Pronouncing Years in American English
2023-04-14
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1Have you ever wondered how to read years in English?
2In today's Everyday Grammar, we take a closer look at some ways to pronounce years in American English.
3The most common and easiest way to pronounce years is to say the first two digits as one number and the last digits as another two-digit number.
4Let's call this the "first method."
5For example:
6I was born in 1987 (nineteen eighty-seven).
7Last year was 2022 (twenty twenty-two).
8When we read stories for VOA Learning English, we use this method of saying years in most cases.
9For years where the third digit is a zero, there are additional ways of saying the year.
10Americans often say "oh" for the number zero.
11So, a number like 1801 (one thousand eight hundred one) would be "eighteen oh one."
12The first Mother's Day celebration was held in Grafton, West Virginia in 1908.
13Another, less common, way would be to say, "eighteen hundred and one."
14In American English, it is common not to say the "and" when talking about years.
15Some people might think it sounds out-of-date or very formal.
16But for most, it is just an extra syllable that is not necessary.
17If the year ends in two zeros, we can just say, "hundred."
18So, 1700 (one thousand seven hundred) would be "seventeen hundred."
19If the year ends in one zero, use the first method:
201990 was an unusual year for our circle of friends.
21When the year ends in three zeros, say the year as one number.
22One followed by three zeros is "one thousand," and two is "two thousand."
23I turned 13 years old in the year 2000.
24People often use the word "year" right before saying the numbers to show that they are talking about time and not talking about other things.
25With the start of the new millennium, the way that we say the years changed a little.
26There are two ways we can pronounce these years.
27We can pronounce them with the word "thousand" or we can use the first method, breaking the year into a pair of two-digit numbers.
28For the years 2001 to 2009, saying the year with the word "thousand" is most common.
29Between 2007 and 2008 the world experienced a terrible financial crisis.
30Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States in 2009 (two thousand nine).
31After 2011, both methods are common.
32Amanda graduated from college in 2017 (twenty seventeen).
33I worked at a local coffee shop in 2012 (two thousand twelve.)
34In VOA Learning English, we use the first method because it has one fewer syllable.
35Now let's go further back in time to talk about the years before the year 1000.
36In America English, we often split 3-digit years into sets.
37We usually say the first digit separately and then the last two digits as a set.
38The year 492 (four ninety-two) was a leap year.
39In today's Everyday Grammar we took a closer look at some ways to pronounce years in English.
40While the most common and easiest way is to say the first two digits and the second two digits as sets, as in 2023 (twenty twenty-three), this method is not the only way.
41We now know that the word "oh" is used instead of "zero" for dates like 1901 when the third number is a zero.
42We also found out there are two ways to say years starting in 2001.
43How do you pronounce the years in English? Do you prefer one method over the other?
44Write to us in the comments or send us an email, learningenglish@voanews.com.
45I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Have you ever wondered how to read years in English? 2In today's Everyday Grammar, we take a closer look at some ways to pronounce years in American English. 3The most common and easiest way to pronounce years is to say the first two digits as one number and the last digits as another two-digit number. Let's call this the "first method." 4For example: 5I was born in 1987 (nineteen eighty-seven). 6Last year was 2022 (twenty twenty-two). 7When we read stories for VOA Learning English, we use this method of saying years in most cases. 8For years where the third digit is a zero, there are additional ways of saying the year. 9Americans often say "oh" for the number zero. So, a number like 1801 (one thousand eight hundred one) would be "eighteen oh one." 10The first Mother's Day celebration was held in Grafton, West Virginia in 1908. 11Another, less common, way would be to say, "eighteen hundred and one." 12In American English, it is common not to say the "and" when talking about years. Some people might think it sounds out-of-date or very formal. But for most, it is just an extra syllable that is not necessary. 13If the year ends in two zeros, we can just say, "hundred." So, 1700 (one thousand seven hundred) would be "seventeen hundred." 14If the year ends in one zero, use the first method: 151990 was an unusual year for our circle of friends. 16When the year ends in three zeros, say the year as one number. One followed by three zeros is "one thousand," and two is "two thousand." 17I turned 13 years old in the year 2000. 18People often use the word "year" right before saying the numbers to show that they are talking about time and not talking about other things. 19With the start of the new millennium, the way that we say the years changed a little. 20There are two ways we can pronounce these years. We can pronounce them with the word "thousand" or we can use the first method, breaking the year into a pair of two-digit numbers. 21For the years 2001 to 2009, saying the year with the word "thousand" is most common. 22Between 2007 and 2008 the world experienced a terrible financial crisis. 23Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States in 2009 (two thousand nine). 24After 2011, both methods are common. 25Amanda graduated from college in 2017 (twenty seventeen). 26I worked at a local coffee shop in 2012 (two thousand twelve.) 27In VOA Learning English, we use the first method because it has one fewer syllable. 28Now let's go further back in time to talk about the years before the year 1000. 29In America English, we often split 3-digit years into sets. We usually say the first digit separately and then the last two digits as a set. 30The year 492 (four ninety-two) was a leap year. 31Final thoughts 32In today's Everyday Grammar we took a closer look at some ways to pronounce years in English. While the most common and easiest way is to say the first two digits and the second two digits as sets, as in 2023 (twenty twenty-three), this method is not the only way. 33We now know that the word "oh" is used instead of "zero" for dates like 1901 when the third number is a zero. We also found out there are two ways to say years starting in 2001. 34How do you pronounce the years in English? Do you prefer one method over the other? 35Write to us in the comments or send us an email, learningenglish@voanews.com. 36I'm Faith Pirlo. 37Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 38________________________________________________________________ 39Words in This Story 40pronounce - v. to make the sound of (a word or letter) with your voice 41digits - n. numerals from 0 to 9, used to form part of a number 42formal - adj. following or according with established form, custom, or rule 43syllable -n. a natural division of a word usually involving one vowel sound and one consonant sound 44millennium - n. a period of a thousand years 45financial - adj. relating to money 46pair -n. two of something 47leap - n. a long or high jump 48__________________________________________________________________ 49What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. Write to us at learningenglish@voanews.com or leave us a comment below. 50We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 51Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.