0.5 people or 0.5 person?

Question

Hi,When the number is less than one, whether it's expressed as a fraction or a decimal, you shouldn't use the plural form for that number. I think it's sort of a short-hand for 0.135 of an inch. So your plural is really in the 135 thousandths  of an inch, not in the inch. [Quoted from The Grammar Log ]So, I gather that either 0.5 hour or half an hour is correct.But which, 0.9 people or 0.9 person, should I put when I want to express a statistic?0.9 people?/person? in the department suggest establishing a departmental library.Given it is 0.5 people?/person?, I think half a person?/people? does not make sense. Right?According Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English,People is "used as the plural of 'person' to refer to men, women, and children."[Quoted from http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/people_1  ]But after googling, I found both 0.9 people and 0.9 person are used. So both are okay?

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

Although you can actually have a 0.9-mile distance or 0.5 hours, you can't actually have a fraction of a person (except on the coronor's table

) so the rule about using the singular doesn't have to be strictly applied.

What's the full context of your sentence?

Avangi · Answer

exodejavuBut after googling, I found both 0.9 people and 0.9 person are used. So both are okay?

Have you ever thought about the fact that everything you have ever posted on EF is now on Google?

The machinists, draftsmen, and mechanical engineers I've known have read 1.0" as one point oh inches, when reading from a print. Which doesn't mean they wouldn't casually say, make it about an inch longer.

As GG has said, when they're talking precision, they'd say three inches and/plus two-hundred and fifty-six thousandths (and eight tenths), because "thousandths" and "tenths [of thousandths]" are the units they're accustomed to working with.

Statisticians say the average US couple has (eg.) 1.83 children, read one point eight three children.

Edit. Woops!, sorry, that quote was from the grammar log, not GG. (Dang! once you start your reply, you can see only that one post.)

P.S., I guess something like "any person or persons found hanging around here after dark will be dealt with severely" would be acceptable only in a legal context.

Kooyeen · Answer

1 ---> Singular
Everything else ---> Plural

1 gram
2 grams
0.5 grams
0 grams

In your example, 0.9 people or 9/10 of a person wouldn't be the best way to express the concept "9 people out of 10" or "90% of the people".
The rule that says "when the number is less than one, whether it's expressed as a fraction or a decimal, you shouldn't use the plural form for that number" is just not used by professionals who deal with numbers on a regular basis, as far as I know.

Just my opinion.

Avangi · Answer

exodejavu0.9 people?/person? in the department suggest establishing a departmental library.

You're right, Kooyeen. I completely missed that. This sentence surely does not express what is intended. There might be a thousand people in the department (or two hundred thousand in the Department of Defense), but only a fraction of a single person is [half-heartedly] in favor of establishing a library.

0.5 people or 0.5 person?

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