Plural form after zero

Question

I came across this sentence:

I have zero friends

Why the plurality? Seems pretty counterintuitive to me. Is there a general grammar rule behind it?

Related, but not identical question with a good answer that covers this: ell.stackexchange.com/questions/7817/… — Adam, Feb 19, 2015 at 17:32

Adam · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-19 18:05:30Z

6

Singular is only used with one or 1 or words that mean exactly one, like single.

So, if you rephrase as:

I don't have a single friend.

It's singular.

But zero, though it's not greater than one, it's not one, either, so you use the plural form.

Also, as Adam said in the comments, numbers that are equivalent to 1 like 1.0 or e^{(2πi )} would still get the plural form.

Adam

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answered Feb 19, 2015 at 17:31

Catija♦

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6

And it must be "one," "a," or "1," not just something equal to one. I have 1 friend. I have 1.0 friends. I have e^(2 pi i) friends.
– Adam
Feb 19, 2015 at 17:37

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