Which is correct?
The molecular weight of this substance ranges from
- two hundred to two hundred and sixty.
- two hundreds to two hundred and sixty.
I need to spell the numbers out for some reasons and I'm stuck. Thank you for your help!
asked Jul 24, 2017 at 1:09
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Hundred is singular. You would use the plural if, for example, you were counting currency ("that's two hundreds, one fifty, three twenties, a ten, and four ones").– fixer1234Commented Jul 24, 2017 at 1:24
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If you thought "two hundreds" was OK, why not "two hundreds and sixty". You are not consistent.– user3169Commented Jul 24, 2017 at 1:40
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Also you don't need and unless you are adding numbers.– user3169Commented Jul 24, 2017 at 1:42
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You say two hundred, not two hundreds. You don't adgh– KhanCommented Jul 24, 2017 at 2:27
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@fixer1234 Thank you! Your answer prompted me to read my dictionaries again. With your comment in mind, I understand the definitions more. "Hundred" is a singular noun. That's simple!– wanna-be-good-at-writingCommented Jul 24, 2017 at 2:36
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1 Answer
There are two ways to use any number word in English.
The first is as a cardinal number. In this case, it's invariable. It doesn't show the plural.
A hundred and five cows.
Two thousand is more than I expected.
Forty million, seven hundred thousand and sixty-three accounts have been opened.
The second use is as a common noun, with the meaning "batch of N". This use is countable, and it does show the plural.
There are hundreds of people here.
→ There are several hundred people here.Dozens of species go extinct every day.
→ Several dozen species go extinct every day.We spend billions of dollars on national defence.
→ We spend several billion of dollars on national defence.
Even small numbers can be counted this way.
They left the building in twos and threes.
→They left the building in groups of two and in groups of three.
There are a few other quirks to how we use number words, but those are the broad strokes.
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1Your answer helps. So, the first one applies to my case, and cardinal numbers are invariable. Thank you so much!! Commented Jul 24, 2017 at 3:31