Counting in English

Language overview

Forty-two in English West Germanic language of the Indo-European family, English is the official language of 53 countries, of which the USA, Great-Britain, Australia and Canada. It counts about 400 million speakers as first language.

English numbers list

  • 1 – one
  • 2 – two
  • 3 – three
  • 4 – four
  • 5 – five
  • 6 – six
  • 7 – seven
  • 8 – eight
  • 9 – nine
  • 10 – ten
  • 11 – eleven
  • 12 – twelve
  • 13 – thirteen
  • 14 – fourteen
  • 15 – fifteen
  • 16 – sixteen
  • 17 – seventeen
  • 18 – eighteen
  • 19 – nineteen
  • 20 – twenty
  • 30 – thirty
  • 40 – forty
  • 50 – fifty
  • 60 – sixty
  • 70 – seventy
  • 80 – eighty
  • 90 – ninety
  • 100 – one hundred
  • 1,000 – one thousand
  • one million – one million
  • one billion – one billion
  • one trillion – one trillion

English numbering rules

Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).

  • Digits from zero to nine are specific words, as well as numbers from ten to twelve, namely zero [0], one [1], two [2], three [3], four [4], five [5], six [6], seven [7], eight [8], nine [9], ten [10], eleven [11], and twelve [12].
  • From thirteen to nineteen, the numbers are formed from the digits three to nine, adding the -teen suffix at the end: thirteen [13], fourteen [14], fifteen [15], sixteen [16], seventeen [17], eighteen [18], and nineteen [19].
  • The tens are formed by adding the -(t)y suffix at the end of the multiplier digit root, with the exception of ten: ten [10], twenty [20], thirty [30], forty [40] (and not fourty), fifty [50], sixty [60], seventy [70], eighty [80], and ninety [90].
  • From twenty-one to ninety-nine, the tens and units are joined with a hyphen.
  • All the three-digit numbers are constructed by stating the hundreds, then adding the and word, then the tens and the digits (e.g.: two hundred and sixty-five [265]). Using the coordination and is a matter of choice, as whereas some writers prefer using it, The Chicago Manual of Style’s preference is to omit it.
  • Hundred (100), thousand (1,000) and million (1,000,000) are always singular (e.g.: six hundred and thirty-five [635]).
  • When directly added to hundred and thousand, the and word is added before tens and units (e.g.: seven hundred and three [703], or five thousand and two [5,002]).

Write a number in full in English

Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in English. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.

Books

The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition
editors University Of Chicago Press (2010)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language
by , editors Longman (1985)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Inglės Completo: Repaso Integral de Gramática Inglesa Para Hispanohablantes Inglės Completo: Repaso Integral de Gramática Inglesa Para Hispanohablantes
by , editors Barron’s Educational Series (2008)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Harrap’s Grammaire anglaise Harrap’s Grammaire anglaise
editors Harrap (2010)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Bescherelle La Grammaire Anglaise Bescherelle La Grammaire Anglaise
editors Hatier (2001)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Les Idiomatics : Français-anglais Les Idiomatics : Français-anglais
by , editors Seuil (1994)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Gramática da Língua Inglesa Gramática da Língua Inglesa
by , editors Porto (2005)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

book2 português - inglês para principiantes book2 português - inglês para principiantes
by , editors CreateSpace (2010)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Articles

West Germanic languages

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Other supported languages

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