MOHAMED-CHERIF MESSAADIA UNIVERSITY - SOUK AHRAS

Faculty of Economics, Commerce and Management Sciences

Basic Education Department
Business English
(1st Semester)

LESSON 02
Numbers, Time & Time Expressions

Nadji Harireche 2023

CONTENTS:

Numbers

Time

Time Expressions
In English we distinguish between “Cardinal Numbers” (one, two, three, etc.) which
are adjectives referring to quantity, and the “Ordinal Numbers” (first, second, third,
etc.) which refer to distribution.
 2-1 Hundreds:

Numbers in the hundreds begin with numerals one through nine followed by
"hundred“, and finish by the last two digits.
Examples:

450: Four hundred fifty

325: Three hundred twenty-five
989: Nine hundred eighty-nine
112: one hundred twelve
873 - eight hundred seventy-three
NOTE:
British English takes "and" following "hundred"
American English omits "and"
 2-2 Thousands:

The next group is the thousands. Say a number up to 999 followed by "thousand."
Finish by reading the hundreds when applicable

Examples:

16,450 – Sixteen thousand four hundred fifty

786,353 – Seven hundred eighty-six thousand three hundred fifty-three
352,729 - Three hundred fifty-two thousand seven hundred twenty-nine
569,045 - Five hundred sixty-nine thousand forty-five
1,245 - One thousand two hundred forty-five
 2-3 Millions:

For millions, say a number up to 999 followed by "million." Finish by saying first the
thousands and then the hundreds when applicable:

Examples:
2,450,000 – Two million four hundred fifty thousand
27,805,234 - Twenty seven million eight hundred five thousands two hundred thirty-four
934,700,000 – Nine hundred thirty-four million seven hundred thousand
589,430,420 - Five hundred eighty-nine million four hundred thirty thousand four hundred twenty

2-4 Billions & Trillions:

23,870,550,000 - Twenty-three billion eight hundred seventy million five hundred fifty thousand
12,600,450,345,000 - Twelve trillion six hundred billion four hundred fifty million three hundred
forty-five thousand
222,111,555 - Tow hundred twenty-tow million one hundred eleven thousand five hundred fifty-five
 Special Notes:

1. In American English, the order of large numbers is thousand, million, billion, trillion, etc.
(1,000; 1,000,000; 1,000,000,000; 1,000,000,000,000; etc.)
In American English a thousand million is a billion,
but in British English, a thousand million is a milliard.

2. When saying large numbers, do not make thousand, million, billion, trillion, etc. plural.
Not this: *twenty thousands dollars; *five millions people
But this: “twenty thousand dollars; five million people

3. In American English, use commas to separate thousands, millions, etc.

2,031: 'two thousand and thirty-one'.
In British English, spaces are sometimes used instead of commas 2 031.

4. In conversations, people often say "a" instead of "one" before hundred, thousand, and they
often add "and" before the last number, for example:
121- a hundred and twenty-one 1011- a thousand and eleven
but it is better to use “one” in technical contexts.

5. You can say a hundred and fifty (150), but NOT two thousand a hundred and fifty (2,150).
Say: two thousand one hundred and fifty.
Speak decimals as the number followed by "point." Next, say each number beyond
the point individually:

Examples:
12.256 twelve point tow five six

Writing full stops and commas in numbers:

Use a full stop (.) to separate the main part of a number from the decimal part (the
part less than 1). 2.031 means 'two point zero three one'.
The numerator (the top number) is spoken as a cardinal number, and the denominator
(the bottom number) as an ordinal number.
However, half is used in place of second, and sometimes quarter in place of fourth.
Examples:
1/2 – one-half 1/3 – one-third 1/4 – one-fourth, one-quarter

For fractions in which the numerator is larger than one, the denominator takes the plural “s” suffix.
English fractions are also written with a hyphen (-) between the numerator and denominator.
Examples:
2/3 – two-thirds 4/5 – four-fifths 99/100 – ninety-nine one* hundredths

Read numbers together with fractions by first stating the number followed by "and" and then the
fraction.5 ½ 7¾
Examples:
4 7/8 - four and seven-eighths 23 1/2 - twenty-three and one-half

Fractions may also be spoken as cardinal number-over-cardinal number. For example:

1/2 – one over two 2/3 – two over three 4/5 – four over five
99/100 – ninety-nine over one hundred
If you are operating Mathematical power, this is how you read it in English.
Examples:
10 -8
10 raised to the power of -8 (minus 8)
10 to the power of -8
10 to the -8

The number 10 is called the base and -8 is the exponent.

 There are two ways to tell time in English:

It’s twelve o’clock It’s ten past twelve

It’s four o’clock It’s ten to four
It’s two forty seven It’s twenty five past seven
It’s one twenty It’s eighteen to four
 We use “Quarter” for 15 min and “Half” for 30 min

It’s quarter past twelve

It’s quarter to three
It’s half past twelve

06:00 AM To 11:59 AM Morning

12:00 PM Noon or Midday
12:01 To 05:00 PM Afternoon
05:01 PM To 08:00 PM Evening
08:01 PM To 05:59 AM Night
00:00 AM Midnight
Note:
From the Latin words “meridies” (midday), ante (before) and post (after), the term
ante meridiem (a.m.) means before midday and post meridiem (p.m.) means after
midday.
English has many ways to talk about time. We call these ways Time Expressions in
English. They help us say when something happens, how often it happens, or how
long it takes.

Some simple examples are words like “now”, “today”, and “soon”. These tell us about
the present time or near future. But we also have phrases like “the day after
tomorrow” which means two days from now. Or “once in a while” which means
sometimes, but not too often.

There are also Time Expressions in English for the past. Words like “yesterday” or
phrases like “a long time ago” help us talk about things that already happened.

So, by learning about Time Expressions in English, we can better say what we
mean. It makes talking in English easier and helps people understand us better.
 Past tenses: Structure:

show actions completed in the past, with no extra Verb + “ed” (regular)
Simple past
emphasis. Verb in S.P (irregular)

also known as the pluperfect, shows that one past

Past perfect [had] + [past participle]
action happened earlier than another one.

show an ongoing action in the past, especially if

Past the action was interrupted by another action. It’s [was/were] + [present
continuous also used for habitual actions that occurred in the participle]
past but not in the present

Past perfect it describes ongoing actions that happened in the [had] + [been] + [present
continuous past instead of a one-time occurrence. participle]
 Present tenses: Structure:

root verb with no

Simple It’s used for individual actions or habitual actions in the
changes or
present present.
additions

1. an ongoing action started in the past that is not yet

completed
2. the same action completed multiple times in the past
and likely to be completed again
Present 3. an action completed very recently (usually with just or [have/has] + [past
perfect now) participle]
4. an uncompleted action that is expected to be finished
(in the negative)
5. to emphasize the significance of a completed action,
especially one that happened over time

Present to show an action happening right now or in the near [am/is/are] +

continuous future [present participle]

Present shows an ongoing action in the present that was started [have/has] + [been]
perfect in the past. It is often used to emphasize the length of + [present
continuous time participle]
 Future tenses: Structure:

Simple
actions that have not happened yet but will later Will + root verb
future

Future shows an action that will be completed in the [will] + [have] + [past
perfect future by a specified time participle]

Future future actions happening over a period of time, [will] + [be] + [present
continuous especially when a specific time is mentioned participle]

Future
depicts future ongoing actions that continue up [will] + [have] + [been] +
perfect
until a certain point, it’s used with a specified time [present participle]
continuous
 3-1 Present Simple Tense:

Time Expressions: Examples:

Always I always have coffee in the morning.
Every (day/week/month/year) She goes to the gym every day.
Usually They usually visit their grandparents on weekends.
Sometimes We go swimming in the pool sometimes.
Rarely Rarely he eats junk food.
Never We never watch horror movies.
On (days of the week) The store is closed on Sundays.

3-2 Present Continuous Tense:

Time Expressions: Examples:
Now Now I am reading a book.
At the moment She is working at the moment.
Currently They are currently renovating their house.
Today I’m meeting them today.
These days These days, I’m into yoga (I’m practicing yoga).
 3-3 Present Perfect Tense:

Time Expressions: Examples:

Just I’ve just finished my homework.

Already She has seen that movie already.

Yet Have you eaten yet?

Ever I have ever seen someone like you.

Never I’ve never been to Paris.

Recently They’ve recently moved.

Lately Lately he’s been very quiet.

So far So far, I've had no reply to my request.

Until now Until now, I have not finish my homework

For I’ve lived here for 5 years.

Since I’ve known her since college.

 3-4 Past Simple Tense:

Time Expressions: Examples:

Yesterday Yesterday I visited the museum.

Last (week/month/year) She called last week.

… ago We moved here three years ago.

In (specific year) I was born in 1990.

When I wasn't awake when the phone rang.

3-5 Future Simple Tense:

Time Expressions: Examples:

Tomorrow I’ll go shopping tomorrow.
Next (week/month/year) We will go on a trip next month.
In (future time period) I’ll finish the project in two days.
Soon They’ll arrive soon.
 3-6 Past Perfect Tense:

Time Expressions: Examples:

By the time By the time we arrived, the show had started.

Before She had finished her homework before dinner.

After After he had read the letter, he smiled.

Until I hadn’t seen her until last year.

3-7 Past Perfect Continuous Tense:

Time Expressions: Examples:

For They had been playing for two hours.

Since She had been working there since 2010.

Before that time He had been living in London before that time.

Up to that time I had been reading up to that time.

 3-8 Future Continuous Tense:
Time Expressions: Examples:
At this time tomorrow I will be studying at this time tomorrow.
This time next week We will be studying this time next week.
By this time next year They will be celebrating by this time next year.

3-9 Future Perfect Tense:

Time Expressions: Examples:
By (a certain time in the future) He will have completed the project by next week.
In (a number of)
days/weeks/months/years’ They will have lived here in ten years’ time.
time

3-10 Future Perfect Continuous Tense:

Time Expressions: Examples:

She will have been working here for five years by
For
2025.
By (a certain time in the future) I will have been studying for three hours by noon.
Complete the following sentences with FOR or SINCE:
1. It hasn’t rained since June.
2. We have been married for 12 years now.
3. I’ve known John for a very long time.
4. We have known each other since high school.
5. They have had this car since 2008.
6. She has been very ill for several days.
7. We haven’t seen her since this morning.
8. This jacket is very old. I have had it for ages.
9. He hasn’t eaten anything since this morning.
10. It has been hot since May.
Complete the sentences with one of the following words : JUST, ALREADY, YET, EVER, NEVER,
STILL:
1. Bob still hasn’t phoned me yet. I am starting to get nervous.
2. Have you ever eaten sushi ?
3. We have already seen this film, but we’ll watch it again.
4. Jessica has just come back from her holiday in Greece. She’s got a wonderful tan.
5. Have you finished your exams, yet?
6. I have never been to Turkey but I would love to go.
7. They haven’t installed my phone yet.
8. Has she ever worked in a restaurant?
9. The books I ordered still haven’t arrived. Where are they ?
10. I have already visited Rome, but it would be nice to go there again.
11. He still hasn’t found his keys. He’s been looking for them the whole morning.
12. They have just arrived from a long journey to Australia.
13. Has your lesson started yet ?
14. I have already done my homework, so I guess I can go outside with my friends.