Colour Your English - 2008

Word families

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Grammar explanations with examples

5 temas asociados

Brian's story: a boy like you

13 escenas asociadas

Focus on culture & cross-curricular topics

7 temas asociados

Everyday conversations

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Search the web

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Expand your English

3 videos asociados

In Britain, they don't use the euro. The British unit of currency is the Pound Sterling. The sign for the pound is £. The equivalence pound/euro is aprox. £1 = 1.25 € (April 2008). Many people in Britain don't like the idea of having the euro and leaving the pound. They think the pound is part of the identity and power of Britain.

The pound is divided into 100 pence since 1971. Before that, there were pounds, shillings and pence. The singular of pence is "penny". The symbol for the penny is "p". For such a big amount as £1,000 they use the letter "k" to represent it (20k = £20,000). In colloquial English, a pound is also called a "quid".

British people have coins and banknotes. All coins have the Queen's head on one side, and on the 'tails' side of each coin there is an image of national significance.
The coins in circulation are: 1 penny, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, 50 pence, 1 pound, and 2 pounds.
Current bank notes are: the 5 pound note, the 10 pound note, the 20 pound note and the 50 pound note.