Kaplok Kaplok
Forum Guru
One time i was driving using my Google Navigation, it said this in its instruction:
"In one and a half miles..."
which to me sounds correct, since 1½ is more than one, therefore it is plural.
Then as i got closer it said..
"In a half mile..."
which also makes sense, since ½ is not more than one, therefore it is singular. It even used the article "a".
But in fractions like ¾(three quarters), it is unclear if the word mile should be in plural or singular. On one hand it is not more than one, but on the other, it is multiple parts of a whole (3 quarters, with an "s".)
What Google Navigation does instead is a workaround by restructuring the sentence using "of a mile" to keep its singular form because it means "of a single mile".
If we avoid using the workaround in using "of a", which would be more correct:
"In three quarters mile"
or
"In three quarters miles"?
"In one and a half miles..."
which to me sounds correct, since 1½ is more than one, therefore it is plural.
Then as i got closer it said..
"In a half mile..."
which also makes sense, since ½ is not more than one, therefore it is singular. It even used the article "a".
But in fractions like ¾(three quarters), it is unclear if the word mile should be in plural or singular. On one hand it is not more than one, but on the other, it is multiple parts of a whole (3 quarters, with an "s".)
What Google Navigation does instead is a workaround by restructuring the sentence using "of a mile" to keep its singular form because it means "of a single mile".
If we avoid using the workaround in using "of a", which would be more correct:
"In three quarters mile"
or
"In three quarters miles"?