Numbers, dates and the time

Say prices, dates, phone numbers and the time clearly. Lesson 3 of 58: Foundations, CEFR A1.

Thirteen or thirty?

• The teens and the tens sound close, and the stress tells them apart. Teens stress the end: thir-TEEN, four-TEEN, fif-TEEN. Tens stress the start: THIR-ty, FOR-ty, FIF-ty. And “-ty” in American English often sounds like “-dy”.
• When it matters, say it twice: “fifteen, one five.”
• thirteen, thirty
• fifteen, fifty
• It costs seventeen dollars, one seven. (Making a price clear)

Prices, phone numbers and years

• Prices: “twelve ninety-nine” for 12.99. Phone numbers are said one digit at a time, in groups, with “double” for a repeated digit in British English: “oh-seven-seven…” Zero is “oh” in phone numbers and “zero” in maths.
• Years are said in pairs: 1998 is “nineteen ninety-eight”; 2025 is “twenty twenty-five” or “two thousand and twenty-five”.
• That’s twelve ninety-nine. (12.99)
• My number is nine eight four, double one, five six. (984 115 6…)
• I was born in nineteen ninety-eight. (1998)

Dates and the time

• Say dates with “the” and “of”: “the third of May” (British) or “May third” (American). Use ordinal numbers: first, second, third, fourth, fifth… twenty-first.
• The time: “It’s seven thirty” or “It’s half past seven.” Quarter past (7:15), quarter to (7:45). Digital style is always safe: “seven forty-five”.
• It’s the twenty-first of June.
• The meeting is at quarter past ten. (10:15)
• Let’s meet at six thirty. (6:30)
• Tip: “At” for clock times, “on” for days and dates: at 6:30, on Monday, on the 3rd.

Lines to have ready

• What time is it? / Have you got the time? (Asking the time)
• How much is this? (Asking a price)
• Could you repeat the number, please? (Checking a number)
• What’s the date today? (Asking the date)
• Is that one-five or five-oh? (Checking fifteen or fifty)

Your turn to speak

• Book a table by phone: say the day and date, the time, how many people, and your phone number. Say each number clearly and check it.
• I said the date with “the … of …” or “May third”
• I used “at” for the time
• I said my phone number in groups
• I checked a number that could be confused

Related

• Lesson 2: I am, you are: the verb to be
• Lesson 4: Daily routines: the present simple
• The whole English course

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