Numbers in Sport

Numbers in sport presentation and practice

What sport is each piece of commentary below about?

Match report for the local derby, kick off three thirty pm on Saturday the second of March. They went in for half time after three quarters of an hour with the score and nil nil, but the home side came out much more motivated and the score was two nil within quarter of an hour. After they got a red card and were reduced to ten men, however, the visitors pulled it back to two all by the end of an hour and a half. With their main rivals losing four one early on Sunday morning, that puts them in second place in the league.

 

The third seed won most of her service games forty love but found it much more difficult to break her opponent’s serve and with the third set at six games all the match was went to a tie break. The final score was six three, three six, seven six (seventeen fifteen) after two and three quarter hours.

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Without looking back at the texts, try to remember how these numbers were pronounced: 

Time and dates

0:45 (length of time)

0:15 (length of time)

1:30 (length of time)

2:45 (length of time)

15:30 (a time)

2/3 (a date)

 

Scores

4-1

2-2

2-0

0-0

40-0

6-6

 

Positions

2^nd

3^rd

Look back at the text and check. Are there any other ways of saying those numbers?

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Practice

Say some recent sports results or other statistics related to you or famous teams you know and see if your partner can remember or guess what they refer to.

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Suggested answers

Time and dates

0:45 (length of time) – three quarters of an hour (or forty-five minutes)

0:15 (length of time) – quarter of an hour (or fifteen minutes)

1:30 (length of time) – one and a half hours (or one hour thirty minutes, or ninety minutes)

2:45 (length of time) – two hours (and) forty five minutes

15:30 (a time) – three thirty pm (or half past three in the afternoon, or three thirty in the afternoon)

2/3 (a date) – the second of March (or March the third, or March three)

 

Scores

4-1 – four one

2-2 – two all

2-0 – two nil (or two zero)

0-0 – nil nil (or zero zero)

40-0 – forty love

6-6 – six all

 

Positions

2^{nd –} second

3^rd – third