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I have read that dozen, hundred, thousand etc. have no -s and of when they are used after a numerical, a few or several : Three dozen eggs. A few hundred times, Several thousand years. But with some and many, they take -s, and of is used : Some/many dozens of mangoes.

THERE ARE SOME SIMILAR TYPES OF QUESTIONS IN THIS FORUM, BUT THEY DON'T CLARIFY THE FOLLOWING (PARTICULARLY MY 2ND QUESTION) GIVEN BELOW : 1. "Three dozen eggs" is correct; but "three dozen of eggs" is not correct. Why? 2. "Some/many dozens of eggs" is correct; but "A few/several dozens of eggs" is incorrect. Why? I am really confused. Could anyone of you please clarify my queries with brief & precise grammatical explanation.

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Collins Dictionary says: The plural form is dozen after a number, or after a word or expression referring to a number, such as 'several' or 'a few'.

We usually use dozen without of unless the 12 items are being selected from a particular group - a dozen eggs, but a dozen of your freshest eggs. There's no use asking why; that's just the way it is.

We say dozens of meaning a lot. I think many dozens of mangoes implies an indeterminate number, but for a specific number we would say ten dozen mangoes.

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  • Thank you, @Kate Bunting. Your valuable opinion is appreciated.
    – Sandip Kumar Mandal
    May 2, 2020 at 3:11

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