Quantities less than 1
Which sentences are correct?
- I walked ¾ mile to the store.
- I walked ¾ miles to the store.
- I drank 0.5 liter of water.
- I drank 0.5 liters of water.
- He won the race by 0.42 second.
- He won the race by 0.42 seconds.
- The difference is .25 inch.
- The difference is 0.25 inch.
- The sweet tea contains 0 gram of sugar.
- The sweet tea contains 0 grams of sugar.
- It’s 1 mile or more to the nearest gas station.
- It’s 1 or more miles to the nearest gas station.
- It’s 2 miles or more to the nearest gas station.
- It’s 2 or more miles to the nearest gas station.
The correct sentences are A, C, E, H, J, K, and M.
Why?
The units for quantities of 0 are plural. The units for quantities of 1 are singular. And for quantities between 0 and 1, the units are singular whether with a fraction or a decimal.
If the correct sentences sound awkward to you, you’re reading them wrong.
Sentence A is read: I walked three-quarters of a mile to the store.
Sentence C is read: I drank half a liter of water.
Sentence E is read: He won the race by forty-two hundredths of a second.
Sentence H is read: The difference is one-quarter of an inch.
Sentences G and H also illustrate the point that decimal numbers less than 1 require a leading zero (0). There are few exceptions to this rule. An absolute exception is the caliber of firearms, which never includes a zero before the decimal point. Gold and silver purity markings are another exception. Apart from that, unless you’re working as an engineer or a statistician, always include the leading zero in decimal numbers less than 1.
Sentences K–N show that units should follow their number directly, with nothing in between. This is especially obvious for quantities of 1, which require singular units. The qualifier “or more” then modifies the complete quantity. Bottom line: Consider a number and its unit inseparable.
Now you know how to deal with quantities less than 1: use singular units—unless the quantity is zero—and always include a leading zero in decimal form. And for all quantities, regardless of the amount, never separate a unit from its number!
