Basic Measurements
A1–A2 · BeginnerEnglish BasicsLearn common English words for length, height, weight, volume and temperature.
What you'll learn
- US and metric length units
- Tall vs. high, long vs. wide vs. deep
- US and metric weight and volume units
- "By" for dimensions, "per"/"a" for rates
Length / distance
US customary
inch / inches — in
foot / feet — ft
yard / yards — yd
mile / miles — mi
Metric
millimeter — mm
centimeter — cm
meter — m
kilometer — km
This lesson is primarily about language, not conversion values.
Height, width, length, depth
The table is 6 feet long.
The door is 3 feet wide.
The wall is 8 feet high.
The pool is 6 feet deep.
For people and many upright things, we use tall: "He is six feet tall." Tall and high aren't always interchangeable.
Weight
US customary
ounce — oz
pound — lb
Metric
gram — g
kilogram — kg
It weighs 10 pounds.
The bag is 5 kilograms.
In full words we mark the plural (10 pounds); unit symbols generally don't take an -s (5 kg, not 5 kgs).
Volume
US customary
fluid ounce — fl oz
cup — cup
pint — pt
quart — qt
gallon — gal
Metric
milliliter — mL
liter — L
These are US customary volume units. US and British imperial units with the same names can have different sizes.
Temperature
°F — degrees Fahrenheit
°C — degrees Celsius
Examples: 70°F, 20°C
This lesson doesn't teach exact conversion between °F and °C — approximate conversions aren't treated as exact here.
"By" for dimensions
8 feet by 10 feet
12 inches by 18 inches
"By" can state two dimensions together.
"Per" / "a"
60 miles per hour / 60 miles an hour
$5 per pound / $5 a pound
Real life
Measurements appear in home improvement, shopping, travel, cooking and weather reports.
Practice
Exercise 1 · Match units to their category
inch measures:
pound measures:
gallon measures:
Exercise 2 · Feet vs. foot
It is one ___ long.
Exercise 3 · Tall vs. high
She is five feet ___.
The plane flew 30,000 feet ___.
Exercise 4 · Reading dimensions
8 ft × 10 ft is read:
Exercise 5 · °F / °C names
°F stands for:
°C stands for:
Exercise 6 · Room dimension card
Bedroom: 10 ft × 12 ft
How do you read these room dimensions?
Exercise 7 · Fix the unit symbol
Choose the correct sentence.
Quick challenge
Five quick questions to check what stuck.
Question 1 / 5
Score: 0/0
Which unit measures length?
You learned
- in, ft, yd, mi are US length units; mm, cm, m, km are metric.
- Use "tall" for people and upright objects; "high" can describe elevation above the ground.
- oz, lb (US) and g, kg (metric) measure weight.
- "8 ft by 10 ft" states two dimensions together.
- "Per" and "a" both express a rate: 60 miles per hour / an hour.