Page 64 - Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking

long numbers, but in some countries in Europe and South America, periods are
more common, and then a comma is used where North Americans would use a

decimal. As always, it’s important to know your audience when writing.

■ 8,851,080.11 in North America = 8.851.080,11 in parts of Europe and

■ South America 21,163,226.40 in North America = 21.163.226,40 in
parts of Europe and South America

4.9.6 SAYING NUMBERS AS WORDS

■ 1,000, thousands: say “thousand”: “one thousand,” “nine thousand”
■ 100, hundreds: say “hundred”: “one hundred,” “four hundred”

■ 10, tens: say just the number: “ten,” “twenty”
■ 1, ones: say just the number: “one,” “six”

■ 0.1, tenths: say as singular or plural: “one tenth,” “two tenths”

■ 0.01, hundredths: say as singular or plural: “one hundredth,” “eight
hundredths”
■ 0.001, thousandths: say as singular or plural: “one thousandth,” “four

thousandths”

■ 0.0001, ten-thousandths: say as singular or plural: “one ten-
thousandth,” “three ten-thousandths”

4.9.7 ZERO VERSUS OH

When reading numbers aloud in English, a zero is often said as “oh.” It may
seem confusing to give the name of the letter O to the number 0 when they look

so much alike—though the oh is usually rounder and the zero narrower—but it’s
usually clear from the situation which one is correct. Where you’re most likely

to encounter difficulty is with serial numbers, passwords, or other randomized

numbers.

■ (212) 555-1204 = “two one two, five five five, one two oh four”
■ 4.0 = “four point oh”