A1 · Grammar
Numbers, dates and times
After this page you can say and write numbers up to 100, hear the difference between thirteen and thirty, tell the time and say a date in the British order.
Rules
1.
Numbers from 0 to 100
- Ben has two children and three cats.
- The ticket is twelve pounds.
- Our office is in room twenty-one.
- There are a hundred and five flats in the building.
The numbers from 0 to 12 have their own names. The numbers from 13 to 19 end in -teen. The tens end in -ty: twenty, thirty. Between the ten and the one you write a hyphen: twenty-one.
Numbers
- 0 zero · 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
- 21 twenty-one · 35 thirty-five · 99 ninety-nine
- 100 a hundred (one hundred) · 101 a hundred and one
21–99: the ten + hyphen + the one: forty-six.
forty has no u: four, fourteen, forty.
2.
-teen or -ty? Listen to the end
- Lucy is thirteen. Her mum is thirty-nine.
- The bus number is fifteen, not fifty.
- Is that one-four or four-oh? – One-four: fourteen.
Thirteen and thirty sound similar. In a -teen number the end is long and strong: thirTEEN. In a -ty number the start is strong: THIRty.
The strong part is in bold
- thirteen 13 · thirty 30
- fourteen 14 · forty 40
- fifteen 15 · fifty 50
- eighteen 18 · eighty 80
Not sure? Ask with the single numbers: Is that one-three or three-oh?
-teen: a long, strong end. -ty: a short end.
Check a number: Is that one-five or five-oh?
3.
What time is it?
- It's seven o'clock. (7:00)
- It's quarter past nine. (9:15)
- It's half past twelve. (12:30)
- It's twenty to four. (3:40)
Ask: What time is it? or What's the time? After the hour you use past. Before the next hour you use to. You can also say the numbers: It's nine fifteen.
past and to
- 7:00 seven o'clock
- 7:05 five past seven · 7:10 ten past seven
- 7:15 quarter past seven · 7:30 half past seven
- 7:40 twenty to eight · 7:45 quarter to eight
- 7:50 ten to eight · 7:55 five to eight
am = in the morning, before 12 noon · pm = after 12 noon: The shop opens at 9 am and closes at 6 pm.
o'clock only at the full hour: It's ten o'clock.
Up to half past: past the hour. After half past: to the next hour.
4.
Days and months
- The bank is closed on Sunday.
- My birthday is in October.
- We have English on Tuesday and Thursday.
Days and months always start with a capital letter. Use on with days and in with months.
Days
- Monday · Tuesday · Wednesday · Thursday · Friday
- Saturday · Sunday = the weekend
Months
- January · February · March · April · May · June
- July · August · September · October · November · December
Capital letter: Monday, June.
on + day · in + month: on Friday, in May.
5.
Dates: the first, the second, the third …
- Today is the first of June.
- My exam is on 2nd May: the second of May.
- Priya's birthday is on the twenty-third of August.
- The concert is on 5/11/2026: the fifth of November, twenty twenty-six.
For dates you use ordinal numbers: first, second, third. You write 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or only the number: 1 May. You say the first of May. In Britain the day comes first.
Ordinal numbers
- 1st first · 2nd second · 3rd third · 4th fourth · 5th fifth
- 6th sixth · 7th seventh · 8th eighth · 9th ninth · 10th tenth
- 11th eleventh · 12th twelfth · 13th thirteenth · 20th twentieth
- 21st twenty-first · 22nd twenty-second · 23rd twenty-third · 31st thirty-first
Britain and the USA
- Britain: day / month / year. 04/06/2026 = 4 June 2026
- USA: month / day / year. 04/06/2026 = April 6, 2026
1st first · 2nd second · 3rd third · then -th: 4th, 5th, 6th …
Britain: day first. 03/02 = 3 February.
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