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Spoken English

Talking about numbers and trends

Percentages, fractions, and words for rising and falling.

15 minutes · A free lesson from Presentations and numbers

Saying numbers

3,250three thousand, two hundred and fifty
12%twelve percent
0.5nought point five / zero point five
⅓a third — "about a third of our sales"
2.5 minutestwo and a half minutes
14/6the fourteenth of June

Trends

rose sharplywent up quickly and a lotSales rose sharply in May.
increased slightlywent up a littleCosts increased slightly.
fell / droppedwent downWaiting times fell to two minutes.
stayed the same / levelled offdid not changeNumbers levelled off in June.
peaked atreached the highest pointCalls peaked at 480 on Friday.
The main point first

Not: "On Monday there were 420 calls, on Tuesday 360, on Wednesday 310…"

But: "Our busiest days are Monday and Friday — Friday peaked at 480 calls — while Saturday is very quiet."

Lesson quiz

Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.

Quick check: How do you say 0.5?

  1. nought point five, or zero point five
  2. zero comma five
  3. half point
Show the answer

A: nought point five, or zero point five — English uses a point, not a comma, for decimals.

Quick check: How do you say 3,250?

  1. three hundred and twenty-five
  2. three thousand, two hundred and fifty
  3. thirty-two thousand and fifty
Show the answer

B: three thousand, two hundred and fifty — British English puts “and” before the last part: two hundred and fifty.

Quick check: What should you say first about a set of numbers?

  1. Every number in order
  2. Only the smallest number
  3. The main point, such as the busiest days
Show the answer

C: The main point, such as the busiest days — Our busiest days are Monday and Friday — Friday peaked at 480 calls.

Quick check: Which phrase means “went up quickly and a lot”?

  1. increased slightly
  2. levelled off
  3. rose sharply
Show the answer

C: rose sharply — increased slightly is a little, and levelled off is no change.

Practise: hearing numbers
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Practise: describe a chart
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