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I know that there are (at least) three options to read this number - 2500:

A. two thousand, five hundred

B. two thousand and five hundred

C. twenty-five hundred

Q1) Is "C" considered to be an informal way of reading it?

Q2) Is it ok to read this number (2501) as *twenty-five hundred one/twenty-five hundred and one?

Q3) I want to investigate more into the idea of reading numbers using the "C" way. Is it considered to be an informal use? I'm looking for links/references or just the title of the concept so I can run a search.

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1 Answer 1

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B is incorrect, or at least no native speaker today would use this form. A is more formal than C.

2501 could be read as:

D) "twenty-five hundred one", or

E) "twenty-five hundred and one", or

F) "two thousand, five hundred one", or

G) "two thousand, five hundred, and one"

The "and" form is more old-fashioned, and if used, should be used only with a value of one to nine, no more, after the "and".

F and G are more formal than D and E.

D is perhaps most commonly used in US English.

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    D and F are hardly ever used in British English: E and G are the normal forms. But B is not used in British English either.
    – Colin Fine
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 0:03
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    I’d add “twenty-five oh-one” as another informal pronunciation of 2501 (American)
    – Mixolydian
    Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 0:56
  • @Mixolydian I dislike that one, but it is indeed common. Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 0:58
  • Isn't the "twenty-five oh-one"-reading restricted to the year 2501? Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 1:15
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    @SunnySideDown not in my experience. I have often heard it used for house numbers adn telephone numbers, and less commonly for dollar amounts and fairly often for gauge readings "The pressure reads two five oh one pounds" / "The temperature is one oh four" Commented Mar 22, 2019 at 1:20

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