Wednesday, September 23, 2015

grammatical number - Singular or plural for seconds


For numbers of seconds, is it smaller or equal to 1 we use second, larger than 1 we use seconds?


For example:




0 second
0.5 second
1 second
1.5 seconds




Answer



SOME of the rules around 1 are:





  • "X somethings" when X is not 1




  • For 1 and 0 amounts with decimals pronounced "0 point Y" and "1 point Y", it is somethings:
    0.5 somethings, 0.1 somethings, 1.5 somethings, 1.1 somethings




  • For quantifications ending on a something, we have half a something, a quarter of a something because it is still relative to 1 (or a)





The same is the case for time, weight, money and other quantifications.



  • 1 second/kilo/dollar

  • half a second/kilo/dollar

  • a third of a second/kilo/dollar


  • a quarter of a second/kilo/dollar - note a quarter (dollar) is one coin in the US.




  • 0 seconds/kilos/dollars




  • 0.5 (zero point five) seconds/kilos/dollars

  • 0.1 (zero point one) seconds/kilos/dollars


For the rest of the rules and exceptions and possibly perceived rules, have a read of the answers to Is -1 singular or plural?


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