English grammar
Business numbers: fractions, percentages and decimals
Talk about business numbers: fractions, percentages and decimals.
From the scene A third each
In short
Say half, a third, a quarter and twice as much. Decimals use point, not a comma: zero point five per cent.
Your turn
Which one goes with one of three equal parts?
Options: a third · half · a quarter
Show answer
one of three equal parts → a third
How it works
Fractions: half, a third, a quarter; twice as much means double the amount.
Your turn
Pick the word that fits the line.
Half? That's (blank) what I pay for my stall!
Options: two-times · doubled · twice
Show answer
Half? That's twice what I pay for my stall!
¿La mitad? ¡Es el doble de lo que pago por mi puesto!
Good to know
Before a noun, a percentage works like an adjective: a twenty-five per cent tax.
Good to know
English decimals use a point, not a comma, and you say it aloud: zero point five per cent.
one of two equal parts half
Nuria
Let's see, the rent takes half of what you earn.
A ver, el alquiler se lleva la mitad de lo que ganéis.
Your turn
What fills the gap?
Let's see, the rent takes (blank) of what you earn.
Options: a quarter · half · a third
Show answer
Nuria
Let's see, the rent takes half of what you earn.
A ver, el alquiler se lleva la mitad de lo que ganéis.
one of three equal parts a third
Tomás
A third for Marisa, another for me and another for the partner.
Un tercio para Marisa, otro para mí y otro para el socio.
Your turn
What fills the gap?
(blank) for Marisa, another for me and another for the partner.
Options: Half · A quarter · A third
Show answer
Tomás
A third for Marisa, another for me and another for the partner.
Un tercio para Marisa, otro para mí y otro para el socio.
one of four equal parts a quarter
Tomás
So we only have a quarter left.
Entonces nos queda solo un cuarto.
Your turn
What fills the gap?
So we only have (blank) left.
Options: half · a third · a quarter
Show answer
Tomás
So we only have a quarter left.
Entonces nos queda solo un cuarto.
two times as much twice as much
Your turn
What goes with twice as much?
Options: two times as much · one of two equal parts · one of three equal parts
Show answer
twice as much → two times as much
a decimal percentage, said aloud with point zero point five per cent
Nuria
Fine, for Javi, zero point five per cent.
Bueno, para Javi, un cero coma cinco por ciento.
Your turn
What fills the gap?
Fine, for Javi, (blank).
Options: half · a third · zero point five per cent
Show answer
Nuria
Fine, for Javi, zero point five per cent.
Bueno, para Javi, un cero coma cinco por ciento.
Practise it in the story
Meet this rule inside a short animated scene. Answer as it plays, then say the lines yourself.
Practise free in the appSee all forms
| one of two equal parts | half |
|---|---|
| one of three equal parts | a third |
| one of four equal parts | a quarter |
| two times as much | twice as much |
| a decimal percentage, said aloud with point | zero point five per cent |
More lines from the story
- TomásHalf? That's twice what I pay for my stall!¿La mitad? ¡Es el doble de lo que pago por mi puesto!
- NuriaAnd taxes, twenty-five per cent.Y los impuestos, un veinticinco por ciento.