Ch 1 · Lesson 39English · Chapter 1 · Lesson 39 · Grammar primer
A hundred and one, two thousand, and zero
A hundred and five, the British way. Two hundred, never two hundreds; hundreds of only with no number. And four ways to say 0.
The short version
Two hundred people, but hundreds of people
, .
Why?Hide
After a number, hundred, thousand and million never take an s. You only add the s when there is no number in front, and then you add of too. The first is an exact count; the second just means a lot.
A hundred and one: hundred, and the British "and"
For 100, say or . A hundred is the everyday choice: It costs a hundred pounds. One hundred sounds more exact. After thousand, use one: 2,100 is two thousand one hundred, never two thousand a hundred.
In , put after hundred when a smaller number follows, and after thousand when what follows is under a hundred:
| Figure | British English |
|---|---|
| 101 | |
| 250 | |
| 999 | - |
| 3,005 | |
In American , people often leave the and out: two hundred fifty. Both are understood everywhere. This page uses the British form.
Hundred, thousand, million: no s after a number
After a number, , and never take an s. With no number in front, add the s and : it means a lot, not an exact count.
| Exact: no s | A lot: s + of |
|---|---|
| |
| thousands |
| millions |
Two hundred people came. (exactly 200) Hundreds of people came. (a lot, nobody counted) The same works with dozen (twelve): two dozen eggs, but dozens of eggs.
Zero: oh, nought, nil or zero?
English has four ways to say 0. Which one depends on where the 0 is.
| Where | Say | Example |
|---|---|---|
| , | 0207 = oh two oh seven | |
| decimals () | nought | 0.5 = nought point five |
| scores () | nil | 2-0 = two nil |
| , | 0°C = zero degrees |
Zero is understood everywhere, and Americans use it in most of these places: zero point five. In phone numbers, British speakers say for a digit that comes twice: 7755 is double seven double five. In tennis, 0 is : fifteen love.
Going further: Zero to twelve: learn these as words and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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Lesson 39 of 42 in this chapter