425 – four hundred (AND) twenty five
Thousands
15,560 – fifteen thousand five hundred (AND) sixty 786,450 – seven hundred (AND) six thousand four
hundred (AND) fifty
Millions
2,450,000 – two million four hundred (AND) fifty thousands 234,700,000 – two hundred (AND) thirty-
four million seven hundred thousand
Speaking About Numbers
Numbers are read in the following manner in English:
million, thousand, hundred
Example:
2,350,400 => two million three hundred (AND) fifty thousand four hundred
NOTE - Remember: Use ‘and’ only between hundreds in British English. American English leaves the
‘and’ out.
Decimals
Read decimals as the given number point XYZ
2.36=>two point three six
Percentages
Read percentages as the number followed by ‘percent’
37%=>thirty seven percent
Fractions
Read the top number as a cardinal number, followed by the ordinal number + ‘s’
3/8=>three eighths
NOTE: ¼ =>one quarter, 2/3 => two thirds, ½ one half
Expressions
Here are the descriptive names of a number of important numerical expressions:
Speed 100 mph (miles per hour)
Weight 80 kg (kilograms) OR 42 lbs (pounds)
telephone number 0171 895 7056
decimal .087
date 12/04/65
percentage 75%
temperature 28° C (celsius) OR 72° F (fahrenheit)
height 1 m 89 cm
price $60
fraction 8/13
score 2-1

Special Notes:
1. In American English, the order of large numbers is
thousand, million, billion, trillion, etc. (1,000; 1,000,000;
1,000,000,000; 1,000,000,000,000; etc.)
In American English a thousand million is a billion,
but in British English, a thousand million is a milliard.

2. When saying large numbers, do not make thousand,

million, billion, trillion, etc. plural.
Not this:
*twenty thousands dollars; *five millions people
But this:
twenty thousand dollars; five million people
3. In American English, use commas to separate
thousands, millions, etc.
Not this:
*21.011
*31.256.721
*941.492.638.526
But this:
21,011
31,256,721
941,492,638,526

4. People often say "a" instead of "one" before

hundred, thousand, etc. and they often add
"and" before the last number:
a hundred and twenty-one
a thousand and eleven / etc.

NOTE
In British English use "and" when saying numbers in the hundreds. Example: seven hundred AND twenty
seven.In American English do NOT use "and" when saying numbers in the hundreds. Example: seven
hundred twenty seven.

I am often asked the question: How many 0s are in ______. Here is a quick list of numbers and how many
0s they have:
Ten: 10 (1 zero)
Hundred: 100 (2 zeros)
Thousand: 1000 (3 zeros)
Ten thousand 10,000 (4 zeros)
Hundred thousand 100,000 (5 zeros)
Million 1,000,000 (6 zeros)
Billion 1,000,000,000 (9 zeros)
Trillion 1,000,000,000,000 (12 zeros)
Quadrillion 1,000,000,000,000,000 (15 zeros)
Quintillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (18 zeros)
Sextillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (21 zeros)
Septillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (24 zeros)
Octillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (27 zeros)
Nonillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (30 zeros)
Decillion 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (33 zeros)

American Numbers and Prices

Remember that in English, we divide prices at the decimal point.
For example: $4.59 four dollars (and) fifty-nine cents (long way)
four / fifty nine (short way)
(Time is also divided in a similar way: 12:47 is said "twelve / forty-seven")
Americans often say large numbers in "phrases" of two digits.
For example: 267 two hundred sixty-seven(long way)
4381 two / sixty seven(short way)
four thousand three hundred eighty-one
forty-three / eighty-one
Some people also use two-digit phrasing with telephone numbers:
565-8347 five-six-five // eighty-three / forty-
seven
Practice the following prices (both long and short ways) with a partner:
That will be____(price)______
That comes to ____(price)____
$59.65 $1.79* $29.00** $425.78 $231.49 $3,657.88
$27.95 $6.75 $82.03 $781.34 $690.42 $9,405.31
$14.40 $77.17 $70.50 $211.54 $380.18 $1,550.15
*Also : a dollar seventy-nine
**Also : twenty-nine (dollars) even
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Writing Numbers
Except for a few basic rules, spelling out numbers vs. using figures (also called numerals) is largely a
matter of writers' preference. Again, consistency is the key.
Policies and philosophies vary from medium to medium. The two most influential guidebooks for
publishers, editors, and writers, the Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style, have
different approaches. The first recommends spelling out the numbers one through nine and using figures
thereafter; Chicago recommends spelling out the numbers one through ninety-nine and using figures
thereafter.
This is a complex topic, with many exceptions, and there is no consistency we can rely on among blogs,
books, newspapers, and magazines. This chapter will confine itself to rules that all media seem to agree
on.
Rule 1. Spell out all numbers beginning a sentence.
Examples:
Twenty-three hundred sixty-one victims were hospitalized.
Nineteen fifty-six was quite a year.
Note: The Associated Press Stylebook makes an exception for years.
Example: 1956 was quite a year.
Rule 2a. Hyphenate all compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine.
Examples:
Forty-three people were injured in the train wreck.
Twenty-seven of them were hospitalized.
Rule 2b. Hyphenate all written-out fractions.
Examples:
We recovered about two-thirds of the stolen cash.
One-half is slightly less than five-eighths.
Rule 3a. With figures of four or more digits, use commas. Count three spaces to the left to place the first
comma. Continue placing commas after every three digits. Important: do not include decimal points when
doing the counting.
Examples:
1,054 people
$2,417,592.21
Rule 3b. It is not necessary to use a decimal point or a dollar sign when writing out sums of less than a
dollar.
Not Advised: He had only $0.60.
Better:
He had only sixty cents.
OR
He had only 60 cents.
Rule 4a. For clarity, use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 PM and 12:00 AM.
NOTE
AM and PM are also written A.M. and P.M., a.m. and p.m., and am and pm. Some put a space between the
time and AM or PM.
Examples:
8 AM
3:09 P.M.
11:20 p.m.
Others write times using no space before AM or PM.
Example:
8AM
3:09P.M.
11:20p.m.
For the top of the hour, some write 9:00 PM, whereas others drop the :00 and write 9 PM (or 9 p.m., 9pm,
etc.).
Rule 4b. Using numerals for the time of day has become widely accepted.
Examples:
The flight leaves at 6:22 a.m.
Please arrive by 12:30 sharp.
However, some writers prefer to spell out the time, particularly when using o'clock.
Examples:
She takes the four thirty-five train.
The baby wakes up at five o'clock in the morning.
Rule 5. Mixed fractions are often expressed in figures unless they begin a sentence.
Examples:
We expect a 5 1/2 percent wage increase.
Five and one-half percent was the expected wage increase.
Rule 6. The simplest way to express large numbers is usually best.
Example: twenty-three hundred (simpler than two thousand three hundred)
Large round numbers are often spelled out, but be consistent within a sentence.
Consistent: You can earn from one million to five million dollars.
Inconsistent: You can earn from one million dollars to 5 million dollars.
Inconsistent: You can earn from $1 million to five million dollars.
Rule 7. Write decimals using figures. As a courtesy to readers, many writers put a zero in front of the
decimal point.
Examples:
The plant grew 0.79 inches last year.
The plant grew only 0.07 inches this year.
Rule 8. When writing out a number of three or more digits, the word and is not necessary. However, use
the word and to express any decimal points that may accompany these numbers.
Examples:
one thousand one hundred fifty-four dollars
one thousand one hundred fifty-four dollars and sixty-one cents
Simpler: eleven hundred fifty-four dollars and sixty-one cents
Rule 9. The following examples are typical when using figures to express dates.
Examples:
the 30th of June, 1934
June 30, 1934 (no -th necessary)
Rule 10. When spelling out decades, do not capitalize them.
Example: During the eighties and nineties, the U.S. economy grew.
Rule 11. When expressing decades using figures, it is simpler to put an apostrophe before the incomplete
numeral and no apostrophe between the number and the s.
Example: During the '80s and '90s, the U.S. economy grew.
Some writers place an apostrophe after the number:
Example: During the 80's and 90's, the U.S. economy grew.
Awkward: During the '80's and '90's, the U.S. economy grew.
Rule 12. You may also express decades in complete numerals. Again, it is cleaner to avoid an apostrophe
between the year and the s.
Example: During the 1980s and 1990s, the U.S. economy grew.

http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/commas_with_numbers.htm
Commas can be used with large numbers to assist the reader. They are placed every three decimal places
to the left of the decimal point. For example:
 123,456.789
(Be aware that most other countries use a comma for the decimal point and full stops / periods to mark
out every three decimal places.)
Read more at
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Commas in Numbers
In numbers of more than three digits, use a comma after every third digit from right to left.
Incorrect: The area of North America is approximately
9435000 square miles.
Correct: The area of North America is approximately
9,435,000 square miles.
(This is much easier to read.)
Numbers which normally do not take commas are ZIP codes, phone numbers, page numbers, serial
numbers, house numbers, and dates of years.
Many European countries use a comma in place of the decimal point and use periods or blank spaces to
separate every third digit.
United States: 2,367.48 francs
France: 2.367,48 francs or 2 367,48 francs

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inserted

Comment
In AE we always put commas after a third 0. Your 1000,000 should be 1,000,000. But when numbers get
really big (i.e., more than twelve or so 0s) we use scientific notation.
I have 34,567,674 hairs on my head.. etc etc.
But only 34.567674% of them are gray!

In other words, when the number is not a decimal expression, we use commas as has already been
suggested. When it is a decimal expression, no matter how far out the decimal is carried, we only use a
single decimal point.

Of course, carrying out a number this far rarely occurs in everyday use, unless one is in a scientific or
mathematic field, and then integers are commonly used.
I guess the basic answer Thomas is that we insert a comma in any number above 999, then every three
places thereafter. Consider it this way: the first comma seperates the hundred from the thousands; the
second, the thousands from the millions, etc.

998
998
1,000
1,001 etc

999,998
999,999
1,000,000
1,000,001 etc