61 Numbers

A Cardinal numbers
379 = three hundred and seventy-nine 2,860 = two thousand, eight hundred and sixty
5,084 = five thousand and eighty-four 470,000 = four hundred and seventy thousand
2,000,000 = two million 3,000,000,000 = three billion

Language help
There is no plural ‘s’ after hundred, thousand, million and billion when they are part of a number.
When we are talking generally, they are plural, e.g. thousands of people, millions of insects.

B Dates
With dates, we write them and say them in a different way. Common mistakes
We can write 4 June or June 4th, but say the fourth of June
or June the fourth. The seventh of April (NOT The
We can write 21 May or May 21st, but say the twenty-first of seven April); the fourth question
May or May the twenty-first. (NOT the four question)
1997 = nineteen ninety-seven; 2016 = two thousand and
sixteen or twenty sixteen

C Fractions and decimals

1¼ = one and a quarter 1.25 = one point two five
1½ = one and a half 1.5 = one point five
1¾ = one and three quarters 1.75 = one point seven five

D Percentages
26% is spoken as twenty-six per cent. More than 50% of something is the majority of it, less than
50% of something is the minority:
The vast majority of the students (e.g. 95%) agreed with the new plan, only a small minority
(e.g. 5%) were unhappy.

E Calculations
There are four basic processes. Notice how they are said when we are working out [trying to
calculate] the answer.
+ = addition e.g. 6 + 4 = 10 (six plus/and four equals/is ten)
– = subtraction e.g. 6 – 4 = 2 (six minus four is two)
x = multiplication e.g. 6 x 4 = 24 (six multiplied by / times four is twenty-four)
÷ = division e.g. 8 ÷ 2 = 4 (eight divided by two is four)
Some people are not very good at adding up numbers [putting numbers together to reach a total], and
often get stuck [have a problem] if they have to work out something quite difficult. The easiest way is
to use a calculator [a small electronic machine for working out numbers].

F Saying ‘0’
‘0’ can be spoken in different ways in different situations:
telephone number: 603449 = six oh three, double four nine OR six zero three, double four nine
mathematics: 0.7 = nought point seven; 6.02 = six point oh two OR six point nought two
temperature: –10 degrees = ten degrees below zero OR minus ten degrees

128 English Vocabulary in Use Pre-intermediate and Intermediate

 Exercises

61.1 How do you say these numbers in English? Write the answers in words, then practise saying
them.
1 462 four hundred and sixty-two
2 2½
3 2,345
4 0.25
5 1,250,000
6 10.04
7 47%
8 10 September
9 940338 (phone number)
10 -5 Celsius
11 in 1996
12 2012
61.2 Correct the mistakes.
1 Two thousand and five hundred. Two thousand, five hundred
2 After the game, I heard that the crowd was over twenty thousands.
3 We arrived on the seven June.
4 There were two hundred twenty altogether.
5 My birthday is the thirty-one August.
6 My phone number is seven twenty-three, six nought nine.
61.3 Complete the sentences.
1 Eight multiplied by seven is fifty-six.
2 The were in favour of the new airport; about 80%, I think.
3 A small did not support the idea, but it was only 5%.
4 I’m not very good at arithmetic. I always have to use a .
5 When I tried to add all the numbers, I couldn’t it out.
6 I can do simple calculations, but I get if the numbers are very big.
61.4 Can you work out the answers? If you find it difficult, use paper or a calculator.
1 23 and 36 is fifty-nine .
2 24 times 3 is .
3 80 minus 20 is .
4 65 divided by 13 is .
5 Add 10 and 6, multiply by 3, then subtract 15 and divide by 11. What number is left?

6 Divide 33 by 11, multiply by 7, add 10, and subtract 16. What number is left?

61.5 Over to you

Answer the questions. Write your answers in words.
1 When were you born?
2 How tall are you?
3 What’s the number of the flat or house where you live?
4 When’s your birthday?
5 What’s the approximate population of your town?
6 What’s your body temperature?

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62 Distance, dimensions and size
A Distance: how far … Common mistakes
British people buy most things in metres, centimetres and
millimetres, but they still often talk about distance using the It’s ten minutes’ walk from here.
old system of miles [1 mile = about 1.6 kilometres], yards (NOT ten minutes’ walking.)
[1 yard = almost 1 metre], feet [1 foot = 30 centimetres], and It’s a long way. (NOT It’s far.) But
inches [1 inch = 2.5 centimetres]. we can say ‘No, it isn’t far.’

About a mile The nearest one is half a

away [a mile mile. [the one at the shortest At least [not less
About ten
from here]. distance from here] than] a couple
minutes’
walk. of miles. [two,
perhaps three]
How far’s the
post office?
Is it far?
It’s just round
About a hundred yards up/down
the corner
the road. [further along the road] Yes, it’s (quite)
[very near]. a long way.

B Dimensions: how long or wide …

width width

length depth deep

length
height end

shallow
end

Common mistakes
Mason is quite tall (NOT quite high). It’s a tall tree/building (NOT a high tree/building). It’s a
high mountain (NOT a tall mountain).

We can ask about the dimensions like this:

What’s the length of the garage? OR How long is the garage? It’s five metres (long).
What’s the width of the path? OR How wide is the path? It’s a metre (wide).
What’s the height of the wall? OR How high is the wall? It’s two metres (high).
What’s the depth of the pool? OR How deep is the pool? It’s three metres (deep).

C Size: how big or small …

We use a range of adjectives to describe the size of something.
It was a very thick book – over 500 pages. (opp a thin book)
Their living room is huge [very big; syn enormous; opp a tiny room].
We caught a giant crab. [very large or bigger than other similar things]
It was a very narrow road for a bus. (opp a wide road)
130 English Vocabulary in Use Pre-intermediate and Intermediate
 Exercises

62.1 Disagree with the speaker in each dialogue.

1 A: It’s only a thin book, isn’t it?
B: No, it’s quite thick.
2 A: The water’s deep in the middle, isn’t it?
B: No,
3 A: Is the road very wide at that point?
B: No,
4 A: James is quite short, isn’t he?
B: No,
5 A: They only live in a small place, don’t they?
B: No,
6 A: Is it a really huge pool?
B: No,
62.2 Complete the questions (in two ways) about the lake, the mountain, the woman and the
football pitch.

1 How deep is the lake? 5 How is she?

2 What’s the lake? 6 What’s her ?
3 How is the mountain? 7 How is the pitch?
4 What’s the mountain? 8 What’s the pitch?

62.3 Over to you

Think about the building you are in now, and answer the questions using expressions from the
opposite page.
1 How far is it to the nearest shop?
2 How far is it to a bank?
3 Is it very far to the nearest bus stop?
4 Is it very far to a post office?
5 Is it a long way to the nearest swimming pool?
6 Is it a long way to the next big town?
7 How far is the nearest train station?
8 Is it far to the centre of town?

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63 Objects, materials, shapes and colour
A Objects1 and materials2
1 things you can see or touch 2
what something is made of or from

5 8
1 3 7 9

2
6
4 11
10

object material description

1 a bell metal used in hotel receptions
2 a chair wood an antique [an object that is old and often rare or beautiful]
3 a hat fur made from a real animal

4 a bone rubber a toy for dogs

5 a flag cloth, e.g. cotton the Italian national flag

6 a shirt cotton it has red stripes
7 a top silk beautifully soft and stylish
8 a sofa leather stylish [fashionable and attractive]

9 a ladder metal light and easy to carry

10 a tissue paper a soft piece of paper that you use for cleaning your nose

11 a bucket plastic used to clean floors

Language help
Most of the materials above can be adjectives or nouns, e.g. a cotton shirt, or a shirt made of
cotton; a leather sofa, or a sofa made of leather. The exception is wood: a chair made of wood is a
wooden chair.

B Shapes and colours

a grey square a pink star a navy blue circle a green semi-circle a purple heart

a round ball a square box

shoes with pointed toes

Language help
When we want to say that a shape is ‘almost round’ or a colour is ‘a sort of green’, we can also
express this idea with the suffix -ish, e.g. She had a roundish face; He wore a greenish tie.

132 English Vocabulary in Use Pre-intermediate and Intermediate

 Exercises

63.1 Put the words into the correct columns.

bell circle pink silk flag grey cotton purple

plastic bucket fur ladder square navy blue

objects materials shapes colours

bell

63.2 Match the words on the left with the words on the right.
1 a plastic d a scarf
2 a silk b hat
3 a rubber c belt
4 a fur d toy
5 a cotton e tyre (on the wheel of a car)
6 a leather f T-shirt
63.3 Label the objects, and their shape or colour.

1 a grey sofa 3 5

2 4 6

63.4 Which object is being described?

1 It’s got a point at one end and that’s the end you write with. a pencil
2 It’s a shellfish. It is usually grey, but it goes pink when you cook it.
3 It can be metal or plastic and you often put water in it to wash floors.
4 It is usually made of wood or metal, and you climb up it.
5 At certain times of the month it’s round; at others, it’s closer to a semi-circle.
6 An adult human body has 206 of these.

63.5 Over to you

Answer the questions. If possible, compare your answers with someone else.
1 Do you wear shoes with pointed toes?
2 What clothes do you have that are pink, purple or navy blue?
3 Do you wear anything that has stripes? If so, what?
4 Do you have any clothes that are made from silk or fur?
5 What things do you own that are made of leather?

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