Numbers in

English

Speaking for Business

We are going to learn
how to:

• tell time
• say fractions
Time
What are the rules?

1. Use 24-hour frame in formal

situations and for timetables.
2. There are three ways of saying “half
past something”
3. Use “oh” for zero
Let’s try with these
examples

• The meeting starts at 19:00.

• The plane leaves at 17:43.
• Shall we meet at around 18:30?
• You are late for the meeting. It’s 08:03.
• The next train leaving platform 4 will
depart at 15:00
1. Use 24-hour frame for scheduled events

• 19:00= “seven” or “seven p.m.” or

maybe “seven o’clock”
17:43 = “seventeen forty-three”
18:30 = “six thirty” or “half-past six” or
“half six”
08:03 = “eight oh-three” or “three
(minutes) past eight”
• 15:00 = fifteen hundred or 3 pm-
depending on who and where you are
saying it
1. There are three ways of saying “half past something”

… and none of them includes “o’clock.”

• You can say “06:30” in three different

ways:
• “It’s half past 6.” (half past + number)
• “It’s 6 thirty.” (number + thirty)
• “It’s half 6.” (half + number) — this
one’s a bit informal.
• But you can never, ever, ever say “it’s
half past 6 o’clock.”
3. Use “oh” for zero
• The last example above (3:03) is a little tricky. If you have to
express a time like this, instead of saying “zero,” just say
“oh.”
• 3:03 = “three oh-three”
1:08 = “one oh-eight”
Fractions
What are fractions?

Fractions are parts of a whole

number
A fraction of something is a part of
something.
First you…

• The meeting should’ve just been 1 and

½ hours, but because Eduardo wouldn’t
stop talking, it went on for over 2 and
½ hours. 1/3 of people was bored.
• Were you right?
• 1 ½ hours = “one and a half hours” or
“an hour and a half”
2 ½ hours = “two and a half hours”
• ⅓ = “one-third” or “a third”
What are the rules?
1. Use an ordinal number on the bottom
2. Make the bottom number plural if the
top number is 2 or higher
3. Say “quarter” not “fourth” and “half”
not “second”

• Example: ¼, 2/3, 7/8

• One quarter, two thirds, seven eights

For more
on
fractions,
follow the
link:
http://www.englishnumbe
r.com/fractions/how-to-
pronounce-fractions-in-
english.html
You now know how to say fractions and tell time.
Great job!