 Fractions can appear in a variety of forms, depending on how big the top and bottom of the fraction are. First let's give the fraction parts some names ...  Here's a fraction The top is 3. The top is called the numerator The bottom is 4. The bottom is called the denominator The fraction is called 'three quarters' Imagine you have a whole something that is divided into four equal parts. The fraction 'three quarters' means we choose three of the four parts.  
Here's a whole pizza It's divided into 4 equal parts. Each one is a quarter We want to choose 3 of them We want three quarters of the pizza  
This is an example of a PROPER fraction The top number (numerator) is smaller than the bottom number (denominator) Here are some more proper fractions. Notice that the tops are smaller than the bottoms.  
The last one means the whole is divided into 8 equal parts, called eighthsWe're choosing 5 of them The fraction is '5 out of 8', or five eighths Click on each to learn about them: Whole | Improper | Mixed |