Typical Mistakes with English Numbers- Error Correction Task

Typical mistakes with English numbers error correction task

Find one mistake in each line of the three sections below. All line has exactly one mistake (of many different kinds).

Part One: Typical mistakes with writing English numbers

• 000.000
• 1,0000
• 1,25
• 92th
• thirty five parcent
• thirtith
• 2015/10/25
• 25 kms
• 24:00:00
• This meeting lasts for two-hours.
• a four day week

Part Two: Typical mistakes with numbers in phrases and sentences

• What percent of people might buy this product?
• A large amount of people already have it.
• We need a large number of cheese.
• a three-days weekend
• two million of people
• most of people
• They won three against nil.
• in the midnight
• exact twelve o’clock
• a twenty-four-hours clock
• He finished in six place in the race.

Part Three: Typical mistakes with pronouncing English numbers

Typical mistakes with pronouncing large numbers

• twenty hundred
• ten thousands
• seven millions
• two billions
• three point seven trillions
• million and million of parcels
• a few hundreds
• a thousand seven hundred
• half million
• one million and seven hundred thousand
• one thousand and two hundred twenty three
• one point seven thousand
• one point two hundred
• one point two three four five six seven million

Typical mistakes with pronouncing times

• thirteen o’clock
• half to seven
• half past nineteen
• half past twelve o’clock
• a quarter past six p.m.
• seven zero nine p.m.
• four past five in the afternoon
• six past seven

Typical problems with pronouncing dates

• the two of December
• in the early seventy (= 1970 – 1973)
• the twenty century
• (in the year) one thousand nine hundred and seventy one
• two thousand and fifteen year

Typical problems with pronouncing fractions

• one and a half week
• half a weeks
• half hour
• one and two third
• seventy-three twenty-fifths

Typical problems with pronouncing decimals

• nought point five litre
• nought point oh thirty three
• oh point nought four percent
• nought point double oh seven

Typical problems with pronouncing frequency expressions

• once every three month
• once per a week
• once a two weeks

Other typical problems with pronouncing numbers

• My telephone number is twenty seven thirty three forty seven

 

Part Four: Consonant clusters in numbers word building pronunciation practice

Pronounce the numbers below in the order given, making sure that you keep the same number of syllables for ones on the same line. Don’t say the extra words in brackets for now.

• (half a) week/ (two) weeks
• (a) million/ (millions and) millions
• twenty second (place)/ twenty seconds (left)
• (decimal) point/ (decimal) points
• first (of all)/ (two world) firsts
• fifth (place)/ (two) fifths
• (a) month/ (three) months
• (the) third/ (two) thirds
• ten (cars)/ tenth (out of ten)/ (three) tenths
• (a) hundred/ hundredth (in a list of three hundred)/ (seven) hundredths
• (one) thousand/ (a) thousandth/ (five) thousandths
• six (items on today’s agenda)/ (the) sixth (of December)/ (four) sixths

Do the same, but also pronouncing the words in brackets.  

Suggested answers

If there are two or more answers (divided by “OR”), the first is the most common and/ or most useful. Other ways of correcting the mistakes may also be possible, so please check if you changed them in different ways.

Part One: Typical mistakes with writing English numbers

• 1,000,000
• 10,000
• 25
• 92nd
• thirty five percent
• thirtieth
• 25/10/2015 OR 10/25/2015
• 25 km
• 00:00:00
• This meeting lasts for two hours.
• a four-day week

Part Three: Typical mistakes with numbers in phrases and sentences

• What percentage of people might buy this product?
• A large number of people already have it.
• We need a large amount of cheese.
• a three-day weekend
• two million people
• most people OR most of those people OR most of the people (depending on what you mean)
• They won three nil.
• in the middle of the night OR at midnight (depending on what you mean)
• exactly twelve o’clock
• a twenty-four-hour clock
• He finished in sixth place in the race.

Part Two: Typical mistakes with pronouncing English numbers

Large numbers

• two thousand
• ten thousand
• seven million
• two billion
• three point seven trillion
• millions and millions of parcels
• a few hundred
• one thousand seven hundred
• half a million
• one million seven hundred thousand
• one thousand two hundred (and) twenty three
• one thousand seven hundred
• one hundred and twenty
• one million two hundred (and) thirty four thousand five hundred (and) sixty seven

Times

• one p.m. OR one o’clock in the afternoon OR thirteen hundred hours
• half past six
• seven thirty p.m. OR half past seven in the evening OR nineteen thirty
• half past twelve
• a quarter past six in the evening OR six fifteen p.m.
• seven oh nine p.m.
• four minutes past five in the afternoon
• six minutes past seven

Dates

• the second of December OR December second
• in the early seventies (= 1970 – 1973)
• the twentieth century
• (in the year) nineteen and seventy one
• (in the year) two thousand and fifteen OR (in the year) twenty fifteen

Fractions

• one and a half weeks
• half a week
• half an hour OR a half hour
• one and two thirds
• seventy three over twenty five

Decimals

• nought point five litres OR zero point five litres
• nought point oh three three OR zero point zero three three
• nought point oh four percent OR zero point zero four percent
• nought point oh oh seven OR zero point zero zero seven

Frequency

• once every three months
• once a week OR once per week
• once every two weeks

Others

• My telephone number is two seven three three four seven