"an hour and a half" or "one and a half hours"

Question

Are both "an hour and a half" and "one and a half hours" correct? If so, is either more appropriate in different contexts?

Example context:

"The Superbowl starts in less than one and a half hours."

"The Superbowl starts in less than an hour and a half."

GEdgar · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-03 22:19:00Z

12

Both of these are equally good with hours and other common measurements. But maybe not with less common measurements. For example:

He drank one and a half glasses of water.

is more common than

He drank a glass and a half of water.

answered Feb 3, 2014 at 14:53

GEdgar

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1

Your second example seems flawed; shouldn't it be "He drank a glass and a half of water"?
– Elliott Frisch
Commented Feb 3, 2014 at 18:24

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Elliott Frisch · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-03 00:33:37Z

4

The are both correct, and interchangeable; assuming you mean 90 minutes. One and an indicate the same singular quantity.

answered Feb 3, 2014 at 0:33

Elliott Frisch

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Should we use Ninety minutes,two years etc. as plural or singular?
– starun008
Commented Sep 16, 2015 at 12:21
In what context? You used a plural here.
– Elliott Frisch
Commented Sep 16, 2015 at 12:54
Ok you mean we can use both singular and plural for them. for example Two years is/are a long time. 2. two hours have/has been passed since he had fallen asleep
– starun008
Commented Sep 16, 2015 at 13:00
@starun008 Two years are a long time doesn't work for me on its' own. But if we spent two years on something, it might. Two hours may have passed, but I hope I'm never a has-been.
– Elliott Frisch
Commented Sep 17, 2015 at 4:05

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Tristan r · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-03 13:49:36Z

2

It seems that one is more likely to be used by certain people and not others. In the UK, sentences like

"The Superbowl (or anything else) starts in less than an hour and a half."

are more common and natural.

answered Feb 3, 2014 at 12:30

Tristan r

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Do you have any examples of where ‘one and a half hours’ would be more common? I cannot think of any dialect or context where ‘an hour and a half’ doesn’t sound more natural.
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Commented Feb 3, 2014 at 12:34
Janus, I meant that the "in less than an hour and a half" wording would be more common.
– Tristan r
Commented Feb 3, 2014 at 13:51

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3 Answers 3