Reading Numbers in English
Level Six
Lesson 68
The number system used in English is called the decimal system, or base-ten system. Numbers are also known as cardinal numbers or counting numbers. Regardless of the name, knowing how to read and pronounce numbers correctly is a fundamental English skill. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to read, pronounce, and talk about the following:
- counting numbers
- ordinal numbers
- roman numerals
How to Read Large and Small Numbers
68a. counting numbers
Counting numbers are used for countable amounts and doing math. Numbers contain digits that create the entire number.
ones: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
- 0 – 9 / one digit: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
- tens: ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety
- 10 – 99 / two digits: 10, 11, 12…97, 98, 99
- hundreds: one hundred, two hundred, three hundred,
- 100 – 999 / three digits: 100, 101, 102…997, 998, 999
- thousands: one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, …
- 1000 – 9999 / four digits: 1000, 1001, 1002…9997, 9998, 9999
- millions: one million, two million, three million, …
- Numbers in the millions have seven, eight, or nine digits.
- billions: one billion, two billion, three billion, …
- Numbers in the billions have ten, eleven, or twelve digits.
- trillions: one trillion, two trillion, three trillion, …
- Numbers in the trillions have thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen digits.
Numbers in the billions and trillions are are very high numbers, but sometimes they are used when talking about national debt or the gross domestic product (GDP).
68a. counting numbers
Each number that is part of a number is referred to as a digit. How many digits are in the number 45,321? That’s right. There are five digits: 4, 5, 3, 2, and 1. Each number is a digit.
- ten thousands: ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand, …
- 10,000 – 99,999 / five digits: 10,000, 10,001, 10,002…99,999
Numbers in the ten thousands or tens of thousands have five digits.
- hundred thousands: one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand, …
- 100,000 – 999,999 / six digits: 100,0001, 100,002, 100,003…999,999
Numbers in the hundred thousands or hundreds of thousands have five digits. Numbers in the millions have six digits, numbers in the tens of millions have seven digits, numbers in the hundreds of millions have eight digits, and so on.
68b. reading counting numbers
Read numbers from left to right. It’s important to pay attention to the position of each digit
- ones: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, …
- tens: ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, …
- hundreds: one hundred, two hundred, three hundred, …
- thousands: one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, …
- ten thousands: ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand, …
- hundred thousands: one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand, …
- millions: one million, two million, three million, …
- billions: one billion, two billion, three billion, …
- trillions: one trillion, two trillion, three trillion, …
68b. reading counting numbers
- There are five people sitting together and singing.
- I had three pancakes for breakfast.
- With the syrup, there are about 700 calories in a stack of pancakes.
68b. reading counting numbers
Let’s practice reading counting numbers.
- 5 – five
- 25 – twenty-five (hyphenate numbers in the tens category)
- 125 – one hundred twenty-five
- 1,253 – one thousand, two hundred fifty-three
- 61,254 – sixty-one thousand, two hundred fifty four
- 361,801 – three hundred sixty-one thousand, eight hundred one
- 4,512,932 – four million, five hundred twelve thousand, nine hundred thirty-two
- 54,682,000 – fifty-four million, six hundred eighty-two thousand.
- 801,723,034 – eight hundred one million, seven hundred twenty-three thousand, thirty-four
- 3,298,561,459 – three billion, two hundred ninety-eight million, five hundred sixty-one thousand, four hundred fifty-nine
68b. reading counting numbers
- I bought one ice cream cone. Three of my friends joined me, so I bought three more.
Note: Numbers ten and under are usually written out as words when used in a sentence.
- She’s eighty-three years old.
- She has five children and twenty-four grandchildren.
68c. ordinal numbers
Ordinal numbers are used for indicating the order or the sequence of things.
1 = first
2 = second
3 = third
4 = fourth
5 = fifth
6 = sixth
7 = seventh
8 = eighth
9 = ninth
10 = tenth
11 = eleventh
12 = twelfth
13 = thirteenth
14 = fourteenth
15 = fifteenth
16 = sixteenth
17 = seventeenth
18 = eighteenth
19 = nineteenth
20 = twentieth
68c. ordinal numbers
- First Avenue is so named because it is on the corner of First Avenue North and 7th Street in Minneapolis.
- This is my second helping of pancakes this morning.
68d. Roman numerals
Roman numerals often appear in books, on copyrighted forms of entertainment such as movies or sporting events, and for big ceremonial purposes such as the Olympics or the name of a king or queen.
I = 1
V = 5
X = 10
L = 50
C = 100
M = 1000
Roman numerals form numbers through addition and subtraction. Fours and nines are made by putting letters before a larger number: IV = 4; XC = 90; XLIV = 44; CMM = 1900
III = 3
IV = 4
IX = 9
MMXXVI = 2026
XCIX= 99
XL = 40
- Henry VIII (Henry the Eighth) was a well-known glutton.
- Hamlet kills Polonius in Act III, Scene iv.
- The clock shows the big hand on the II and the little hand on the XII. It’s 2 o’clock. (Analog clocks often use Roman numerals in place of counting numbers.)
68c. Roman numerals
- The games of the XXXIII Olympiad took place in Paris in the summer of 2024.
- The credits for Singing in the Rain show MCMLII for its release.