Re: One And A Half

Mark J. Reed wrote:

> In colloquial English, when a number N directly modifies a noun,
> the noun seems to be placed in the singular only when N=1 exactly.  Consider
> temperatures, for instance (choice of scale is mostly irrelevant here,
> although my use of negative numbers would seem to imply that it's not
> Kelvin or Rankine):
>
> -1.5 degrees
> -1 degrees
> -0.5 degrees
> 0 degrees
> 0.5 degrees       (but "half a degree")
> 1 degrees
> 1.5 degrees
>
> However, in technical English writing, the singular is sometimes used for
> all numbers in the inclusive range [-1,1]:
>
> -1.5 degrees
> -1 degree
> -0.5 degree
> 0 degree
> 0.5 degree
> 1 degree
> 1.5 degrees
>
> Or at least in the ranges [-1,0) and (0,1]:
>
> -1.5 degrees
> -1 degree
> -0.5 degree
> 0 degrees
> 0.5 degree
> 1 degree
> 1.5 degrees
>
> -Marcos
In Dutch, units are almost always expressed with a singular noun:
5 meter
80 kilogram
220 Volt
298 Kelvin

Not for degrees, though:
25 graden (PL) Celsius

Units of time are interesting:
60 seconden (PL)
60 minuten (PL)
24 uur (hour-SG)
2 jaar (year-SG)

Ik heb twee uur (SG) zitten lezen.
I have been reading for two hour-SG.

Also for currency units:
10 euro
10 dollar
10 frank.


René