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TOEIC listening numbers and dates: catch every detail

B1Listening40 questionsUpdated

More TOEIC Listening points are lost to numbers than to vocabulary. Thirteen and thirty, fifty and fifteen, a price read as *nineteen ninety-five*, an American date read *March fifth*: every one of these appears in answer options as a near-miss. This page drills the sounds, the formats and the note-taking shorthand that keeps a figure long enough to use it.

What this task tests

  • Hearing the stress difference between -teen and -ty numbers.
  • Understanding American date order and spoken ordinals: March fifth, the twenty-second.
  • Prices, percentages and quantities said in speech: nineteen ninety-five, a quarter of, a dozen.
  • Codes read digit by digit: extensions, invoice numbers, flight and gate numbers.
  • Noting a figure fast enough that the next sentence is not lost.
  • Times said in workplace shorthand: a quarter to nine, half past, noon, close of business.
  • Durations and ranges: from the twenty-second through the twenty-fourth, within two business days.
  • Payment and delivery terms that hide a number: net 30, same-day, overnight, biweekly.
  • Corrections and self-repairs, where the second figure replaces the first.
  • Matching a heard figure to a printed option that expresses it differently, such as 8:45 for a quarter to nine.

How to do it

  1. Step 1:

    Listen for stress, not the ending

    THIR-teen stresses the first syllable and ends with a clear /n/; THIR-ty stresses the first syllable but ends in a flapped /d/-like sound. In connected speech the stress pattern survives when the ending does not.

  2. Step 2:

    Write the digit, never the word

    *15* takes a fraction of a second; *fifteen* takes long enough to lose the following clause. Use symbols too: $, %, @, #.

  3. Step 3:

    Record the unit beside the number

    A bare *40* is useless when the options offer forty boxes, forty dollars and forty minutes. Write *40 bx* or *$40* as one action.

  4. Step 4:

    Expect a correction

    Workplace audio repairs itself: *the order was for sixty — sorry, sixteen.* The second figure is the one the question wants, so keep your pencil ready to strike through.

  5. Step 5:

    Do the arithmetic only if asked

    If a question wants a total, add it after the audio stops. Calculating while the speaker continues costs you the next two answers.

  6. Step 6:

    Convert times to digits immediately

    *A quarter to nine* becomes 8:45 on the page, not in your head later. The printed options use digits, so doing the conversion once at the point of hearing saves you doing it twice under pressure.

  7. Step 7:

    Write months as letters

    *Jun 9* can never be misread; *6/9* can. Three extra characters remove the whole British-American date problem from your own notes.

  8. Step 8:

    Keep a strike-through ready

    When a speaker corrects a figure, cross out rather than erase. Erasing takes seconds you do not have, and the crossed number is still readable if the question asks about the original plan.

  9. Step 9:

    Check the range, not just the digits

    A room number is unlikely to be 13 dollars and a price is unlikely to be 30 o'clock. Plausibility resolves many -teen and -ty items faster than replaying the sound.

Mistakes that cost marks

  • Not thisHearing *the meeting is at 3:15* and writing 3:50.

    ThisWriting 3:15.

    Fifteen and fifty are the classic pair. Fifteen carries a secondary stress on the second syllable; fifty does not, and its second syllable is short.

  • Not thisReading *6/9* as the ninth of June when an American speaker said June ninth.

    ThisWriting *Jun 9* in words.

    TOEIC uses American conventions, where the month comes first. Writing the month as letters removes the ambiguity from your own notes.

  • Not thisHearing *nineteen ninety-five* as a year.

    ThisWriting $19.95 when the context is a price.

    American speakers read prices as two two-digit numbers. Context decides: a catalogue and a dollar sign mean a price, not a year.

  • Not thisWriting *ext 4502* when the speaker said four-five-oh-two.

    ThisWriting *ext 4502* and checking the zero.

    *Oh* is zero in spoken codes. Candidates who transcribe it as the letter O fail to match the option, which prints a digit.

  • Not thisReading *through the twenty-fourth* as *up to but not including*.

    ThisCounting the twenty-fourth as included.

    American *through* includes the final day. A conference from the twenty-second through the twenty-fourth lasts three days, not two.

  • Not thisAnswering *forty* when the question asks about minutes and the audio said forty boxes.

    ThisNoting the unit with the figure.

    Options deliberately reuse the same number with different units, so a bare digit in your notes matches the wrong option as easily as the right one.

  • Not thisTreating *within two business days* as two days.

    ThisCounting only working days.

    An order placed on Friday under that term arrives Tuesday. Delivery questions are built on exactly this distinction.

Language this task keeps reusing

a dozen
Twelve. Half a dozen is six.
a quarter past / to
Fifteen minutes after or before the hour.
biweekly
Every two weeks in most workplace use; confirm from context, as it can mean twice a week.
net 30
Payment due within thirty days of the invoice date.
as of
Starting from a date: as of October first.
no later than
By this time at the latest.
round trip
A journey there and back; American English for *return*.
extension
A short internal phone number within a company.
up to
A maximum: discounts of up to thirty percent.
flat rate
One fixed price regardless of quantity or distance.
close of business
The end of the working day, often abbreviated COB.
business day
A working day, excluding weekends and public holidays.
through (a date)
Up to and including that date, in American usage.
in stock
Available in the warehouse now.
per unit
For each item: forty cents per unit.
deposit
A part payment made in advance to secure an order or a booking.

Practice: numbers, dates and detail

40 original questions. The first 10 are open to everyone. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class as it is.

The speaker says: "We'll need thirty chairs for the session." Which note is correct?

2Complete with the two-part term meaning *payment due in thirty days*.

The invoice is due, so payment must reach us within a month.
"Your appointment is at a quarter to nine." What time is the appointment?

4Write the figure with a dollar sign and a decimal point.

The catalogue price is nineteen ninety-five, which you should write as.
Decide whether each statement about numbers in TOEIC Listening is true or false.
  • *Fifteen* and *fifty* differ mainly in which syllable carries the stress.
  • In American usage *6/9* written on a form means the ninth of June.
  • Spoken codes never use *oh* for the digit zero.
3 to go
"Please call me back on extension four-five-oh-two." Which extension should you dial?

7Complete with a two-word phrase meaning *starting from*.

The new policy takes effectOctober first.
"The order was for sixty units — sorry, sixteen." How many units were ordered?

9Complete with a three-word phrase meaning *by this time at the latest*.

Submit the expense reportFriday at five.

10A speaker says: "We'll ship forty on Tuesday." Write the note you would make and explain why the bare figure is not enough.

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Frequently asked questions

Am I allowed to take notes during the Listening test?

Note-taking rules depend on the test format and the centre, so check your confirmation email. Practise both ways: the mental shorthand works even when writing is not permitted.

Why do the answer options contain numbers close to the right one?

Because they are testing whether you heard the figure or merely recognised its shape. Near-miss options punish approximate listening specifically.

Do I need to know both British and American date order?

TOEIC uses American conventions, with the month first. Writing months as letters in your own notes removes the risk entirely.

How do I practise this without a teacher?

Have a voice read random figures — prices, times, extensions, dates — while you write digits only, then check. Ten minutes a day moves this faster than any other listening drill.

Do I need to do arithmetic in the Listening test?

Occasionally: a total, a difference, a doubled quantity. Note the figures first and calculate in the gap after the audio, never while the speaker is still talking.