IELTS Listening: Numbers Masterclass
Mastering Numbers in IELTS Listening
Learn to recognize telephone numbers, dates, prices, and large numbers
Why Numbers Matter
In IELTS Listening Section 1, you’ll often hear:
- 📞 Telephone numbers (e.g., hotel reservations)
- 📅 Dates and times (e.g., appointment scheduling)
- 💰 Prices and figures (e.g., product costs)
Tip: Numbers may be spoken differently than you expect. British English often says “oh” for zero and uses “double/triple”.
1. Telephone Numbers
Key Rules
| Format | Example | Spoken As |
| Zero as “oh” | 020 | “Oh two oh” |
| Double numbers | 55 | “Double five” |
| Grouping | 020 8745 12 | “Oh two oh, eight seven four five, one two” |
2. Dates and Times
Common Formats
Dates
- 15 May → “The fifteenth of May”
- May 15 → “May the fifteenth”
- 2005 → “Twenty oh five”
Times
- 9:15 → “Quarter past nine”
- 14:30 → “Half past two” or “Two thirty”
- 11:45 → “Quarter to twelve”
3. Prices and Large Numbers
Key Rules
Prices
- £15.50 → “Fifteen pounds fifty”
- $4.99 → “Four dollars ninety-nine”
- €120 → “One hundred twenty euros”
Large Numbers
- 1,500 → “One thousand five hundred”
- 3.5 million → “Three point five million”
- 12,075 → “Twelve thousand seventy-five”