number
1
BAD : Belgium has ten millions inhabitants.
GOOD : Belgium has ten million inhabitants.
BAD : The paper has a circulation of approximately 3.9 millions.
GOOD : The paper has a circulation of approximately 3.9 million.
◆◆◆
Using numbers
Day, month, minute, mile, kilo etc are always SINGULAR when used (with a number) immediately before a noun: ‘a six-minute wait’, ‘a ten-second silence’, ‘a five-mile race’.
My travel agent had arranged a 6-day coach tour.
The company provides a three-month training course.
Compare: ‘We waited for thirty minutes: ‘We had a thirty-minute wait.’
When you say 100, 1000 etc , or write these numbers in words, use a hundred, a thousand (WITH a ):
The palace was build a thousand years ago.
Compare: ‘The palace was built 1000 years ago.’
For emphasis or to be exact, it is possible to use one instead of a :
I am one hundred percent against the idea.
After a/one/five/twelve etc , the words hundred, thousand, etc are always SINGULAR and are NOT followed by of :
Five hundred children are born in the city every day.
More than three thousand people were there.
Similarly, of is NOT used after 100, 250, 3000 etc:
If you kill 200 whales a year, they will soon disappear.
Hundreds (of), thousands (of) etc are used only when you give a general idea of how many or how much: ‘There were hundreds of stars in the sky.’ ‘They’ve spent thousands (of pounds) on improvements to the house.’
Use and between hundred and the next number. (In American English, and is often omitted, especially in formal styles.)
BrE The club has about a hundred and thirty members.
AmE The club has about a hundred (and) thirty members.
2
BAD : We hung just over a million of little electric bulbs on the trees.
GOOD : We hung just over a million little electric bulbs on the trees.
BAD : In the last ten years, more than two million of people have come to Milan to find work.
GOOD : In the last ten years, more than two million people have come to Milan to find work.
◆◆◆
See language note above
3
BAD : Nearly half million people entered the country.
GOOD : Nearly half a million people entered the country.
◆◆◆
See language note above