🔢 MathGrade 2Lesson 2
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Read and Write Numbers in Words

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What you will learn

  • 1Read and write two-digit numbers in word form
  • 2Write three-digit numbers in word form
  • 3Use a hyphen correctly in compound numbers (e.g., forty-three)
  • 4Skip the tens word when the tens digit is zero (e.g., nine hundred seven)
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Mini Lesson

Every number you can write with digits also has a name made of words — just like your name has letters!

Teen numbers (13-19)

  • These have a special "-teen" ending: thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen.
  • Example: 16 → sixteen.
  • Watch out! 11 = eleven and 12 = twelve — they don't follow the -teen pattern.

Tens and compound numbers (20-99)

  • Tens words: twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety.
  • Numbers that are not exact tens use a hyphen: forty-three, sixty-seven, ninety-one.
  • Exact tens like 50 or 80 are just the tens word alone: fifty, eighty.

Three-digit numbers (100-999)

  • Say the hundreds digit first: "three hundred," "seven hundred."
  • Then say the rest of the number normally: 315 → three hundred fifteen.
  • If the tens place is zero, skip it: 907 → nine hundred seven.

Words to know

Word form

A number written using letters instead of digits

e.g. The word form of 42 is forty-two.

Hyphen

A small dash used between parts of a compound number

e.g. We use a hyphen in forty-three.

Teen number

A two-digit number from 13 to 19 that ends in -teen

e.g. Sixteen is a teen number.

Compound number

A two-part number written with a hyphen, like sixty-seven

e.g. Eighty-three is a compound number.

Hundreds

Groups of one hundred

e.g. Three hundred has the digit 3 in the hundreds place.

Digit

Any of the symbols 0 through 9 that make up a number

e.g. The number 315 has three digits.

Breaking 247 into its word partsThe number 247 is shown with arrows pointing to three boxes: 2 hundreds equals two hundred, 4 tens equals forty, 7 ones equals seven. Below, the full word form reads two hundred forty-seven.247 in words2472 hundredstwo hundred4 tensforty7 onessevenword form:two hundred forty-sevenHyphen joins forty + seven!
The number 247 split into hundreds, tens, and ones parts with their word names, forming "two hundred forty-seven."
Writing 907 in words — skipping the zero tensThe number 907 is shown. The 9 hundreds gives nine hundred. The 0 tens is crossed out with a red X. The 7 ones gives seven. The result is nine hundred seven.907 in words9079 hundredsnine hundred0 tensskip!7 onessevenword form:nine hundred sevenZero tens? Skip it — no word needed!
907 broken into parts — nine hundred, zero tens (skipped with a red X), and seven — giving "nine hundred seven."
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Ask yourself: "Do I start with hundreds? Do I need a hyphen between tens and ones?"

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← Lesson 1: Count Forward and Backward to 1,000Lesson 3: Understand Hundreds, Tens, and Ones →