In spoken English "zero", "nought" or "oh" are
used for the number 0. "zero" is most common in US
and technical English.
In English a comma or a space is used to separate
thousands, eg 10,000 or 10 000. A decimal point is used for decimals,
eg pi=3·142857
US and GB1
Europe and GB2
1 000 000 000
109
a/one billion
a/one thousand million
1 000 000 000 000
1012
a/one trillion
a/one billion
1 000 000 000 000 000
1015
a/one quadrillion
a/one thousand billion
1 000 000 000 000 000 000
1018
a/one quintillion
a/one trillion
1 GB finance, business
and newspaper forms
2 GB traditional forms
2. Fractions
1/8
a/one eighth
1/4
a/one quarter
1/3
a/one third
1/2
a/one half
3/4
three quarters
2/3
two thirds
7/8
seven eighths
2/5
two fifths
Complex fractions are spoken as follows:
22/7
twenty-two over seven
9/126
nine over a hundrend and twenty-six
3. Mathematical Expressions
+
plus/add
2+2
two plus two
-
minus/take away
10-3
ten minus three
x
multiplied by/times/by
3x5
three times five or
three fives
÷
divided by
2÷3
two divided by three
=
equals/is equal to
is/are
2+2=4
two plus two equals four
two plus two is four
>
is more than
a>b
a is more than b
<
is less than
b<a
b is less than a
%
percent
80%
eighty percent
√
(square)root
√10
the square root of ten
x2
squared
52
five squared
x3
cubed
73
seven cubed
xx
to the power
1120
eleven to the power twenty
4. Circular or Angular Measure
60 seconds (") = 1 minute (´)
90 degrees = 1 right angle
60 minutes = 1 degree (°)
360 degrees = 1 circle or circumference
the diameter of a circle =
the straight line passing through its centre the radius of a circle = ½ x
the diameter the circumference of a circle
= 22/7 (π) x the diameter
5. Money
GB: £ p (pounds and pence)
100 pence (100p) = 1 pound (£1)
amount
coin
1p
a penny, one p
a penny
2p
twopence, two pence, two p
a twopenny piece
5p
five pence, five p
a fivepenny piece
10p
ten pence, ten p
a tenpenny piece
20p
twenty pence, twenty p
a twenty pence piece
50p
fifty pence, fifty p
a fifty pence piece
£1
a pound, a quid
a pound coin
£5/£10/£20
five/ten/twenty pounds
five/ten/twenty quid
a five/ten/twenty pound note
a fiver/tenner
£4·63
four pounds sixty-three (pence)
US: $ ¢ (dollars and cents)
100 cents (100¢) = 1 dollar ($1)
