Dear all,
The decade between 1980 and 1989 is called "80s (eighties)", and the following decade is called "90s(nineties).
Then, what do you call the years from 2000 to 2009? What do you call "00s" when you read it aloud?
Thank you!
OP
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hello, Optimistic.
(1) You have asked a REALLY good question.
(2) I, too, have been trying to find the answer to: What do
we call the years 2000 - 2009?
(3) It appears there is no answer accepted by everyone.
(4) There also seems to be a difference between American English and
British English regarding this matter.
(5) A few years ago, I was reading a British newspaper online when
I came across the word "naughties." I immediately thought of people
who had done something naughty. It took some time for this slow learner
to realize the meaning: "naught" = 0. Therefore, ...
(6) Recently an American journalist on TV didn't know how to refer to
the first decade of this century, so he called them the "00s." (He
pronounced the letter "O.")
(7) And just this week, I found this in a very respected American
magazine: "The aughts."
(a) Of course, as one ESL expert commented, probably 99% of Americans
would never use this in writing -- let alone speech. But I don't care: I
think it's "cool," and I intend to use it whenever possible.
***** Thank you *****
