Timeline for What is the difference between “I earn $500 each month” and “I earn $500 per month”?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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| Oct 13, 2018 at 4:41 | history | edited | tchrist♦ | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Jul 27, 2012 at 16:39 | comment | added | supercat | Someone who earns $16.44 every day other than Febrary 29 would earn precisely $500.05 per month, but would not earn $500.05 each month. Some months that person would earn $509.64; some months that person would earn $493.20. One month each year the person would only earn $460.32. By contrast, someone who earns $500 each month would earn just as much in Febrary as in March. | |
| Jan 24, 2012 at 22:13 | comment | added | Jay | RE "neither imply causality". Ditto. There may actually be causality in any ratio, but the use of "per" does not indicate it. I might just as well say, "My car is moving at 50 miles per hour." The hour did not cause my car to move. | |
| Feb 2, 2011 at 4:33 | comment | added | Scott Mitchell |
@Malvolio: per is used in all sorts of ratios. Miles per gallon is a ratio of distance to unit of measure. Likewise, $500 per month is a ratio of income to unit time. Neither imply causality.
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| Feb 2, 2011 at 1:10 | comment | added | Michael Lorton |
@Rhodri -- if you don't think there's causality in "50 miles per gallon", try removing the gasoline from your car, see how far you get. Candidly, I don't think it's honest argumentation to say, "Yes, you're correct in all the cases you cite, but the instant case is different, for reasons I feel no reason to explain." That's your position: every other case, per implies causality but in the case of time-ratio, nope, a wholly coincidentally relationship would suddenly suffice.
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| Feb 1, 2011 at 21:20 | comment | added | user3444 | @Malvolio: What Rhodri said. There are different definitions of per. | |
| Feb 1, 2011 at 19:47 | comment | added | Michael Lorton | I have to disagree. "Per" in the broader sense definitely carries the implication of causality. Consider "per your request". That can only mean "I did it because you asked me to". There's no some connotation in "each". | |
| Feb 1, 2011 at 17:34 | history | answered | user3444 | CC BY-SA 2.5 |