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We want to use as a web page title something similar to: "enter tournaments, pay zero, win prizes". I feel that "pay zero" is incorrect and when I searched in google I see that the word zero in this sense is mostly used as an adjective for the following word like in "pay zero taxes" and probably this is why saying "pay zero" feels to me like a cut off sentence.

So the question is: is using "pay zero" correct in the context I described? If not than what could replace it to preserve the meaning? "pay nothing"?

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    Yes, pay nothing is more commonly used.
    – user29952
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 10:55
  • @user159691 Thanks! What do you think is better: "Win prizes, pay nothing" or "Pay nothing, win prizes" ?
    – Guy L.
    Commented Feb 7, 2018 at 11:22

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Enter tournaments, pay nothing, win prizes.

You are correct that most numbers need units to be meaningful. In effect, a number is a determiner. (Sometimes a number is also a pronoun, but not always.) Sadly, many native English speakers are taught to omit units when they are learning math.

"Nothing" is a shortened form of "no thing", so it includes both a numeric determiner and a pronoun. In this context, it has better parallelism with "tournaments" and "prizes" than "zero" does.

There are three common ways to sort lists like this:

  • Alphabetically
  • Chronologically
  • Logically

In this example, "Enter tournaments, win prizes, pay nothing" is not alphabetical. This hints that the choice of list ordering might be either chronological or logical.

"Enter tournaments, pay nothing, win prizes" is a reasonable chronological order.

"Enter tournaments, win prizes, pay nothing" could be (mis)interpreted as meaning "If you win a prize, then you do not need to pay anything."

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