Page 171 - Basic English Usage
P. 171
173 227
Plurals without -s
After a number or determiner, hundred, thousand, million and dozen
have no final -s. Compare:
five hundred pounds
hundreds of pounds
several thousand times
It cost thousands.
Other number expressions have no -s when they are used as adjectives.
a five-pound note a three-mile walk
10 Measurements
We use be in measurements.
She’s five feet eight (inches tall).
I’m sixty-eight kilos.
What shoe size are you?
In an informal style, we often use foot instead of feet when we talk about
people's heights.
My father's six foot two.
11 Money
1p one penny (informal: one p /pi:/) or a penny
5p _ five pence (informal: five p)
£3.75 three pounds seventy-five
When we use sums of money as adjectives, we use singular forms.
a five-pound note (NOT @tive-peunds- note)
12 Adjectives
When expressions of measurement, amount and quantity are used as
adjectives, they are normally singular.
a ten-mile walk (NOT @ten-mites+watt)
six two-hour lessons
a three-month-old baby
We can use possessives in expressions of time.
aweek’s holiday _four days’ journey
13 thereare ...
When we count the number of people in a group, we often use the
structure there are + number + of + pronoun.
There are only seven of us here today.
There were twelve of us in my family.
(NOT Weweretwetve ...)