is always retained, as opposed to American usage where it may be dropped. Philippine English does not share the British usage of read (v) to mean study (v). Therefore, it may be said that He studies law but not that He reads law. When referring to time, Filipinos refer to 12:30 as half past twelve or, alternatively, twelve thirty and do not use the British half twelve. Similarly, a quarter to twelve is used for 11:45 rather than (a) quarter of twelve, which is found in American English. To take a shower or take a bath are the most common usages in Philippine English, in contrast to British English which uses have a shower and have a bath. However, bathe is as often as similar to American or British usage, but not widespread. Did: The past tense is ill-formed when used together instead of the present tense with the word "did", e.g. Only then did I 'knew'... instead of 'Only then did I 'know'. This syntax is incorrect in Standard English. Directional suffix -ward(s) is used in the Philippines, ultimately favoring the British usage. Philippine English uses the British towards, afterwards and upwards over the American toward, afterward and upward. However, forward is more prevalent than the chiefly British forwards. Philippine English users drop the -s when using phrasal verbs such as look forward to. When reading decimal numerals that are usually two or three digits, each numeral is read like a whole number rather than by each digit, e.g. (0).99 is (zero) point ninety-nine, instead of (zero) point nine nine or, especially in schools, ninety-nine hundredths in both British and American English. Additionally, four-digit decimals are also treated similar to how Americans read four-digit numbers with non-zero tens and ones as pairs of two-digit numbers without saying "hundred" and inserting "oh"; 3.1416 is thus "three point fourteen sixteen" and not "three point one four one six" as pronounced. University The word course in the Philippines shares the British definition of the entire program of study, which may extend over several years and be made up of any number of modules, hence it is also practically synonymous to a degree program. When a student takes an exam, a Philippine English user shall say 'takes an exam' in favor of the British 'sit an exam'. When a student prepares for an exam, a Philippine English user shall say 'review' in favor