מספרים

1. רקע

בכתיבה עסקית וטכנית, למספרים יש תפקיד מרכזי בטקסט. חשוב אם כך לזכור מספר חוקי סגנון בסיסיים, שיעזרו לוודא שהכתיבה שלנו עקבית וברורה כאשר משתמשים במספרים.

מספרים מתחת לעשר צריכים להיכתב כמילה ולא כספרה (למעט שני מקרים יוצאים מהכלל של מספרי עמודים ויחידות מדידה):

There are three ways to generate revenue.
Page 6 outlines the main steps that need to be taken.
The device has a 4-inch screen and weighs only 9 ounces.

במידה ומשפט מתחיל במספר, יש לכתוב את המספר במילה:

Thirty-five people have been interviewed for the position of CFO this month.

במידה וכתיבת מספר כמילה בראש משפט מרגיל מסורבל, יש לשנות את מבנה המשפט או את הסדר שלו:

This month we have interviewed 35 people for the position of CFO.

במידה וצריך להשתמש במספרים מורכבים, אנו ממליצים לרשום אותם בתבנית של רשימה ע"מ להקל על הקריאה וההבנה, לדוגמה:

1.    2691
2.    4378
3.    1892
4.    6581

:בכתיבת תאריכים, יש להיות עקביים ולהשתמש בתבנית הבאה

Until the 7^th May / May 7 2010 the supply of bananas will be uncertain in some areas.
** US: May 7 - 5/7 (month/day/year)
UK: 7th May - 7/5 (day/month/year)

2. Cardinal and Ordinal NumbersNumbers that express quantity, “three secretaries”, “500 branches” are written and pronounced as ‘cardinal numbers’ (see left of chart below). When you need to express the sequence or order of an event, remember to use ‘ordinal numbers, (see right of chart below). We use ordinal numbers for dates*, comparative results, grading and league tables.

Cardinal		Ordinal
1	One	1st	First
2	Two	2nd	Second
3	Three	3rd	Third
4	Four	4^th	Fourth
5	Five….	5^th	Fifth
11	Eleven	11^th	Eleventh
12	Twelve	12^th	Twelfth
13	Thirteen	13^th	Thirteenth
14	Fourteen	14^th	Fourteenth
15	Fifteen	15^th	Fifteenth
20	Twenty	20^th	Twentieth
21	Twenty-one	21st	Twenty-first
22	Twenty-two	22nd	Twenty-second
30	Thirty	30^th	Thirtieth
40	Forty	40^th	Fortieth
50	Fifty	50^th	Fiftieth
60	Sixty	60^th	Sixtieth
70	Seventy	70^th	Seventieth
80	Eighty	80^th	Eightieth
90	Ninety	90^th	Ninetieth
100	One hundred	100^th	One hundredth

Exercise. (see answers below)

Write down the following numbers:

a.	The thirtieth of June
b.	Three point one four two
c.	Four oh six, three double-nine
d.	One thousand two hundred and three
e.	Nineteen thirty-nine
f.	Ninety
g.	The nineteenth century
h.	Seven and a half percent
i.	Eleven forty five
j.	Four thousand nine hundred and two

Answer key:

a. the 30^th June / June 30 / 30/6 / 6/30 b. 3.142 c. 406399 d. 1,203 e. 1939 f. 90 g. the 19^th century h. 7.5% i. 1145 j. 4,902

3. Writing Dates*
European and American styles of date writing are quite different and you need to pay attention in order to avoid confusion in transatlantic communication.

In the US, the 1^st day of April is written as 4/1/2010.
To a European, this looks like the 4^th day of January.
The Americans place the month before the day. In Europe, April Fools Day is written as 1.4.2010.
To avoid this confusion, write out the date as April 1^st, 2010.

4. Prefixes expressing numbers
Here are two lists of prefixes expressing numbers. One list comes from Latin and the other from Greek. What words do you know that begin with these prefixes?

No.	Latin	Greek	Meaning
1	Uni	Mono	One
2	Bi	Di	Two
3	Tri	Tri	Three
4	Quart	Tetra	Four
5	Quint	Penta	Five
6	Sex	Hexa	Six
7	Sept	Hept	seven
8	Oct	Oct	Eight
9	Non	Ennea	Nine
10	Dec	Dec	Ten
11	Cent	Hecto	Hundred
12	Mil	Kil	Thousand
13	Semi	Hemi	Half

Ten Quick Tips on Writing a Professional Email

1) Always fill in the subject line with a topic that means something to your reader. Not "Decals" or "Important!" but "Deadline for New Parking Decals."
2) Put your main point in the opening sentence. Most readers won't stick around for a surprise ending.
3) Never begin a message with a vague "This"--as in "This needs to be done by 5:00." Always specify what you're writing about.
4) Don't use ALL CAPITALS (no shouting!), or all lower-case letters either (unless you're the poet e. e. cummings).

5) As a general rule, PLZ avoid textspeak (abbreviations and acronyms): you may be ROFLOL (rolling on the floor laughing out loud), but your reader may be left wondering WUWT (what's up with that).
6) Be brief and polite. If your message runs longer than two or three short paragraphs, consider (a) reducing the message, or (b) providing an attachment. But in any case, don't snap, growl, or bark.
7) Remember to say "please" and "thank you." And mean it. "Thank you for understanding why afternoon breaks have been eliminated" is prissy and petty. It's not polite.
8) Add a signature block with appropriate contact information (in most cases, your name, business address, and phone number, along with a legal disclaimer if required by your company). Do you need to clutter the signature block with a clever quotation and artwork? Probably not.
9) Edit and proofread before hitting "send." You may think you're too busy to sweat the small stuff, but unfortunately your reader may think you're a careless dolt.
10) Finally, reply promptly to serious messages. If you need more than 24 hours to collect information or make a decision, send a brief response explaining the delay.

EBC Audios

EBC 1A

Cultural Diversity and socializing

Welcoming visitors

1) 8:26 - Unit 2. Part 2. Culture & Entertainment

2) 15:40 - Module 2. Telephoning. (P. 16)

EBC 1B

1) Unit 4. Part 1. Ex. 1

Telephone arrangements (p. 24)

2) 10:51 - Unit 5. Part 2. Ex. 1. Problem solving on the telephone (P. 35)

3) 19:15 - Module 3. PRESENTATIONS (p. 45).

4) 20:53 - Unit 6. Part 3. Ex 2 (P. 47). Presentation - intro.

5) 24:18 - Unit 7. Part 2. Ex. 2 (P. 54)

EBC 2A

6) Unit - Midlle of the Presentation (P. 62)

7) 9:25 - Unit 9. End of the Presentation (P. 72)

8) 14:32 - Module 4. MEETINGS (P. 80)

EBC 2B

Negotiations

(just audio)

Alison English

Please contact me with WhatsApp

EMAIL PRACTICE - תרגול, תבניות ודוגמאות

Email English

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