Usage of "twenty oh eight"

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

Would you please tell me if you commonly use twenty oh eight for the year 2008?

Thanks
Liza

2

And how about 2108? “twenty one oh eight”?

3

Yes, both are used.[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: Old vehicles[YSaerTTEW443543]

4

Thanks a lot, Torsten.
Just one more question: Is “twenty one oh eight” the only way of reading 2108?

5

No. There are other ways.

  1. twenty one hundred eight (twenty one hundred and eight)
  2. two thousand one hundred eight (two thousand one hundred and eight)
  3. two one oh eight (not for the year)
  4. two one zero eight (not for the year)
6

Thanks a lot for your idea, Haihao :slight_smile:

  1. twenty one hundred eight (twenty one hundred and eight)
    => This sounds ok to me
  2. two thousand one hundred eight (two thousand one hundred and eight)
    => I’m not sure about this. I know it’s the correct way of reading a number, but I’ve never seen people use this for years…

Last query: Which is the most common way of reading the year 2108? (if there are so many)

Thank you very much.
Nessie.

7

Hi Nessie,

I’d say “two thousand one hundred eight” could be applied to the year like “the year 2000 (two thousand)” but not common, I think, and “twenty one oh eight” would be most commonly used as “nineteen oh eight”.

Just my two cents.

Haihao

8

To refer to the year 2008, what I commonly hear in my neck of the woods is either “two thousand eight” (the long form) or “oh eight” (the short form – i.e. '08).

Although “oh eight” would logically be the short form of “twenty oh eight”, I don’t ever use “twenty oh eight” at all, and I don’t know anyone who does.
.

9

But if our grandgrandparents used it in their time, that must have been 1908. (just a semijoke) :smiley:

10

Hi Haihao

That’s probably what makes the current non-use of “twenty oh eight” in everyday speech so noticeable to me. It would be quite normal to hear someone refer to the year 1908 as “nineteen oh eight”. Even when we were still in the 1900s, that was a commonly used option.

I don’t know whether the same tendencies hold true in the UK, for example, but I can tell you what I’m hearing (and not hearing) in spoken English in my neck of the woods. I also can’t remember having heard any usage of “twenty oh eight” on radio or TV. I’m sure it must be used from time to time, but it certainly is not what I usually hear people say.
.

11

Hi Amy,

Thank you very much. Your comment is really informative and convincing. Sometimes I strongly feel we just can’t play down those ‘small things’ if we wish to speak a better English. Small ones are always the narrowest bottleneck in our neck of the woods. :smiley:

Haihao

12

Can we really use “a better English”? :o

13

Hi Amy,
How about 2108? Have you any idea about it and which is the most common way of reading it?