Everyday Grammar TV: Pronouncing Years in American English, Part 2

Faith: Hi John! Do you remember our last lesson about pronouncing years?

John: I sure do! We talked about how to use the two-digit method to say years. For example, we recently rang in 2024 (twenty twenty-four).

Faith: That’s right, John. You used two separate numbers 20 (twenty) 24 (twenty-four).

John: Today I think we should talk about numbers that have zeros in them!

For years where the third digit is a zero, Americans often say “oh” for the number zero. So, a number like 1901 (one thousand nine hundred and one) would be “nineteen oh one.”

Faith: If the year ends in two zeros, we just say, “hundred.”

So, 1600 (one thousand six hundred) would be “sixteen hundred.”

If the year ends in one zero, use the original two-digit method from the beginning of the video:

1990 was the start of the best decade for music!

John: When 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.”

Everyone was afraid of Y2K when the year 2000 came!

John: So Faith, what do you think people will be doing in the year 3000 to celebrate the new millennium?

Faith: Well hopefully not just sitting on their couch and watching the ball drop, but you never know! And that’s Everyday Grammar TV!