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Consider the following sentences, which I know are correct, as example;

Two multiplied by two gives four. OR Two times two gives four. OR Two by two gives four.

Two divided by two is one.

Q1: Are the following variants of both the examples also grammatical and formally acceptable?

Two multiplied two gives four. OR Two multiply two gives four.

Two divided two is one. OR Two divide two is one. OR Two over two is one.

Now, consider the following common expressions;

Two plus two makes four. OR Two and two make four.

Two minus two is zero.

Q2: Are the following two variants of both the examples also grammatical and formally acceptable?

Two added to two makes four. OR Two added two makes four.

Two subtracted from two is zero. OR Two subtracted two is zero.

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My answers in bold caps.

Two multiplied two gives four. NO OR Two multiply two gives four. PROBABLY NO*

Two divided two is one. NO OR Two divide two is one. PROBABLY NO* OR Two over two is one. YES

Two added to two makes four. YES OR Two added two makes four. NO

Two subtracted from two is zero. YES OR Two subtracted two is zero. NO

*I would not use the "PROBABLY NO" versions, but I am not 100% sure they're not used in some forms of non-standard English.

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  • What is your reference to saying YES for two of them, please? – Zeeshan Ali Feb 20 '19 at 5:23
  • Those two, which you say YES to, definitely seem correct, but are they used that way in formal texts? I, personally, have never come across those two formations. – Zeeshan Ali Feb 20 '19 at 5:25
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    Well, it's a combination of being a native speaker and knowing what sounds 'natural' and the fact that the ones I have marked make grammatical sense as sentences. They might be considered more 'wordy', but in a more literary context (rather than, say, a maths text book) they might be the best choice. Could they be used in formal texts? Yes, they are perfectly correct. – fred2 Feb 20 '19 at 5:30
  • Those incorrect ones are, however, commonly used by non-native english speakers like me, and sometimes they sound right too even knowing they neither are grammatically correct. I thought, may be, they were also used by natives or in formats texts. ^^ – Zeeshan Ali Feb 20 '19 at 5:41

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