Questions tagged [numbers]
Questions relating to the use of numbers or numerals in English.
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“I am fourteen past”
"My name is Helena, and I am fourteen past."
I found the line in My New Home by Mrs. Molesworth. I don't know what it means, and why it ends with past.
I know time expressions like “Half ...
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When writing ranges, must the start and the end of the range be both written out as words or both written in numerals? [duplicate]
Usually, numbers 0-10 are written out as words. What should be used when a range starts below ten but ends above it? Is the word "to" used, or a hyphen?
E.g.,
9-25
, or
nine to twenty-...
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0
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"2+ Million" or "2 Million+"?
When using a plus sign for brevity in a phrase like "over two million", where should the plus sign go?
2+ Million
2 Million+
The same concept would happen with thousand, billion, etc.
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0
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A confusion caused by a grammar checker regarding "a" or "an" [duplicate]
I wrote it this way in my manuscript:
We construct a 25-order planar graph with minimum degree 4.
My grammar checker (languagetool.jar) is reminding me to use "an" instead of "a.&...
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3
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We have little problem. (???)
First, could you have a look at this quote?
The instructor who is uncomfortable with discipline will have little
problem with the children in the early grades, since the children
there are usually ...
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0
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53
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What does "2.2 kids" mean? [duplicate]
The context: Doctors, attorneys, steel
plant executives, dentists, and professional football players lived there with their
adoring wives and their 2.2 kids.
On face value it has something to do with ...
0
votes
1
answer
46
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When to use the word numerals vs numericals? [closed]
I've always used the word 'numericals' when referring to anything relating to numbers, the same way I use the word 'punctuation' to refer to, well, punctuations such as commas and full stops.
However ...
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vote
1
answer
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Are the last two digits in an inventory suffix number? [closed]
I am an artist and I use inventory numbers to track my work. An example of an inventory number would be 2012.035.17.24.07. The last 2 numbers indicate the the type of work it is.
07 indicates paper,
...
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2
votes
1
answer
257
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"37% of Japanese" vs "37% of the Japanese"
When we refer to certain nationalities, we tend to add "the" to indicate that we are talking about the people and not the language if there is an ambiguity.
Example:
The Chinese speak ...
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3
votes
1
answer
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Units of measure in a 'between' range
I've seen lots of similar questions, but none exact to what I'm working with. Example:
Ex. 1: "The result should be between 100 and 300 mm/hr."
Ex. 2: "The result should be between 100 ...
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vote
1
answer
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Proper phrasing for - top X% of Y based on Z
Suppose I have a list of pupils and 3 types of scores (academic, discipline, sports) for each student.
Is there a better way to write - the top 1% of students based on sports performance?
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0
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Wriiting Numbers in Reference to Guns and Ammunition
In reference to ammunition and guns, when the word "caliber" is used after a number, 380, for example, should the decimal that's typically present be omitted? I lean towards "no" ...
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0
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2
answers
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How are decimal numbers read or pronounced in different locales (different decimal separator)?
In the USA we use a period (dot) as the decimal separator. The word "point" is normally used for the decimal separator when reading such a number. For example, a number such as 3.14 would ...
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4
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0.5 of the pizza, 0.5 of the class
Suppose that there is a pizza.
1/2 of the pizza means a half of the pizza.
Does English use/allow the expression 0.5 of the pizza?
Suppose that a class has 10 students.
1/2 of the class means 5 ...
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1
answer
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What does "are nines" mean in this context?
I stumbled upon some conversation on the TV show Desperate Housewives (Season 4, Episode 10) and I do not understand what the "nines" and "a three" indicate in the following ...
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vote
1
answer
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Why is a plural noun followed by present participle incorrect? [duplicate]
Discussing what they do to earn extra cash, a friend told me: "I get paid for dogs walking." I think they should use the singular, "I get paid for dog walking". My friend replied,...
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0
answers
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"one/two/three-car households" vs "single/dual/triple-car households" (attributive forms)
Which way is more natural when it comes to numbers of things that people have or own? For example, the numbers of cars owned by households:
The rate of single/dual/triple-car households is increasing....
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0
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57
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Distinction between number, digit, numeral
Here is my current understanding: 24 is a number, in which 2 and 4 are digits.
XIV is a Roman numeral, in which X, I and V are Roman numerals.
Could you please confirm that?
Context: effort to ...
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2
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3
answers
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Are “ten billionths” ten times smaller or ten times larger than “one billionth”? [closed]
One billionth of a meter is equal to one meter divided by a billion.
What are ten billionths of a meter?
Source for the phrase “ten billionths of a meter” is a TED-Ed video on YouTube. It is said at ...
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1
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42
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Two subjects require plural or singular form?
I am writting an equation for a scientific text, which contains the letters p and q and the letters P and Q as well. And below the equation I want to explain what each letter means: so, I write the ...
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4
answers
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Numerals 13-19 are based on 10. Why do 11 and 12 follow a different pattern? [duplicate]
11 and 12 mean “one left” and “two left” respectively, referring to number 10. In other words, etymologically, they are NOT remnants of a base 12 number system. They are decimal, just like the -teen ...
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5
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Is "in two-yearly intervals" a proper construction?
There's this construction, "x-yearly intervals", in a textbook I found.
The graph shows Europe's jay population from 1996-2004 at two-yearly intervals.
Shouldn't it be "two-year ...
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1
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469
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House number 1 or One in address?
I noticed that some companies and institutions write the house number 1 as One, and some institutions write 1.
One Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA
One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052, USA
...
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vote
3
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Increment percentage
This year, the percentage of our female users is 5%, we estimate this percentage will be 7%, 9%, 11%, 13% for the following years.
Can we say "This year, the percentage of our female users is 5%, ...
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2
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0
answers
53
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Numbering of related Bible books
Related (multi-volume?) books of the Bible are numbered with consecutive arabic numerals placed before a common title, which are read as ordinals (e.g., “1 Samuel” (“first Samuel”) and “2 Samuel” (“...
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1
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Do we hyphen ordinal numbers written in letters? [closed]
Knowing that we hyphen compound numbers under 100. Do we do the same for the ones used for ranks? Every website I've looked at teaches how to hyphen cardinal numbers (67, 82, 34,...) but does not say ...
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0
answers
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How should I hyphen decimal numbers written in letters (that contains the word "point" and "and")?
All the wesites I've looked at says to hyphen numbers when you are describing compound numbers between 21 and 99 (except 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90). A compound number is any number that consists ...
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1
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What is the proper number formatting for a legal document from the Supreme court? [closed]
Do federally-issued legal documents in the USA require numbers spelt out, or in number form?
I took a look at this site concerning Citation, Grammar and Style Guides from Loyola School of Law, but it ...
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Hyphenating large numbers in compound adjectives [duplicate]
For situations in which you need to spell out large numbers in a compound...
Which of the four options would you say is correct?
example 1
a five-hundred-page book
a five-hundred page book
a five ...
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1
answer
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Why do we pronounce the numerals from 13 to 19 backwards (as in thir[3]-teen[10])?
In counting, languages typically go one direction or the other. e.g., 1,234 is said "one thousand two hundred thirty four," not "four thirty two hundred one thousand." However, in ...
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1
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What is the right way to use written numbers and numerals in scientific writing? [duplicate]
I am preparing a manuscript for a scientific journal. I want to write "We injected cells into the tumor-bearing mice eleven days later. Mice were sacrificed four days after the transfer of cells. ...
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1
answer
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Fractional numerals and plural [duplicate]
Say you have in front of you three marbles, one of which is red, another blue, and the last one yellow.
Is the sentence "A third of these marbles is blue." grammatically correct?
Edit:
The ...
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2
answers
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Does 10+ include 10? [closed]
If you look on the internet it says 10+ does not include 10 but if you look at Wikipedia it says it does include 10. Which one is correct?
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0
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What is the correct way to read decimal numbers? [duplicate]
If the number is 100.32, which option is correct?
One hundred point thirty-two.
One hundred point three two.
3
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2
answers
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Hyphenation of compound modifiers that have written-out numeric ranges in them
Is either of these approaches to hyphenation currently more popular than the other one is when it comes to printed publications?
The drug is most promising for three-to-fifteen-year-old children.
The ...
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0
answers
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How much is Plural? [duplicate]
What does plural mean? Is it 2 or greater?
Is 1.5 plural? Is it "I ate 1.5 apple." or "I ate 1.5 apples."?
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votes
2
answers
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What would "the 2021 school/fiscal year" refer to?
Generally students start the Nth grade in the fall of some calendar year Y and graduate that grade in the spring of some calendar year Y+1. Likewise if a fiscal year does not start on January 1 it ...
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2
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Phrase choice for "one of x preferred colours" when two colour choices are equivalent
Let us say that Eve has 3 preferred colours:
Red
Green
Blue
Of those 3 colours, Eve prefers red the most, but her preference for green and blue are identical.
In English, would it be preferred for ...
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1
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48
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What is an unambiguous expression for 3 3 3 3 3? [closed]
In some country there is a unit for countable quantity.
3 3 3 3 3
For example, they say "5 count-unit of 3".
But in English we just say "five threes". But then
3 3 3 3 3
and
5 3
...
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votes
2
answers
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Is there a term for numbers like 0.5, 9.15, 4.22? [duplicate]
I know that in some country, there is a term for numbers like
0.5, 9.15, 4.22
I mean number with dot(.) in its expression.
I sought for the term in English. It was
Decimal Number
But the term "...
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A or AN before a dollar amount preceded by dollar symbol $ [duplicate]
I have found related questions but my doubt remains and is best explained with an example. Consider the following sentence in a Finance academic article, where it is common to use the dollar symbol ...
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What word describes whether a number is cardinal, ordinal, or nominal?
Cardinal numbers are those which represent a quantity and generally have some unit of measurement.
Ordinal numbers represent order, such as rank on a leaderboard.
Nominal numbers are those used to ...
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1
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49
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Pronunciation of numbers in address [closed]
When I say the name of a street with “at”, like “at 12 Oxford St”, should I pronounce the number as cardinal or ordinal? And if it is ordinal, do I get it right that it still must always be written ...
0
votes
1
answer
612
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Spelling out number ranges?
Unless the style guide I am using says otherwise, I always spell out numbers less than 11 ("We have 7 new customers" = "We have seven new customers") unless it's a percentage or an ...
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0
answers
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Repetition of "one" as number and pronoun
I am wondering about repetitions related to the use of the word one as a pronoun and as a number inside an adjectival compound.
Here are two examples:
My friend ordered a two-scoop cone, while a got ...
user410947
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2
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Squared edge lengths [duplicate]
Can I also say:
The energy is based on edge length squared.
Adjectives usually go before a noun, but maybe here 'squared' can be treated also as a verb or a postpositive adjective?
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Are quantities of units considered singular or plural? [duplicate]
Whenever I recite recipes or measurements in my head, the quantity of units is usually plural, but I find myself using singular verbs. For instance, "three cups of butter yields 12 batches" ...
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Why is it 'three score years and ten' almost half the time and not always 'three score and ten years'?
Why is it 'three score years and ten' almost half the time and not always 'three score and ten years'?
Note: I edited the question body and title in light of comments and answers pointing me to a ...
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1
answer
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Compact writing of "1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 and 36-month survival was analysed"
I have an academic paper abstract to write and it has very limited word count (150 words). I have to say that we analysed 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 and 36-month survival of the included patients in this ...
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Symbol indicating a value equal to or greater than a number
I am working on translation of numbers and came across this representation of "5 or greater" as "5+". My question is whether or not there is a term for the "+" sign that ...
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