Numbers, Dates, and Time in English: The Complete Guide
Cardinal and ordinal numbers
Cardinal numbers count: one, two, three.
Ordinal numbers show order and are used in dates: first, second, third, fourth.
Dates always use ordinal numbers: the 21st of March, her 3rd birthday.
Saying years out loud
Years are usually split into two two-digit groups:
- 1990 → nineteen ninety
- 2005 → two thousand (and) five
- 2026 → twenty twenty-six
Years from 2000 onward can be said either way (two thousand twenty-six or twenty twenty-six), but the second form is more common in everyday speech.
Writing dates: British vs American
This is where a lot of confusion happens, because the day/month order is reversed:
- British English: day/month/year → 21/03/2026 = 21 March
- American English: month/day/year → 03/21/2026 = 21 March
When in doubt, especially in formal documents, spell out the month: 5 April 2026 or April 5, 2026 — this avoids all ambiguity.
Telling the time
- 9:00 → nine o'clock
- 9:15 → quarter past nine (UK) / nine fifteen
- 9:30 → half past nine / nine thirty
- 9:45 → quarter to ten / nine forty-five
AM/PM are used in the 12-hour system: 9 AM is morning, 9 PM is evening. Formal writing often uses the 24-hour format (21:00), but AM/PM is far more common in speech.
Prices and large numbers
- $25.50 → twenty-five dollars and fifty cents
- 1,000,000 → one million — English uses a comma to separate thousands and a period for decimals: 3.5 → three point five
Practice tip
Don't just read this — say your own birthday, phone number, and today's date out loud in English. Numbers you actually use stick far faster than numbers you only read.