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● financier, species
●
words in which y has changed to i end in -ies even after c (prophecies, democracies).
In most words that do not have the pronunciation as in brief, the usual order is e before i:
for example, freight, weigh, sovereign, counterfeit. The most common exception is friend.
858 | Appendix: English spelling
Cambridge Grammar of English
British and American English spelling
511
Some words are spelled differently in American English and British English.
For example:
British English
American English
centre
center
cheque
check
colour
color
defence
defense
labour
labor
theatre
theater
programme
program
Variants
There are several variants with - ise or -ize, - isation or - ization . Both variants are
acceptable, though the spelling with s is perhaps more common in British English
(criticise–criticize, colonisation–colonization).
The following words, and words formed from them, should be spelled with ise in British
English:
advertise
devise
revise
advise
disguise
supervise
arise
enterprise
surmise
baptise
exercise
surprise
chastise
franchise
televise
comprise
improvise
compromise
merchandise
despise
paralyse
Û
539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms
Appendix: English spelling | 859
860 |
Appendix: Numbers
ORDINAL AND CARDINAL NUMBERS
512
The conventional abbreviations for ordinal numbers are as follows. The suffix may
be written as superscript (1
st
) or as normal script (1st):
first
1
st
/1st
second
2
nd
/2nd
third
3rd
fourth
4th
fifth
5th
sixth
6th
seventh
7th
eighth
8th
ninth
9th
tenth
10th
sixteenth
16th
thirty third
33rd
twenty fifth
25
th
/25th
seventy first
71st
In handwriting, seven is typically written as 7, but may also be written as
7
–
. Four
is most commonly handwritten as
4
but may also be written as 4.
A hyphen is used to separate tens and units ( twenty-four, six hundred and
forty-nine).
Both cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers are common with titles of books
and films and for referring to chapters and parts of documents. After the noun, a
cardinal number is used. Both cardinal and ordinal numbers are normally
acceptable, though the cardinal number is more informal:
I think the reference is in Book 7 of ‘Paradise Lost’.
(or: the seventh book)
The play didn’t get started until the third act.
(or: Act 3)
I will return to these questions in the ninth chapter.
(or: chapter 9)
✪
The definite article is not used when cardinal numbers occur after the noun:
I will return to these questions in chapter 9.
(I will return to these questions in the chapter 9.)
See figure 9 below.
(See the figure 9 below.)
Turn to page 28.
Ordinal numbers are used with the names of kings and queens and aristocrats:
He is the fourth Earl of Gloucester.
(He is Earl 4 of Gloucester.)
King Henry VII/King Henry the Seventh
(King Henry Seven)
FRACTIONS AND DECIMALS
513
Simple fractions are normally said in the following ways:
1
/
2
a half
1
/
4
a quarter
1
/
5
a/one fifth
3
/
8
three eighths
2
/
3
two thirds
13
/
14
thirteen fourteenths
3
/
4
hour
three quarters of an hour
3
/
10
mile
three tenths of a mile
Decimals are normally said and written as follows:
0.245
nought point two four five
(in American English normally zero point two four five)
(nought point two hundred and forty five)
4.7
four point seven
More complex fractions can be expressed by using the word over:
423
/
500
four hundred and twenty three over five hundred
Singular and plural with fractions and decimals
513a
With fractions and decimals below 1, of a + singular noun is commonly used:
2
/
5
k
two fifths of a kilogram
That’s almost three quarters of a pint of milk that she’s drunk.
0.8cm
(nought) point eight of a centimetre
Û
539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms
Appendix: Numbers | 861
When the decimals are below 1, they can also be followed by a plural noun:
0.255cm
nought point two five five centimetres
Fractions and decimals over 1 are normally followed directly by a plural noun:
two and a quarter hours
(two and a quarter hour)
I’ll have four and a half bags, please.
(I’ll have four and a half bag, please.)
2.7 millimetres
(2.7 millimetre)
Note that after fractions and amounts, singular verbs are normally used:
8 kilometres is about 5 miles.
Note also the structure a … and a half:
We’ve been waiting for delivery now for about a month and a half.
PERCENTAGES
514
Percentages are written with a special symbol % and are spoken as per cent:
Sales tax is added to all items. The current rate is 17.5%.
(seventeen point five per cent)
Interest rates reached an all-time low last month when banks and building
societies reduced mortgage rates by one half per cent to 4.75%.
(four point seven five per cent)
Note that in the previous sentence it is also possible to say half a per cent or
(a) half of one per cent.
TELEPHONE NUMBERS
515
Each figure in a telephone number is commonly indicated separately. Speakers
tend to pause after groups of three or four figures. When the same figure comes
twice, either it can be said twice or the word ‘double’ can be used:
9807 6933
nine eight oh seven, six nine double three
or: nine eight zero seven, six nine three three
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