Questions tagged [numbers]
Questions relating to the use of numbers or numerals in English.
522
questions
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0answers
27 views
“X dollars' worth of Y” construction with “USD”
My question is similar to "Dollars' worth" vs. "dollars worth" for numerals but for numerals that are followed by a currency abbreviation.
When it's spelled out, it's clear ...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
Usage of “hundred” colloquially in numbers
I want to know when it is valid to say 2 digit + "hundred".
Suppose we have the number 3,500, then some people might say:
-> thirty-five hundred
So for a 4 digit number which ...
0
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1answer
45 views
Three is/are enough?
Should I use a singular or plural verb?
I got another dog because apparently three IS not enough.
Or
I got another dog because apparently three ARE not enough.
0
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0answers
39 views
Is “You rank 12 out of 50 participants” the way you should say and write that? [migrated]
How do I correctly describe somebody’s position within a ranked list for a competition when their position is not yet final because the competition hasn’t finished yet and so I am showing only the ...
0
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1answer
34 views
Convention of writing percentage range
I am writing to inquire the convention of writing the following percentage range in academic writing:
We reduce the extra cost from 99.9% to 12%--24% (depending on different configuration schemes).
...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
Comma or space in long numbers and the UK Standard Rule [duplicate]
Is there a strict rule in the UK on how to write long figures? If so, which one is it?
For example, if I need to write long numbers and follow the UK standard, which figure is correct?
10 000 ...
0
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1answer
22 views
By-product and Nth-product
By-products is a secondary product derived from a production process of primary product.
Is there anything like tri-product, four, five .. Nth?
Thank you.
2
votes
1answer
83 views
Are there any national spelling styles of English that use decimal commas?
It's a very simple question, and I think the answer's "no, except for countries that do, and even then it's frowned upon", but I can't find any sources. When I google this question, I get articles ...
0
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1answer
37 views
Can we describe the number of something as： XX(noun) is more than xx (number)?
In general, when we need to describe the number of something, we can say: over 100 people live here/ the number of people live here is over 100.
If my expressions are: people live here are over 100 / ...
0
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0answers
67 views
Omission of “a” or “one” in a number for spoken English
Does "a" or "one" always necessary when saying a number?
For example, is the following valid in spoken English?
1,034 = thousand thirty-four
Also what if 1 is in the middle of a number?
I know the ...
0
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0answers
46 views
Use of “a” or “an” in a fraction for spoken English
Can you use the word "a" in the denominator in place of "one"?
For example, if you have a number like: 103/105 ... is the following valid in spoken English?
"a hundred three over a hundred five"
0
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0answers
28 views
Counting numbers
I’ve been noticing more questions on math.SE recently that want to “count the number” of something, e.g. count the number of arrangements of a certain type. My initial reaction to ...
0
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0answers
27 views
Should I be removing the zero for “0.9”, so that it becomes “.9”?
Am I supposed to remove the "0" for any decimal number which is 0.something? For example:
.9 instead of 0.9
Or:
.45 instead of 0.45
?
Is this a general rule in English? Perhaps also in other ...
0
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0answers
39 views
measure of quantity: a hundred of bricks
According to the entry of "hundred" in the OED
Only in measures of quantity, the structure is a hundred of
bricks.
What does measure of quantity mean here, especially as opposed to a hundred ...
-1
votes
1answer
89 views
Why are there separate terms for the numbers 11 to 19? [duplicate]
Why are they not
ten-one, ten-two, ten-three, ....
just like
twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three?
What I'm asking for is a reason for breaking the pattern, less interested in the origins of the ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
POS of 'a few' in 'a few hundred'
'A few' is generally considered a determiner, for example, in:
a. A few people showed up.
But is 'a few' a determiner in the following sentence?
b. A few hundred showed up.
If it is, is 'three'...
1
vote
0answers
52 views
same number date as month number
For example, my birthday is 9/9. My brothers' birthday is 12/12. Tomorrow will be 3/3. Is there a word that describes when it is the same date as the number we use to represent the month?
Please note ...
0
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1answer
49 views
Are you also supposed to spell out *decimal* numbers under 100? [closed]
I know that you are supposed to "spell out" numbers under 100 in texts, such as:
Sue had seventy-five cows.
Rather than:
Sue had 75 cows.
But what about numbers under 100 which are not "full" ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Numeral versus digit? [closed]
This is a number:
123,456,789
This is a digit:
1
And another one:
4
And another:
9
So what are numerals? Is this just a synonym for "digit"? Or are digits synonyms for numerals?
1
vote
3answers
159 views
Do I write “.22 rifle” or “twenty-two rifle”?
I'm writing a fiction novel, and someone casually mentions a .22 rifle. In speech, you would just say "twenty-two rifle" (as opposed to "point-twenty-two rifle").
So, do I write out the number, or ...
5
votes
1answer
187 views
Why are ordinal numbers used to express fractions?
For fractional numbers other than n/2 and n/4 (which can also be expressed as n fourth/s), such as 1/3 (one third) and 7/10 (seven tenths), the denominator is expressed in the ordinal form of the ...
0
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1answer
53 views
What is the numerals style that goes above/below the standard height called, and is there a historic reason behind it?
It's often found on Wikipedia in the titles of articles, and here on this site:
1916
In the example above (if it doesn't render correctly, say you're on mobile, see image below), the 9's tail goes ...
0
votes
2answers
94 views
Expressing relative amounts
Suppose there is a chemical composition that contains 5 g of sugar and 45 g of water. One way of expressing the amount of sugar in relation to the whole would be to say the sugar content of the ...
0
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0answers
48 views
Apostrophe in sports team age division: 12s vs. 12's [duplicate]
In youth volleyball teams are divided by age. For example, a team consisting of kids 12 and under is referred to as a "12s team" or "12's team", and they typically play teams in that same division. ...
0
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0answers
44 views
Is it bad to start a sentence with a citation [duplicate]
e.g. [14,6] give 3 and 2.4-approximations for the FVS problem.
Also when do you not use numbers from one to ten as worded.
e.g. The earliest algorithms had an approximation factor of 16, later ...
0
votes
2answers
59 views
Countable vs. uncountable and use of “volume” [closed]
Which is correct (or does it matter)?
....due to a high volume of requests....
....due to a high number of requests....
to my ear, volume is incorrect here - I realize we use volume to talk about a ...
-1
votes
1answer
56 views
Daily in terms of annual [closed]
A frequency of events can be expressed using annual (once per year).
Also prefixes can be applied to increase the frequency during the year:
biannual (twice per year), triannual (thrice per year), etc....
1
vote
1answer
85 views
Is there a word to describe a number that divides evenly by 100?
I'm looking for a word that can be used to describe any number that can be divided by 100, without a remainder, e.g. 100, 200, 300, 400, etc. - does it exist?
I was thinking of centurion, but that ...
1
vote
1answer
210 views
Mono is 1, Stereo is 2, what is 3?
Cellphone cameras have moved from a single lens to a dual lens arrangement in recent years and the next iPhone is rumored to have three. There's "Monoscopic" vision, "Stereoscopic" vision, but what's ...
2
votes
2answers
134 views
Is there a name for numeric bias?
In the national lottery 6 balls are drawn with numbers 1 to 49 on them. My father could never believe that the numbers 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 had exactly the same odds to come out as any other set of six you ...
1
vote
0answers
59 views
punctuation: the 20 to 30 year old age group
I'd like to know how "the 20 to 30 year old age group" is punctuated in standard English.
"30-year-old" should be hyphenated. What about "20 to 30"?
Any principles at work?
I'd appreciate your help.
2
votes
5answers
1k views
Is there a word for words like “dozen”, “score”, “gross” that refer to specific cardinal numbers?
I'd like to know whether the words that describe numerical quantities have a name to describe them as a group.
This would be similar to how onomatopoeia is a word to describe a group of words that ...
3
votes
2answers
328 views
“Sixty tray, all day” — what does that mean?
I've stumbled upon a very peculiar phrase in a comic I'm currently reading; here's the screenshot.
As can be seen, just before exiting the train some gangsta guy quips "Sixty tray, all day" to a ...
7
votes
3answers
4k views
How to write numbers and percentage?
In the sentence –
Auditors recommend an increase of the allowance for bad debts by ten %.
– should the percent sign be there or should the word percent be spelled out. Also should the number be ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
What is the correct way to express a number with all its digits?
I have the following table:
On the last column, I have expressed the numbers in billions as it is mentioned at the top. However, I want the last number (Final sample size) to be expressed fully. Is ...
1
vote
2answers
64 views
How to properly use numbers in text (special case)? [closed]
I'm writing a scientific thesis about my program. I want to write the number of responses of a questionnaire that I have developed but I don't know what is the best in this case.
Example 1:
"We ...
29
votes
4answers
5k views
Why are two-digit numbers in Jonathan Swift's “Gulliver's Travels” (1726) written in “German style”?
I have been reading "Gulliver's Travels" (Otherwise known more verbosely as "Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of ...
1
vote
2answers
74 views
Is there an equivalent to a 'quarter' for twelfths?
I've heard of quintants, septants, octants, and quandrants, but I can't find a word for a sector of a twelfths. Any ideas?
1
vote
1answer
38 views
Plus sign before or after hyphenated word
Let's say there's a set of buildings with differing numbers of units in each. I would like to describe them as two or more unit buildings. Writing it out with the number, would I write "2+-unit ...
4
votes
2answers
598 views
Were days ever written as ordinal numbers when writing day-month-year?
I know that the day is written as a cardinal number (1, 2, 3) and not an ordinal number (1st, 2nd, 3rd) in the day-month-year and the month-day formats. But was there ever a time when ordinal numbers ...
2
votes
1answer
242 views
Is there a name for all numbers different than zero?
The names for the number 0 include "zero", "cipher", "null", "naught", "nought", "love", "duck", "nil", "nada", "zilch", "zip", "o", "aught", and "ought". There are various subtleties of usage amongst ...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
What we should write in roman for ordinal numbers? [duplicate]
As we write 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th what we should write in roman for the same way?
1
vote
0answers
19 views
Plural vs Singular when the number 1 is represented in integer vs decimal form [duplicate]
If I have a noun of cardinality 1, I am taught that I use the singular form.
E.g. I have 1 Apple
If the value is still 1, but represented as 1.0, do I still use the singular form?
E.g. I have 1.0 ...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
When to use 'the amount of' and not e.g. 'increase physical exercise' / 'increase the amount of physical exercise'?
When do you need to use the number of or the amount of with a noun? For example,
"If people go to gyms more, they will increase their physical activity."
OR
"If people go to gyms more, they ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
What term predated “even” when referring to numbers?
Had this posted on the Linguistics stackexchange, and was pointed here as a more appropriate spot to ask.
In doing some poking around in etymologies, I noticed that while "odd" in the sense of "odd ...
0
votes
1answer
63 views
Hundreds of times higher?
Is it correct to use the expression "hundreds of times higher" when the difference is 3.08 - 3.85 times higher?
This is coming from Twitter, someone said that there was an increase of "hundreds of ...
1
vote
1answer
165 views
Why are there are so many words for “zero”?
Null, nil and naught are all synonyms of zero, and to my knowledge, zero is the only number that has this many cognitive synonyms, if not more. Why is this?
Does it have to do with English being ...
0
votes
2answers
112 views
How to write numbers concerning physical quantities?
Is there a rule specifying how one should separate thousands in numbers? Should I put a comma in this phrase, “500–1500 ohms”, so it would become “500–1,500 ohms”? If so why?
0
votes
1answer
289 views
Apostrophe Use In Abbreviated Decade Which Is Also A Possessive
I always put apostrophes before abbreviated decades. Ex: The '60s.
However, what if you want to abbreviate a decade that is also possessive of the word that comes after it? Ex: Classic dance genres ...
1
vote
1answer
32 views
Measurements - how they should be written in a list
Which is correct?
a. Images were obtained at a distance of 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 mm from the bottom of the plate.
b. Images were obtained at a distance of 4 mm, 8 mm, 12 mm, 16 mm and 20 mm from the ...
