Numbers, dates and times
How to say and write numbers, prices, dates, years and the time: three hundred and fifty, the fifth of May, half past two.
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This page shows how we say numbers in British English, and how we write and say prices, dates, years and the time.
Numbers
Two-word numbers from 21 to 99 have a hyphen: twenty-one, forty-five, ninety-nine. In British English we put and before the tens and units, the last one or two digits: three hundred and fifty, two thousand and eight, two thousand seven hundred and fifty. There is no and when nothing follows: two hundred, one thousand two hundred. The words hundred, thousand and million have no -s after a number.
Number | We say |
|---|---|
15 / 50 | fifteen / fifty |
101 | a hundred and one, one hundred and one |
350 | three hundred and fifty |
1,200 | one thousand two hundred, twelve hundred |
2,750 | two thousand seven hundred and fifty |
1,000,000 | a million |
2.5 | two point five |
We write a comma in big numbers (1,200) and a point in decimals (2.5).
- About three hundred people work in this building.
- The flight is about two thousand kilometres long.
- Incorrect: Two hundreds people came to the meeting.
- Correct: Two hundred people came to the meeting.After a number, hundred has no -s.
- Incorrect: My bag weighs 2,5 kilos.
- Correct: My bag weighs 2.5 kilos.English uses a point in decimals, not a comma. We say two point five.
Ordinal numbers
Ordinal numbers show the order: first, second, third. We use them for dates and floors, and in words like the first time. Most add -th. In short form, write the number and the last two letters of the word.
Number | Ordinal | Short | Number | Ordinal | Short |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | first | 1st | 9 | ninth | 9th |
2 | second | 2nd | 12 | twelfth | 12th |
3 | third | 3rd | 20 | twentieth | 20th |
4 | fourth | 4th | 21 | twenty-first | 21st |
5 | fifth | 5th | 22 | twenty-second | 22nd |
8 | eighth | 8th | 33 | thirty-third | 33rd |
Look at the spelling of fifth, eighth, ninth and twelfth.
- Our office is on the fourth floor.
- This is my first trip to Ireland.
- Incorrect: It's her twenty-oneth birthday on Saturday.
- Correct: It's her twenty-first birthday on Saturday.After twenty, use first, second, third as usual: twenty-first.
Prices
Say the money word after the number, then the pence. When a price has pounds and pence, we usually don't say and or pence: three pounds fifty.
Written | We say |
|---|---|
£5 | five pounds |
£3.50 | three pounds fifty |
80p | eighty p, eighty pence |
€12.99 | twelve euros ninety-nine |
- A coffee is two pounds eighty here.
- The tickets were forty pounds each.
Dates
In Britain we write the day before the month: 22 June 2026, or in numbers 22/6/2026. When we say a date, we use an ordinal number and the. Use on with a date.
Written | We say |
|---|---|
1 March | the first of March, March the first |
22 June | the twenty-second of June |
3/10/2026 | the third of October, twenty twenty-six |
3/10 is 3 October in Britain, but 10 March in the USA. When it matters, write the month as a word.
- My birthday is on the twelfth of August.
- The course starts on 3 February.
- What's the date today? It's the twentieth.
- Incorrect: The meeting is on the one of June.
- Correct: The meeting is on the first of June.Dates use ordinal numbers: first, second, third.
Years
Say most years in two parts. From 2000 to 2009 we say two thousand. From 2010, both ways are common.
Year | We say |
|---|---|
1995 | nineteen ninety-five |
1900 | nineteen hundred |
2000 | two thousand |
2008 | two thousand and eight |
2026 | twenty twenty-six, two thousand and twenty-six |
Use in with a year.
- I moved to Bristol in 2019.
(Two thousand and nineteen, or twenty nineteen.)
- Incorrect: She was born in 1990 year.
- Correct: She was born in 1990.Don't add the word year after the number.
The time
Ask What time is it? or What's the time? Use past for the first half of the hour and to for the second. Use o'clock only for the full hour. We can also say the hour and then the minutes: two fifteen, six forty.
Time | We say |
|---|---|
2.00 | two o'clock |
2.05 | five past two |
2.12 | twelve minutes past two, two twelve |
2.15 | quarter past two, two fifteen |
2.30 | half past two, two thirty |
2.45 | quarter to three, two forty-five |
2.50 | ten to three, two fifty |
After 5, 10, 20 and 25 the word minutes is not necessary. After other numbers we say it: twelve minutes past. Use at with a time: at half past six.
- The film starts at quarter to eight.
- I usually get up at half past six.
- Let's meet at half three.
(Informal British English for half past three: 3.30, not 2.30.)
- Incorrect: The shop closes at nine and a half.
- Correct: The shop closes at half past nine.
a.m. and p.m.
Most people use the 12-hour clock when they speak. a.m. means before midday, and p.m. means after midday. Timetables often use the 24-hour clock: 18.30 is 6.30 p.m., and we say eighteen thirty.
- The office opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 5.30 p.m.
- My train leaves at seven in the evening.
(7 p.m.)
- Incorrect: The bus leaves at 17 o'clock.
- Correct: The bus leaves at 5 p.m.Use o'clock only with the numbers 1 to 12: five o'clock.