Синтаксические функции. Субстантивированные числительные. Числительные и наречия

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Numbers and Numerals

This material describes how numbers are expressed by numerals in English and provides examples of cardinal and ordinal numerals, common and decimal fractions, and examples of differences between British and American English in expressing numbers. Some differences in the representation of numbers in English and Russian are also indicated.

For the purposes of studying, numbers in this material are written in words and figures. Recommendations on the use of figures or words for expressing numbers and examples of the use of numbers in various situations are given in Numbers in Situations in the section Miscellany.

Functions of numerals

A numeral is a figure, a letter, a word (or their combinations) representing a number. Cardinal numerals indicate number, quantity or amount and are used in counting. Ordinal numerals indicate order, that is, the order of things in a series. Numerals can be written in figures or words (2 or two; 25 or twenty-five; 17th or seventeenth).

Numerals function as nouns and adjectives. In a sentence, a numeral can serve as a subject, attribute, object, predicative complement, or adverbial modifier.

Ten students took part in the competition. Three of them received awards.

Twenty cars were sold on the first day. Five of them were sports cars.

There are 135 employees in this company. We talked to 45 of them.

How many cakes did you buy? – I bought five. I ate two.

Two plus four is six. Three times three is nine.

How old is your grandfather? – He is 72. He was born in 1940.

Note: It is interesting to note that the numeral is not a part of speech in English. The word "numerals" in English sources refers mostly to figures (not words). Words like "three, six, twenty, forty-five, hundred, third, sixth, twentieth, forty-fifth, hundredth" are nouns and adjectives in English.

Compare English and Russian parts of speech:

There are eight parts of speech in English: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. (In some English sources, articles are included in this list as a part of speech.)

There are ten parts of speech in Russian: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, numerals, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, particles, and interjections.

Numerals: BrE and AmE

Both in British English and in American English groups of three digits in numerals of one thousand and higher are usually separated by a comma, counting from the right: 4,286; 12,345; 378,925; 6,540,210.

Some manuals of style recommend writing four-digit numerals without a comma: 1570; 2358; 5625.

In numbers written as words in British English, the conjunction "and" is used before tens, or before ones if there are no tens, starting with hundreds: one hundred and twenty-three (123); four hundred and seven (407); three thousand five hundred and thirty-eight (3,538); seventy-three thousand and five (73,005); five million three hundred thousand and fifty (5,300,050).

Note the use of more than one conjunction "and" in large numbers in British English: two million six hundred and twenty-five thousand three hundred and ten (2,625,310).

In American English, the conjunction "and" is generally not used before tens or ones: one hundred twenty-three (123); four hundred seven (407); three thousand five hundred thirty-eight (3,538); seventy-three thousand five (73,005); two million six hundred twenty-five thousand three hundred ten (2,625,310); five million three hundred thousand fifty (5,300,050).

In British English, the conjunction "and" is also used before tens or ones in ordinal numerals above one hundred: one hundred and tenth (110th); three thousand and fifth (3005th). But "and" is not used in American ordinals: one hundred tenth (110th); three thousand fifth (3005th).

In this material, numbers expressed in words are written without "and" before tens or ones.

Digits, figures, numerals, numbers

The words "digit, figure, numeral, number" may present some difficulty for language learners. For example, you can say "the digit 3; the figure 3; the numeral 3; the number 3", but the meanings of these word combinations are not the same.

The word "digit" refers to any of Arabic figures from 0 to 9. Examples: the digit 4; the digit 7; a three-digit number; a group of three digits; use digits to write these numbers.

The word "figure" refers to a numerical symbol for a number and can also refer to the numerical value f a number. Examples: the figure 4; Arabic figures; a six-figure number; a figure of 3.5 million; round figures; write these numbers in figures and in words. The word "figures" can also mean "arithmetic": He is good at figures.

A numeral is a name used for denoting a number. Numerals can be in the form of any symbols denoting a number. In texts of general character, numerals are usually written as figures or words. Examples: the numeral 7; the numeral seven; ordinal numerals; Arabic numerals, Roman numerals.

The word "number" refers to quantity or amount (in various fields of application) and is one of the main concepts in mathematics. Examples: whole numbers; natural numbers; prime numbers; even numbers; odd numbers; large numbers; round numbers; negative numbers; the number 12; the number twelve; the number 165.

One of the meanings of the word "number" is "numeral". Because of that, the word "number" can be used in many cases where the word "numeral" is meant, for example, you can say "cardinal numerals" or "cardinal numbers"; "ordinal numerals" or "ordinal numbers".

Cardinal numerals

In formal nontechnical texts, numbers from one to one hundred, round numbers, and any numbers that can be expressed in one or two words are usually spelled out, that is, written out in words.

In less formal texts, as a general rule, numbers from one to ten should be spelled out, and figures can be used for numbers above ten.

Examples of spelling

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10);

eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19);

twenty, thirty-seven, forty-two, fifty-one, sixty-five, seventy, eighty-three, ninety-eight (20, 37, 42, 51, 65, 70, 83, 98);

one hundred eighty-six (186); two hundred (200); three hundred forty (340); four hundred (400); five hundred three (503); eight hundred twelve (812); nine hundred one (901);

one thousand six hundred seventy-nine (1,679); four thousand (4,000); fifteen thousand (15,000); sixty-three thousand four hundred ninety-five (63,495); seven hundred eight thousand thirty-four (708,034);

five million (5,000,000); thirteen million nine hundred sixty-seven thousand one hundred eleven (13,967,111);

six billion three hundred forty-nine million twenty-five thousand six hundred eighty-two (6,349,025,682).

Examples in sentences

She has three brothers.

There are twelve students in my group.

How many feet are there in a mile? – There are 5280 feet in a mile.

Numbers at the beginning of the sentence should be written out in words. If you need to use figures, restructure your sentence.

Fifty-six workers were fired yesterday. – Yesterday 56 workers were fired.

Numerals used in the same function in a sentence are usually written either as words or as figures.

He wrote one hundred thirty essays, fifty-two stories, and seven novels.

He wrote 130 essays, 52 stories, and 7 novels.

Note: Multiples of one hundred

In less formal speech and writing, especially in American usage, four-digit numbers that are multiples of 100 are often named in the following way:

1100 – eleven hundred; 1200 – twelve hundred; 1500 – fifteen hundred; 1600 – sixteen hundred; 2300 – twenty-three hundred; 4400 – forty-four hundred; 5600 – fifty-six hundred.

In British English, such use is more common for round numbers between 1,100 and 1,900.

Note that 1000, 2000, 3000, etc., are pronounced as "one thousand, two thousand, three thousand", etc.; that is, such numbers are generally not expressed in hundreds.

Ordinal numerals

Ordinal numerals that can be expressed in one or two words are usually written as words.

Examples of spelling

first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th);

eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth (11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th);

twentieth, thirty-seventh, forty-second, fifty-first, sixty-fifth, seventieth, eighty-third, ninety-eighth (20th, 37th, 42nd, 51st, 65th, 70th, 83rd, 98th);

one hundred eighty-sixth (186th); three hundred fortieth (340th); five hundred third (503rd); eight hundred twelfth (812th);

one thousand six hundred seventy-ninth (1,679th); nine thousand eight hundred fiftieth (9,850th);

two hundredth (200th); three thousandth (3,000th); five millionth (5,000,000th).

Examples in sentences

Generally, ordinal numerals are used as adjectives and stand before nouns. An ordinal numeral is usually preceded by the definite article "the".

The first story was interesting. The second was dull.

The thousandth visitor received a prize.

John Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States.

An ordinal numeral may have the meaning "another, one more", in which case it is preceded by the indefinite article "a".

We sent them two letters, but they didn't answer. We are going to send them a third letter today.

Note the following typical constructions with ordinal and cardinal numerals: the second lesson – Lesson 2 (pronounced "lesson two"); the fifth unit – Unit 5 (pronounced "unit five"); the tenth chapter – Chapter 10 (pronounced "chapter ten").

Note the use of Roman numerals (pronounced as ordinal numerals) with the names of kings: Henry V (Henry the Fifth); Richard III (Richard the Third).

Difficult spellings

Pay attention to the differences in the spelling and pronunciation of the following cardinal and ordinal numerals.

two, twelve, twenty, twenty-two – second, twelfth, twentieth, twenty-second;

three, thirteen, thirty, thirty-three – third, thirteenth, thirtieth, thirty-third

four, fourteen, forty, forty-four – fourth, fourteenth, fortieth, forty-fourth;

five, fifteen, fifty, fifty-five – fifth, fifteenth, fiftieth, fifty-fifth

eight, eighteen, eighty, eighty-eight – eighth, eighteenth, eightieth, eighty-eighth;

nine, nineteen, ninety, ninety-nine – ninth, nineteenth, ninetieth, ninety-ninth;

Note the pronunciation of "five, fifth" and "nine, ninth": five [faiv] – fifth [fifθ]; nine [nain] – ninth [nainθ].

Numerals like "eighteen" have two stresses: sixteen ['siks'ti:n]; eighteen ['ei'ti:n]. Depending on the position of the numeral in the sentence, primary stress may fall on the first or on the last syllable. For example:

He has SIXteen BOOKS. How many? – SixTEEN.

Numerals like "eighty" have one stress on the first syllable: twenty ['twenti]; sixty ['siksti]; eighty ['eiti].

Note the pronunciation of ordinal numerals like "twentieth": twentieth ['twentiiθ]; fortieth ['fo:rtiiθ]; fiftieth ['fiftiiθ]; seventieth ['seventiiθ]; ninetieth ['naintiiθ].

Fractions

The numerator of the fraction is expressed by a cardinal numeral, and the denominator is expressed by an ordinal numeral. The suffixes "rd, th, ths" are not written in the denominator of the fractions written in figures (1/3; 1/5; 3/7), but such fractions are pronounced in the same way as fractions written in words (one-third; one-fifth; three-sevenths).

Common fractions are usually written out in words. Mixed numbers may be written out in words if short but are often written in figures.

Fractions are generally hyphenated, except in those cases where the numerator or the denominator is already hyphenated: "one-fifth" but "one twenty-fifth".

Some manuals of style recommend writing without a hyphen fractions in the meaning of nouns: a half / one half; one third; two thirds; three fourths / three quarters; four fifths

Decimal fractions

The decimal point (not a comma) separates the whole from the fraction in decimal fractions in English. Decimals are written in figures.

The digits to the left of the decimal point are usually read as a cardinal number, and the digits to the right of the decimal point are usually read as separate digits. For example, 546.132 can be read as "five hundred forty-six point one-three-two".

Singular or plural verb

When calculations are said aloud, the verb is generally used in the singular, for example, "two plus two is four; two plus two equals four; two plus two makes four". The verb "to equal" in this case is a little more formal than the verbs "to be, to make". Examples:

3 + 4 = 7 (pronounced "three plus four is/equals seven")

10 – 6 = 4 (pronounced "ten minus six is/equals four")

5 x 4 = 20 (pronounced "five multiplied by four is/equals twenty")

30 : 6 = 5 (pronounced "thirty divided by six is/equals five")

In the case of addition, the plural form of the verb is also used, for example, "two and two are four; two and two equal four; two and two make four; two plus two make four".

A singular verb is used when referring to amounts in the following way:

Three-fifths of a mile is a little less than one kilometer.

How much is 35 percent of 470?

Fifteen hours of waiting is too much.

In other cases, the choice of a singular or plural verb depends on the noun that follows the numeral. If the noun is singular or uncountable, the singular form of the verb is used. If a plural noun stands after the numeral, the plural form of the verb is used. Compare these examples:

Half of the house is occupied by his library.

Half of his books are about children.

A third (or One-third) of the equipment was replaced last month.

A third (or One-third) of the cars were bought on credit.

About 60 percent of the sum was provided by a sponsor.

About 60 percent of the students were absent on that day.

Sources

1. Руководство: Учим английский онлайн. Синтаксические функции числительных. URL: https://am-en.ru/numeral/the-function-of-numerals.html (дата обращения: 21.11.2020)
2. Руководство: Useful English. URL: https://usefulenglish.ru/miscellany/numbers-and-numer.. (дата обращения: 21.11.2020)
3. Руководство: WikipediA The Free Encyclopedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_numerals (дата обращения: 21.11.2020)