Ever hesitated while announcing numbers during a presentation? Think you've got your English numbers game perfected? Hold that thought! We've delved into the intricacies of numbers in business English, and here are the highlights from our recent podcast episode.

🔢 Simple Numbers:

• No 's' when preceded by a number:
  • "80 thousand" NOT "80 thousands"
  • "3 hundred" NOT "3 hundreds"
     
• Always use 'AND' after 'hundred':
  • "one hundred AND twenty three"
     
• They come in blocks of hundreds:
  • "one hundred AND twenty three million, four hundred AND fifty six thousand, seven hundred AND eighty nine."
     

🔟 Decimals:

• Call it a "decimal point" NEVER a "dot."
   
• After the decimal point, read each number individually.
   
• When discussing money, numbers after the point are expressed wholly.
  • £12.34 is "twelve pounds, thirty four"
     

🔗 Fractions:

• "1/2" is "one half" or "a half"
   
• "1/4" is "one quarter"
   
• From 1/5 onwards, add a ‘th’ sound:
  • "1/5" is "one fifth"
     

⌛ Years and Dates:

• 2023 can be "Two thousand AND twenty three," "Two thousand, twenty three," or "20/23"
   
• "1 / 12 / 23" is read differently in the UK and the US.
  • UK: "The first of December 2023"
  • US: "The twelfth of January 2023"
     
• Always include "the" and "of" even if not written, and always use ordinal numbers for the day.
   

🕰 Telling Time:

• US uses "a quarter after 12" instead of "quarter past 12."
   
• Avoid using "o’ clock" and "AM/PM" together.
   
• "half 3" is "3:30" and not "2:30."
   

⭕ Expressing 0:

• "ZERO" is used for decimals, percentages, phone numbers, and certain expressions.

If this has piqued your interest, don't miss our premium tier for the full lesson, complete with exercises and detailed examples.

Get ready to ace your business English game with confidence! 🌟🎧📈

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