Gateway to Grammar: How to say large numbers in English

Congratulations if you can say numbers in the hundreds in English. That is an achievement. When the numbers get higher than that it can get a bit difficult trying to work out how to say them. Most people cheat or try not to talk about it! There are some rules about how to say these numbers, and I will show you how to do it:

·         100 – one hundred

·         200 – two hundred (not hundreds – if you need to say a plural the s goes on the end of the noun – “two hundred wizards”)

·         1,000 – one thousand

·         2,000 – two thousand (not thousands)

·         100,000 – one hundred thousand

·         200,000 – two hundred thousand (not thousands)

·         1,000,000 – one million

·         1,000,000,000 – one billion

·         1,000,000,000,000 – one trillion

…If you need to talk about numbers higher than a trillion you are doing wizard mathematics.

The trick to saying numbers is to remember where you say “and”. The “and” comes between the “hundred” and the numbers under one hundred. Here are some examples:

·         642 – Six hundred and forty-two.

·         102 – One hundred and two.

·         7,289 – Seven thousand two hundred and nine.

IMPORTANT!: Numbers that have hundreds of thousands may have more than one “and” for example:

·         289,623 – Two hundred and eighty-nine thousand, six hundred and twenty-three.

·         1,203,201 – One million two hundred and three thousand, two hundred and one.

The next time you find yourself talking about crazy big numbers, just remember the “and” goes after the “hundred”, and don’t put an “s” on the end of hundred, thousand, a million, or a billion! That’s it! Go out there and do your wizard maths.

To find out more about the private English lessons I teach online, visit www.wrightenglish.com. You can book a free trial lesson with me, just email lana@wrightenglish.com!