a •c v ja E ■ Ifthenounissingularbutrepresents a group of people, the verb is singular in American English but in British English it maybe singular or plural: > Three quarters/75% of the workforce is/are against f he strike. ■ If the noun is plural, the verb is plural: ► Two thirds/65% of children play computer games. Decimals a write and say with a point (.) (not a comma) ■ say eachfigure after the point separately: 79.3 seventy-nine point three 3.142 three point one four two 0.67 (zero) point sixseven (BrE aho) nought pointsixseven Mathematical expressions + plus minus x times/multiplied by + divided by = equals/is % per cent (NAmE usually percent) 32 three squared 5a five cubed 610 sixto the power of ten j square rootof The figure '0' The figure 0 has several different names in English, although in American English zero is commonly used in all cases; ■ used in precise scientific, medical and economic contexts and to talk about temperature; * It was ten degrees below zero last night. ► zero inflation/growth/profit Nought ■ used in British English to talk about a number, age, etc.: > A million is written with six noughts. > The car goes from nought to sixty in ten seconds. ► clothes for children aged nought to six 'o' /so/ NAmE /ou/ ■ usedwhensayingabankaccountnumber, telephone number, etc. Nil ■ used to talk about the score in a team game, for example in football: ► The final score was one nil {1-0) m used to mean'nothing at all': »■ Tlte doctors rated her chances as nil. Telephone numbers ■ Ail numbers are said separately. 0 is pronounced fmj {BrE) or /ou/ [NAmE): ► (01865)556767 o one eight six five, five five six seven six seven (or doublefive six seven six seven) Temperature ■ The Celsius orCentigrade(°C) scale is officially used in Britain and for scientific purposes in the US: ► a high of thirty-five degrees Celsius ► The normal temperature of the human bodyis37°C. ■ The Fahrenheit (°F) scale is used in all other contexts in the US and is also still commonlyused in Britain. The words 'degrees Fahrenheit/Centigrade/Celsius' are often omitted; ► Temperatures soared to over a hundred. (200°F) ► She'sillinbedwithatemperatureofa hundred and two. (102°F) Money i Britain ► 100pence/p = l British pound (£1) k It costs 90p/90 pence return on the bus. m when talking about anindividual coin: a twenty pence piece/a twenty p piece m whentalkingaboutpoundsandpence people often only say the numbers: It only cost five ninety nine. (£5.99) u minfoirnalBritishEnglish: £1 a quid £5 five quid or a fiver £10 ten quid or a tenner In the US ic one cent apenny 5c five cents a nickel 10c ten cents a dime 25c twenty-five cents a quarter $1.00 one dollar a dollar bill ■ in informal American English dollars are calledbucks: ► This shirt cost fifty bucks. Writing and saying dates British English ► 14 October 1998 or 14th October 1998 (14/10/98) ► Her birthday is on the ninth of December. >■ Her birthday is on December the ninth. American English ► October 14,1998(10/14/98) >• Her birthday is December 9th, Years 1999 nineteen ninety-nine 1608 sixteen o eight (or, less commonly, nineteen hundred and ninety-nine and sixteen hundred and eight) 1700 seventeen hundred 2000 (theyear) two thousand 2002 two thousand andtwo 2015 twentyfifteen AD 76 / A.D. 76 ADseventy-six 76 CE / 76 C.E. seventy-sixCE (Both these expressions mean '76 years afterthe beginning of the Christian calendar'.) 1000BC/1000B.C. onethousandBC 1000 BCE/1000B.C.E one thousand BCE (Both these expressions mean '1000 years before the beginning of the Christian calendar".) Age ■ whensayinga person'sageuseonlynumbers: ► Sue is ten and Tom is six, ► She left home at sixteen. ■ a man/woman/boy/girl, etc. of... ► They've got a girl of three and a boy of five. ► a youngwoman of nineteen ■ in writing, in descriptions or to emphasize sb's age use ...years old: ► She was thirty-oneyears old and a barrister by profession. ► He is described as white, 5ft 10 ins tali and about 50years old. k> You're forty years old-stop behaving like a teenager! m ...years old is also used for things: ► The monument is 120years old. m You can also say a ...year-old/month-old/ week-old, etc.: ► Youth training is available to all sixteen year-olds. ► a ten. week-old baby ► a remarkable 1000year-old tomb m Use ...years of age in formal or written contexts: ► Not applicable to persons under eighteen years of age m Use the ...age group to talk about people between certain ages: ► He took first prize in the 10-16 age group, m To give the approximate age of a person: 13-19 in his/her teens 21-29 in his/her twenties 31-33 in his/her early thirties 34-36 in his/her mid thirties 37-39 in his/her fare thirties ■ Torefertoaparticulareventyoucan use at/by/before, etc. the age of.. . ► Most smokers start smoking cigarettes before the age of sixteen. Numbers in time Thereis often more than one way of telling the time: 6:30 six thirty halfpastsix(BrE} half six (BrE informal) Other times 5:45 five forty-five (a) quarter to six (BrE) (a) quarter to/of six (NAmE) 2:15 twofifteen (a) quarter past two (BrE) (a) quarter after Cwo(NAmE) 1:10 oneten. ten past one [BrE] ten after one (NAmE) 3:05 three o five five past three (BrE) five after three (NAmE) 1:55 onefifty-five five to two (BrE) five to/of two (NAmE) ■ with 5,10,20 and 25 the word minutes is not necessary, but it is used with other numbers: 10.25 twenty-five past/after ten 10.17 seventeen minutes past/after ten ■ useo'clockonlyforwholehours: ► it's three o'clock. m If it is necessary to specify the time of day use in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening or at night. ■ in more formal contexts use: a.m. = in the morning or after midnight p.m. ■= in the afternoon, in the evening or beforemidnight » Hegetsupat4a.m. to deliver the mail. Do not use o'clock with a.m. or p.m.: ► Me gets upatio clock am. ► Hegets up at 4 o'clock in the morning. v mi see you at6o 'clock p. m. * lliseeyou at 6 o'clock this evening.