pronouncing numbers in sums of money in US

j   Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:28 am GMT
When I came to US I was surprised by how people pronounce (and write on checks) numbers in sums of money. For example 1125 dollars: not as I was taught "one thousand one hundred twenty five dollars", but "eleven hundred twenty five dollars."
Is it so in all the English speaking countries? or just US?
In US - has it always been like that?
Uriel   Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:43 am GMT
I don't know if it's always been like that, but it's more common than the long way. And, given the nature of mathematics, completely logical and correct, as well.
Boy   Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:16 pm GMT
I write my checks the way you are taught to write. And I am from a non-speaking country. One thing I dont understand is that whe people write "only" by the end of the stated amount of money on the check.

My father used to write that so i imitated his way of writing a check. so i am just curious about that.
j   Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:44 pm GMT
I totally agree with you, Uriel, at least about writing: it definitely saves the limited place on check. But excuse me for the repeating, "Is it so in all the English speaking countries? or just US? "? (see my first post). I myself learned English long ago, and it was British, not American. And it's interesting too, whether in other languages it's like that?
Tiffany   Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:48 pm GMT
People write "only" at the end of a check to symbolize that it is well - the end. I am pretty it stems from a fear that other people might try to write a different, larger sum on it. For the same reason, some people write 00/100 at the end or draw a line after the states amount extending to the end of the check (I do this).
Deborah   Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:15 pm GMT
I'm from the US. Although I'd say "eleven hundred twenty-five dollars", I'd write (very small) "one thousand one hundred twenty-five and 00/100" on a check.
j   Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:53 pm GMT
I've been asking about saying too. (please see my first post) What about other English-speaking countries? What about French, German, Spanish? In my native language you NEVER hear thing like that.
Uriel   Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:40 pm GMT
I don't know. I can only speak for Americans, and honestly, I never thought about it before, since it's so commonplace here.
Guest   Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:59 pm GMT
It's a bit unwieldy to have to say "One thousand, one hundred and twenty five dollars" if it has to be repeated many times among other figures. There's also the possibility of confusing it with 1000 then 125 as two separate figures. So it's usually preferable to say "eleven hundred and twenty five dollars": this is how it would be phrased in Australia (note the "and").

As someone mentioned, a cheque would always be written: "One thousand, one hundred and twenty five dollars".
Jim   Thu Aug 31, 2006 12:03 am GMT
"Eleven hundred and twenty five dollars" sounds fine to my Aussie ears. As for writing cheques ... do people still do this? I guess I'd usually write it out in full unless I had a need to save time, ink and/or space. You could also use "&" in place of "and" but, no, never leave it out in Aussie English.

Tiffany,

You wrote "I am pretty it stems from a fear that other people might try to write a different, larger sum on it." You left out the full stop. This should be two sentences: "I am pretty. It stems from a fear that other people might try to write a different, larger sum on it."
Guest   Thu Aug 31, 2006 6:00 am GMT
>>This should be two sentences: "I am pretty. It stems from a fear... <<

Ha ha... You know she meant "I am pretty [sure] it stems..."
Tiffany   Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:23 pm GMT
LoL, yes. The entire post sans typos.

People write "only" at the end of a check to symbolize that it is well - the end. I am pretty sure it stems from a fear that other people might try to write a different, larger sum on it. For the same reason, some people write 00/100 at the end or draw a line after the stated amount extending to the end of the check (I do this).
Rick Johnson   Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:38 pm GMT
People in the UK might occasionally say eleven hundred, but would rarely write it. Do people still write "only"? I remember my Uncle sending me a cheque years ago which said "Twenty pounds only"- the next time I wrote him a cheque I wrote "Twenty pounds and not a single penny more" (in very small letters!)
zxczxc   Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:37 pm GMT
As an Englishman, I'd write "One thousand one hundred and twenty-five pounds only" on my cheque. If we were to abbreviate it I think it'd most likely be "Eleven twenty-five".
Tiffany   Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:32 am GMT
Well, I think that about sums it up. Definitely not only the US and we say it, but we don't write it as "Eleven hundred and twenty-five dollars".

zxczxc - to my ears, "eleven twenty-five" sounds like "11.25", or eleven dollars and twenty-five cents.

LMAO @ Rick