This is in relation to the question "It's “1 degrees” or is it “1 degree” outside?". I have heard many people say that it is zero degrees outside. Is this correct, or is it 0 degree? The latter simply doesn't sound right.
asked Jan 3, 2014 at 18:26
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5Zero is treated as plural in (AFAIK) all circumstances. I have zero apples, zero chips and zero cares– Matt E. ЭлленJan 3, 2014 at 18:27
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2There are no cars on the road.– Blessed GeekJan 3, 2014 at 19:51
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@BlessedGeek Great example. +1.– JoshJan 3, 2014 at 20:31
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I don't care how you say it, it's minus 5 right now and I'm freezing.– MitchJan 3, 2014 at 22:57
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@BlessedGeek: There are no Santa Clauses?– user1635Jan 4, 2014 at 17:06
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2 Answers
"One degree" is correct, as is "zero degrees". It grates on my inner geek that a quantity of zero is pluralized, but that's the way it is.
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10Don't think of it as a plural as such; think of it instead as a ‘non-singular’. It applies to everything that is not precisely equal to one, whether it's higher or lower. Jan 3, 2014 at 18:36
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1@Janus: everything except "one half" or "a half", but maybe that counts as a singular half-mile. "One half mile", but "0.5 miles". Jan 3, 2014 at 18:43
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2@Peter, ‘half’ when used like that basically functions like an adjective, so even though the semantic meaning of the mile changes, it is still a singular. You can also speak of a double mile, which is the same as two miles, but it is grammatically singular. Only numerals (including decimals) and determiners can force a noun to non-singularity; adjectives do not (vel sim). Jan 3, 2014 at 20:05
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1If 0 degrees offends, just use 273 Kelvin. For similarly geeky reasons there are no degrees Kelvin– mgbJan 4, 2014 at 1:02
From the OED,
Each of the marks denoting degrees of temperature on the scale of a thermometer, or the interval between two successive marks.
This usage of degree literally meant to measure against a thermometer containing markings that were called degrees. Thus, zero degrees is when the liquid inside did not rise to any of the marks above. one degree is to say the liquid inside rose to one mark.
Admittedly, we have now greatly expanded the concept of how we conceive of temperature, but such is the origin.
