Counting in Words in English

English Counting Tips and Rules

Counting in words is a fundamental skill in English that helps you communicate quantities, prices, and dates.

Let's start with the basics, like numbers 1–10, and gradually build up to larger numbers.

With practice, you will be able to count confidently in English, no matter how complex the number!

Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses

Step 1: Understand Basic Number Words (1–10)

The first step in learning to count in words is to familiarize yourself with the basic numbers from 1 to 10:

1: One
2: Two
3: Three
4: Four
5: Five
6: Six
7: Seven
8: Eight
9: Nine
10: Ten

Example Sentences:

• "I have two apples."
• "There are seven days in a week."

Step 2: Learn the Teens (11–19)

Once you know the numbers 1 to 10, the next step is to learn the "teens," which are the numbers from 11 to 19. These numbers have unique names that don’t follow a strict pattern, so it’s important to memorize them.

Numbers 11–19:

11: Eleven
12: Twelve
13: Thirteen
14: Fourteen
15: Fifteen
16: Sixteen
17: Seventeen
18: Eighteen
19: Nineteen

Example Sentences:

• "She has fifteen pencils."
• "My little brother is thirteen years old."

Step 3: Understand the Tens (20, 30, 40, etc.)

Next, let's learn the multiples of ten up to 100. These are the numbers you’ll use as building blocks for larger numbers.

Multiples of Ten:

20: Twenty
30: Thirty
40: Forty
50: Fifty
60: Sixty
70: Seventy
80: Eighty
90: Ninety
100: One hundred

Example Sentences:

• "There are thirty students in the class."
• "I bought a book for fifty dollars."

Step 4: Combine Tens and Units (21–99)

Now that we know the multiples of ten, we can combine them with the numbers 1–9 to create any number between 21 and 99.

The structure is simple: say the tens number first, followed by the unit number.

Examples:

21: Twenty-one
34: Thirty-four
58: Fifty-eight
72: Seventy-two
99: Ninety-nine

Example Sentences:

• "My sister is twenty-five years old."
• "There are forty-two books on the shelf."

Step 5: Learn Hundreds (101–999)

When counting in the hundreds, the number 100 is followed by the words "hundred" and the numbers 1–99.

Examples:

101: One hundred one
235: Two hundred thirty-five
476: Four hundred seventy-six
599: Five hundred ninety-nine
860: Eight hundred sixty

Example Sentences:

• "The car costs three hundred fifty dollars."
• "There are two hundred eighty people in the auditorium."

Step 6: Count by Thousands (1,000 and Above)

For numbers in the thousands, say the number of thousands first, followed by the number in the hundreds and tens.

Examples:

1,000: One thousand
2,345: Two thousand three hundred forty-five
5,678: Five thousand six hundred seventy-eight
9,999: Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine

Example Sentences:

• "The company has five thousand employees."
• "The population of the town is three thousand two hundred."

Step 7: Understanding Larger Numbers (10,000 and Beyond)

As you move into larger numbers, the pattern continues. Numbers in the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and beyond are built similarly.

Examples:

10,000: Ten thousand
25,000: Twenty-five thousand
100,000: One hundred thousand
1,000,000: One million
1,000,000,000: One billion
1,000,000,000,000: One trillion
1,250,000: One million, two hundred fifty thousand.

Example Sentences:

• "The stadium can hold forty thousand people."
• "The prize was one million dollars!"

Important Points on Counting

Here are some additional useful notes relevant to counting in words.

Decimals and Fractions

When dealing with decimals, say the whole number first, followed by "point," and then each digit individually.

For example, 3.14 is "three point one four."

Fractions are often expressed with ordinal numbers: 1/2 is "one-half," 1/4 is "one-quarter," and 3/4 is "three-quarters."

Currency

When talking about money, the format changes slightly.

For example, $1.50 is often said as "one dollar and fifty cents" or simply "one fifty."

In formal contexts, you might hear amounts like $2,345.67 expressed as "two thousand, three hundred forty-five dollars and sixty-seven cents."

Saying Zero

Zero can be pronounced in several ways depending on the context.

In phone numbers, it’s often "oh," as in 305 being "three-oh-five."

For decimals, it’s typically "zero," such as 0.5 being "zero point five."

Ordinal Numbers

"Ordinal" means related to order.

When giving dates, rankings, or order, use ordinal numbers like "first," "second," "third," etc.

For example, July 4th is "July fourth," and 21st place is "twenty-first place."

Time

When telling time, 8:15 is said as "eight fifteen" or "a quarter past eight."

Similarly, 7:30 is "seven thirty" or "half past seven."

These notes can be particularly helpful when you're learning to count and use numbers in various everyday contexts.

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