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So on this answer here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12699791/finding-the-word-version-of-a-number/12700097#comment17146082_12700097

We were having the argument whether it is “three hundred and forty two” or “three hundred forty two”.

I am going by British and New Zealand grammar and I believe it has the and in there. I have never in my life heard anyone say “three hundred forty two”, only “three hundred and forty two”.

So when it comes to numbers, what’s the rule?

Community
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FabianCook
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1 Answers1

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It seems that is the correct usage in British English:

http://www.usingenglish.com/files/pdf/big-numbers-american-and-british-english.pdf

In American English, the use of the and is uncommon for use in the integer portion of the number (I was specifically taught not to use it):

http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/saying_large_numbers01.html

I was also taught to use and between the integer part and the portion to the right of the decimal point which is spoken as a fraction (two tenths, forty-five hundredths, etc.):

http://www.basic-mathematics.com/writing-decimals-in-words.html

MetaEd
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CrazyCasta
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  • Three hundred forty-two for American English. I always have to delete the and in Taiwanese Chinese-English, & I often have to add the hyphen between forty and two. Historically, of course, many Americans wanted to be different: specifically, they wanted to be independent & sovereign rather than ruled by the king of England. But almost all the differences between the Anglophone countries evolved for a variety of reasons that have little or nothing to do with a narcissistic desire to be unique or even very unique. But ethnocentrism's a normal human bias & not worth a temper tantrum. –  Oct 03 '12 at 03:42
  • To my ear, "and" would not sound correct with a voiced "d", nor following a voice "d" on "hundred" or "thousand", but when more numbers follow "hundred" the "d" is stifled such that it sounds a bit like "nd". – supercat May 01 '14 at 15:57