🎯 By the end of this 5 minutes, you can:

say prices (£12.50), times (quarter past three) and room/floor numbers correctly — especially distinguishing -teen from -ty.

The -teen / -ty trap: English speakers stress the first syllable in -ty numbers and the second in -teen numbers:

• THIR-ty (30) vs thir-TEEN (13)
• FOR-ty (40) vs four-TEEN (14)
• FIF-ty (50) vs fif-TEEN (15)

Prices: £12.50 = “twelve pounds fifty” (drop pence in natural speech).

Times: 3:15 = “quarter past three” · 3:30 = “half past three” · 3:45 = “quarter to four”

Task 1: Which do you hear? (read aloud & decide)

Say each pair out loud. Which is the higher number?
A) thir-TEEN vs THIR-ty · B) fif-TEEN vs FIF-ty · C) four-TEEN vs FOR-ty

💡 Show answer

Both the -teen words are lower (13, 15, 14). The -ty words are higher (30, 50, 40). The stress tells you which is which.

Task 2: Write the time

How do you say these times in English?
1. 4:15 · 2. 7:30 · 3. 9:45 · 4. 12:00

💡 Show answer

1. quarter past four · 2. half past seven · 3. quarter to ten · 4. twelve o’clock / noon / midnight

Task 3: Price practice

Read these prices out loud: £3.50 · £14.99 · £40.00 · £15.75

💡 Show answer

three pounds fifty · fourteen pounds ninety-nine · forty pounds · fifteen pounds seventy-five

Imagine you are a hotel receptionist. A guest asks: ‘What time is check-out?’ and ‘How much is the room per night?’ Write your reply using times and prices. Speak it out loud if you can.