0
Sanz Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

a hundred vs. one hundred

Hi! I'd like to know which is the usage difference between

  1. a hundred / a thousand / a million

  2. one hundred / one thousand/ one million
I'm a little confused because a vocabulary dictionary uses "a" instead of "one" while other sources use "one".

Thanks a lot for helping.
  

Top answer

The way I see it... When you say 'a hundred' or 'a million' you're just giving an order of magnitude, and the exact figure doesn't matter. So much so that when you say 'a million reasons not to do this' it obviously isn't important how many exactly.

— Waïti

  • The way I see it...
  • When you say 'a hundred' or 'a million' you're just giving an order of magnitude, and the exact figure doesn't matter.
  • So much so that when you say 'a million reasons not to do this' it obviously isn't important how many exactly.
  • When you say 'one million' or 'one thousand' then you're usually being quite precise with the figure you're giving : 'I've won a million pesos at the lottery' (lucky you even though I suspect this isn't that much) or 'This village is one thousand inhabitants'.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

4 Answers
0
The way I see it...
When you say 'a hundred' or 'a million' you're just giving an order of magnitude, and the exact figure doesn't matter. So much so that when you say 'a million reasons not to do this' it obviously isn't important how many exactly.
When you say 'one million' or 'one thousand' then you're usually being quite precise with the figure you're giving : 'I've won a million peso
0
0
One hundred and a hundred are the same number. If you look at the definitions of "a" one definition is "one". "a" indicates a single unit. If you take hundred out and try other nouns you might see that it is this way. When speaking you will find that most people use a instead of one. The rythm seems better and it is easier to pick out the important parts. For example: I need a dozen eggs, a
0
0
Sanzdifference between
1. a hundred / a thousand / a million
2. one hundred / one thousand/ one million
No difference. A hundred is one hundred. One hundred is a hundred.

Use "one" instead of "a" when working with numbers as an accountant, mathematician, or scientist might do.

CJ
0
0
Dear CJ,

I believe that colloquially, interchanging 'a hundred' with 'one hundred' would be ok if you were an accountant, mathematician, or scientist because it does not change the number, but if you are a writer perhaps, or other type of proffessional that deals with grammar and the English language, then you would want to be correct in writing or speaking rather than mathematically. I h
0

Related Questions