I'm editing a technical manual. The engineers I'm working with have regularly typed amounts which are under one as “.05 inches” or “.67 inches.”
I've been of the opinion that this is to be typed “.05 inch” and “.67 inch,” as the amounts are less than one, but I can't find anything to support either opinion.
Please advise.
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IMHO, it all depends on the way you are doing the number… I would say "1/2 inch", but would probably say ".5 inches" or ".5 OF AN inch". Just maybe accepted use of language with no steadfast rule.
I agree with your thinking: 0.5 and 0.67 are less than 1, hence, I'd use the singular. To me, this sounds right.
The correct answer is 'inch.'
Due to the way we speak, many times the wrong answer sounds correct.
In this case remember that we make plural any quantity over one.
so, .99 inch, 1.0 inch and 1.01 inches.
You could always use the abbreviation "in."
I agree with you and Elizabet.
See the National Geographic Style Guide:
http://stylemanual.ngs.org/intranet/styleman.nsf/Alpha+Summaries%5C-+F+-/$first/?OpenDocument
"If the amount is less than one, the unit of measurement is singular: .33 inch (not inches) a day. If the figure is a one-digit decimal, use a zero before the point: 0.3 inch a day."
Of course writing and speaking are two different things and I would not really consider it a mistake if someone were to say that something is "point-six-five inches long".
And what about adjectives? A ruler can be twelve inches long, but that makes it a twelve inch ruler.
Actually, I believe that makes it a "twelve-inch ruler" with hyphenation. Twelve becomes an adjective rather than a quantity.
Eliszbet – please note that "Due to…" is incorrect. This should be "Owing to…"
Stickler, please not that there is nothing wrong with "due to."
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage page 375:
"There is no solid reason to avoid using due to."
http://books.google.com/books?id=2yJusP0vrdgC&pg=PA374&vq=due+to&dq=merriam+webster's+dictionary+of+english+usage&source=gbs_search_s&sig=w6fdY6k5b_OkKdYzuuD3SyJIkNA#PPA375,M1
Thanks, John. I didn't think so…
@Stickler, if you are a stickler and you address my use of an adverbial versus an adjectival (owing to and due to) at least be a stickler for spelling my name correctly.
thanks!
Thanks everyone for the help on this. We've resolved the issue to my satisfaction.
Much thanks also to "Nick-alias" for the National Geographic link.
A. Inches are not subdivided as decimals, but as simple fractions. (That's why they're so accurate)
B. If something sounds wrong when you say it, then it is wrong, but maybe not for the reason you think. 0.5 inch is just as wrong as 0.5 inches AND "half an inch" (though this last is allowed as idiom). The only meaningful way of stating this measure is "half of an inch", hence "0.5 of an inch" which can probably be safely abbreviated to "0.5 in", horrible though the thought may be (see A above).
Alright, why?
We like the sound of 0.5 inches because "five" is plural. We're conditioned to use plurals with plural numbers from when we first start to speak, so in everyday speech it's very hard to overcome (and probably pointless to try). "0.5" is a means of expressing "five tenths" in mathematical notation. Five tenths are of course plural for tenths, but not for decimal fractions of one… however grammar does not legislate for number less than singular. For this reason alone, I was taught at school that "0.5 inches" was NOT WRONG, but might occasionally be pounced on by editors, and the only way to pass under the radar was to say "0.5 of an inch".
Please note that the above post is littered with traps. I'm sure I've got another cigar somewhere…
Yeah, really. I used to feel comfortable with things like "0.5 inches" and then for whatever reason I started saying "0.5 inch." I guess it's kinda like how I started to like hot peppers at some point in my up-bringing. Just a change of taste/habit.
You probably finished editing your technical manual a long time ago. At any rate, my personal experience tells me that "0.5 inch" may or may not be more correct, but at least sounds more technical. Maybe that's just because I started saying it later in my life, so I mark "0.5 inches" as more child-like and "0.5 inch" as more mature.
Who knows.
note that, while the abbreviations for most units of measure do not end with a period, the correct abbreviation for "inch" does end with a period, so as not to be confused with the preposition "in".
pound – lb
kilogram – kg
centimeter – cm
inch – in.
hour – hr
second – s
note also that when using these abbreviations, there are no grammatical dilemmas regarding pluralization.