A fraction represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, we specify how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, five-eighths and three-quarters.

A common or "vulgar" fraction, such as 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, etc., consists of a numerator and a denominator—the numerator representing a number of equal parts and the denominator indicating how many of those parts make up a whole.