Numbers

Transcript:

Hello!

Let’s look at some ways to deal with numbers in English.

Writing numbers:

• Numbers from 1 to 10 are often written as words, e.g.: three people; seven files;
• Numbers from 11 on are almost always written al numbers, e.g.: 27 clients; 350 members.

Percentages:

• Please note that you can never put “the” before a percentage, neither in written, not in spoken English. You cannot say “The 23% of the population”. It is only possible to say “23% of the population”;
• A percentage is followed by a plural verb. For example, “45% of the lawyers are involved in Company Law” – because we mean “the lawyers are”; or “79% of the case were discussed by the group” – because we mean “the cases were”.

Currency:

• The Pound, Dollar or Euro sign comes before the amount, e.g.: £3.99; $5,000,000; €4,991.79;
• Millions are often abbreviated to m, so we say £4m = 4 million pounds. $5.7m = 5.7 million dollars;
• Often k is used to abbreviate thousands, so £45k is £45,000 pounds.

Dates:

• 9/11 is a historical date. It stands for 9/11/2001 Which in the USA means the September (9) the eleventh (11), two thousand and one (2001). The USA puts the month before the day;
• In the UK, and almost all other English speaking countries, 9/11/2001 means the ninth (9) of November (11), two thousand and one (2001);
• To avoid confusion write 7 January 2025, or if you prefer the American style, then write January 7, 2025. Don’t abbreviate the month;
• Remember, we write 7 January 2025, but we say “the seventh of January” The year can be pronounced as two thousand and twenty-five, or as twenty twenty-five;
• Adding “nd” (2nd), “rd” (3rd) or “th” (4th, 5th, 6th etc) to a date when writing is a bit old fashioned. It is good for your grandmother, but perhaps not so good for you to use.

Thank you very much and see you next time for more Peter’s Pills to improve your Legal English!

Read some entertaining and interesting aphorisms about numbers here: “Quotes About Numbers“.

Legal English – Sommario delle Lezioni

• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 54 – Pre-emption right vs Right of first refusal
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 53 – What do we mean by “agent” of a company?
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 52 – Voting at a meeting
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 51 – Contracts vs Deeds
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 50 – Executive and Non-Executive Directors
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 49 – Transfer of shares vs transmission of shares
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 48 – They, them, their for singular nouns
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 47 – Jointly and severally
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 46 – Invoice words
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 45 – Quotation
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 44 – Gazumping and Gazundering
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 43 – English words that the English do not understand
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 42 – Easement vs Profit à prendre
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 41 -er, -or and -ee names
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 40 – The Objects Clause
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 38 – Default
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 37 – Company Agent
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 36 – Injunction (false freind)
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 35 – Mortgage
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 34 – Freehold, Leasehold and Commonhold estates
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 33 – Transferor, Transferee and Transmittee
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 32 – Tax evasion, tax mitigation and tax avoidance
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 31 – Numbers
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 30 – Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 29 – AGM vs EGM
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 28 – A going concern
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 27 – Collocations: Violate, breach, break, disobey and infringe
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 26 – Company meeting words
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 25 – Mortgagor vs Mortgagee
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 24 – Fixed charges vs Floating charges
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 23 – Doctrine
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 22 – Construe
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 21 – Sign vs Execute
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 20 – The closing statement
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 19 – Writing Business Emails
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 18 – Limited companies
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 17 – Annual Accounts
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 16 – Meetings
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 15 – Attorney-at-law vs Attorney-in-fact
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 14 – Here and there compounds
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 13 – Subject Matter
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 12 – The clear days rule
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 11 – Shareholder, Member or Holder of shares?
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 10 – Competition Law
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 9 – Lasting Power of Attorney
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 8 – Guardianship
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 7 – Damage vs Damages
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 6 – Legal Doublets
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 5 – Escrow

Peter Liebenberg

Peter Liebenberg è uno specialista nella formazione delle persone nella conoscenza della lingua inglese. Ha creato molti corsi nel campo dell’inglese per professionisti, tra cui English for banking, English for business e English for Insurance, ma ha sempre avuto un debole per l’inglese legale. Altri corsi che ha creato comprendono Phrasal Verbs I e II. Quando Peter non fa formazione, corre a Parco Sempione, crea arte nel suo studio sulla Martesana e fa volontariato.