Vocabulary for Numbers, Time, and Dates

 Learn how to confidently talk about numbers, tell the time, and use dates in everyday English.

🧠 Why This Vocabulary Matters

Numbers, time, and dates are essential in daily conversations. Whether you're making appointments, buying something, or planning your day, you use these words constantly.

This lesson will help you:

• Understand and say numbers naturally

• Tell the time clearly

• Use dates correctly in spoken and written English

• Remember this vocabulary long term using simple memory techniques

🔢 Section 1: Numbers in English

✅ Basic Numbers (1–100)

Number	Spelling
1	one
2	two
3	three
10	ten
20	twenty
50	fifty
100	one hundred

🔄 Common Mistakes to Avoid:

• Thirteen vs. Thirty (13 vs. 30):
  🗣 Thirteen ends with -teen and is stressed at the end: /θɜːˈtiːn/
  🗣 Thirty ends with -ty and is stressed at the beginning: /ˈθɜːti/

🎯 Practice Tip:

Say numbers while counting objects around you:
🧺 “I have seven apples.”
🎲 “There are three pens on the table.”

💰 Section 2: Using Numbers in Real Life

🛍️ Prices

• “It costs five dollars.”

• “The total is twenty-three fifty.” (=$23.50)

📞 Phone Numbers

• Say each digit:
  📱 “My number is five-five-five, one-two-three, four-five-six-seven.”

🏠 Addresses

• Use number chunks:
  🏡 “She lives at twenty-five Elm Street.”
  🏢 “His office is on the fifth floor.”

🕒 Section 3: Time Vocabulary

🕰️ Telling the Time

Time	How to Say It
7:00	Seven o’clock
7:15	Quarter past seven
7:30	Half past seven
7:45	Quarter to eight
7:05	Five past seven
7:55	Five to eight

🧭 Time of Day

• a.m. = before noon (morning)

• p.m. = after noon (afternoon/evening)

🕗 “The meeting is at 9 a.m.”
🕘 “Let’s meet at 6:30 p.m.”

📅 Section 4: Dates in English

🗓️ How to Say the Date

• British English: “The fifth of May, twenty twenty-five”

• American English: “May fifth, twenty twenty-five”

📍 Writing Dates

• British: 5/6/2025 = 5 June 2025

• American: 5/6/2025 = May 6, 2025
  ⚠️ Be careful with the format — they’re reversed!

🧠 Ordinal Numbers

Use for dates: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th...

• 1st – first

• 2nd – second

• 3rd – third

• 21st – twenty-first
  🗣 “My birthday is on March twenty-first.”

🧩 Section 5: Practice and Memory Tips

💡 Real-Life Practice

• Look at a calendar and say the date out loud every day

• Read the time whenever you check the clock

• Say your phone number and birth date aloud in English

✍️ Try This:

Fill in the blanks:

1. I wake up at __________.

2. My birthday is on __________.

3. The price is __________ dollars.

🧠 Memory Trick – “Link and Say”

• Link a word to a picture or story:
  🕓 “Four o’clock is when I drink tea ☕.”
  🎁 “My birthday is July 12th – I get presents!”

📚 Mini Quiz – Test Yourself!

Choose the correct answer:

1. What’s “3:15”?
   a) Half past three
   b) Quarter past three ✅
   c) Three fifteen past

2. What’s the correct way to say 21st?
   a) Twenty-one
   b) Twenty-oneth
   c) Twenty-first ✅

3. If today is 5/6/2025 in the UK, what day is it?
   a) May 6 ✅
   b) June 5
   c) June 6

🔚 Final Thoughts

Learning how to talk about numbers, time, and dates is one of the most useful skills in English. Practice daily, use what you learn in real situations, and it will quickly become second nature.