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Which is correct?

Given 240 kph (240 kilometres per hour) = 149 mph (149 miles per hour)

How does one say this?

-240 kph equal 149 mph.
-240 kph equals 149 mph.
-240 kph is equal to 149 mph.
-240 kph are equal to 149 mph.

Is 240 kph singular or plural (kilometre or kilometres)?
Or 240 kph is a separate kind of thing?

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  • 2
    kilometers per hour is plural, of course miles per hour is also plural.
    – Elliott Frisch
    Commented Feb 14, 2014 at 20:58
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    Equals is correct, as is is equal to. There are some instances when one might use are, but that would be limited to when a quantity separates are from equal to, and would sound correct, but not necessarily be mathematically correct.
    – anongoodnurse
    Commented Feb 14, 2014 at 21:09

2 Answers 2

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-3

Correct ones are:

240kph equals 149mph; 240kph is equal to 149mph;

In 240kph, kilometres is plural.

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  • "240 kph" is singular; the third person singular of the verb is "equals", and the third person plural would be "equal"
    – DJClayworth
    Commented Nov 24, 2016 at 16:34
  • @PhilSweet Who says?
    – WS2
    Commented Nov 24, 2016 at 18:17
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    @DJClayworth Nothing in my answer is at variance with what you have said. Written as kph, it is clearly singular. Indeed even the term kilometres per hour is singular. Nonetheless kilometres in this formulation is written in the plural.
    – WS2
    Commented Nov 24, 2016 at 18:20
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Even though the unit is "kilometers per hour," it's not really a "discrete" entity. You can't separate kilometers per hour from one another, and thus the unit acts as a "corporate" noun, where all the component "parts" belong to a larger unified whole. I would therefore opt for the singular:

240 kilometers per hour is equal to (or equals) 149 miles per hour.

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  • 3
    You may also see is equvalent to to emphasize that it's a unit conversion rather than an equation.
    – B. Szonye
    Commented Feb 14, 2014 at 21:52

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