Numerals are one of the first topics that are covered when learning a foreign language. The reasons are clear: you can apply this knowledge immediately. Children begin to count toys and other items, while adults exchange phone numbers, plan their time and pay for purchases. Dates, all kinds of measurements, mathematical operations are important. Of course, numerals in English are an important part of everyday speech.
What can be the numbers?
When starting this topic, it is worth, first of all, remember cardinal numbers. In English, as in Russian, they denote a certain number of items and answer the question "How much?" (How many?). Among them are prime and composite numbers. The first includes numbers from 1 to 20 and tens. Compound numbers are numbers like 25, 67, 172, etc.
In addition to quantitative numbers, there are also ordinal numbers that allow you to answer the question "Which number, which one?". For example: He is not a winner, but he is the second (second). When using them in speech, you should usedefinite article or other word indicating ownership (John’s second wife/ My first teacher).
To form ordinal numbers, the corresponding cardinal number is taken and the -th suffix is added, although there are a few exceptions. So, the following ordinal numbers in English need to be remembered: the first (1st), the second (2nd), the third (3rd). Slight changes in spelling are typical for the fifth (5th), the ninth (9th), the twelfth (12th).
When working with tens (20, 30, 40) and turning them into ordinal numbers, you should replace the final vowel -y with the letter combination -ie-, to which the suffix -th (the thirtieth, the eightieth) will be added.
Top ten
Numbers from 1 to 9 are the main ones for memorization, they form hundreds, thousands, as well as compound numbers in English. They all have a simple base, but their pronunciation and spelling sometimes causes some difficulty for students.
The same group includes the numbers 0 and 10. The number "ten" as a measure of measurement was known many centuries ago, when people had only fingers to count. Until now, when teaching children to count, most parents use the finger method.
The number 0 can be pronounced in several ways. The first, standard - zero. It is used to indicate temperature, counting in most sports games, for countdown. There are other ways to represent this number. For example, in situations where it is important to name each number separately,the word oh [‘ɔu] is used. British English also has the word nil [nil] used in sports.
11-19 and tens
Almost all numerals in the second ten have a characteristic suffix -teen. The exceptions are 11 and 12 (eleven, twelve). Etymologists believe that these names appeared back in the days when people could only count with their fingers and began to use the expressions “one left” and “two left”, preserved in the language to this day.
The numerals 13 - 19 contain a base taken from the corresponding numbers of the first ten, and the suffix -teen (for example, fourteen - 14). There are minor spelling changes in three forms: 13 - thirteen, 15 - fifteen, 18 - eighteen. With a simple enumeration, the stress should be on the first syllable, but if there is a noun nearby, the stressed syllable becomes the second. This important rule should be observed in order not to confuse numerals ending in -teen and -ty in speech.
Tens always end with the –ty suffix (twenty, eighty). These are simple numbers in English. The table above gives an idea of stem and suffix changes, exceptions and irregular word forms.
Composite numbers
As in any language, tens and ones, hundreds and thousands are used in composite numbers. Numbers from 21 to 99 should be written with a hyphen (fifty-four, sixty-nine).
After 100, tens are joined with the union and. If there are no tens, but there are units, a similar rule applies. Hundreds themselves are denoted by the word hundred, thousands - thousand, a million - million, a billion - billiard. With an exact indication of the number (two hundred, five million), the word is in the singular. If an indefinite amount is implied, the ending -s is added to the numeral (for example, thousands of dollars - thousands of dollars).
They will help you remember and practice these numerals in English exercises for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The following words correspond to arithmetic symbols: plus (+), minus (-), times or multiplied by (x), divided by (/), equals (=).
47x16-52=700 (Forty-seven times sixteen minus fifty-two equals seven hundred)
Features of the pronunciation of dates
Studying the numerals in English, you can not ignore the writing of dates. All years up to and including 1999 should be divided into tens when pronounced, for example, 1988 would sound like nineteen eighty-eight. The dates of the new millennium can be called in different ways. 2000 is two thousand or twenty hundred. The following years, respectively, are two thousand and one or twenty oh-one (2001). Since 2010, dozens have been used again (twenty ten, twenty seventeen), although two thousand and ten can also be said.
To write dates, both cardinal and ordinal numbers are used. At the same time, in speech, the British use only ordinal,necessarily with the definite article.
Today is the twentieth of July, twenty sixteen. (Today 20 July 2016 goal)
If you need to clarify on what day an event happened (will happen), you must put the preposition ON (My birthday is on 2nd April) before the date. The year is preceded by the preposition IN (He was born in 2009).
Knowing the numbers is also useful to navigate in time. It’s 17.10 (pronounced seventeen ten).
The use of numbers in everyday situations requires excellent knowledge of this topic. It is worth taking some time to practice so that you can easily pay for purchases, communicate and exchange information in English.
