In half, into halves

Question

Are the following OK?1. to reduce the dosage in half. (taking tablets from 10mg to 5 mg, 3 times a day)2. to reduce the dosage into halves.3. to cut the dosage in half4. to cut the dosage into halvesAny better suggestions?Thanks

Ahelaumakani · Accepted Answer

1. to reduce the dosage by half. (taking tablets from 10mg to 5 mg, 3 times a day)

2. to reduce the dosage into halves. no, this sounds weird

3. to cut the dosage in half ok

4. to cut the dosage into halves this would be more appropriate if you had specificied that it was a pill or tablet (rather than a liquid dosage) so "to cut the pill into halves" would be correct

also:

to halve the dosage

Meantolearn · Answer

Hi, friends.

1. Is it still OK to say to cut the dosage in half even though it's a liquid dosage? (e.g. from 5.0 c.c. to 2.5 c.c., 3 times a day)
Apparently, there's no need for a cutter since the medicine is a liquid.

2. Does 'cutting the pill into halves' imply there's a cutter?

It seems to me that 'to V something in half' and 'to V something into halves' are not always exchangeable, are they?
e.g. to cut a pear/watermelon in half = to cut a pear/watermelon into halves
e.g. to fold the paper in half =? to fold the paper into halves
e.g. to cut the salary in half
e.g. * to cut the salary into halves (probably a wrong usage)

Thanks for the prompt reply.

BarbaraPA · Answer

Hi meantolearn,

1. Is it still OK to say to cut the dosage in half even though it's a liquid dosage? (e.g. from 5.0 c.c. to 2.5 c.c., 3 times a day)
Apparently, there's no need for a cutter since the medicine is a liquid.
Yes, that's fine. We use cut to mean "reduce" in other ways, too, like "cut spending."
2. Does 'cutting the pill into halves' imply there's a cutter?
It sure does to me. Cutting the pill is a literal statement, meaning you use something to physically cut it.
It seems to me that 'to V something in half' and 'to V something into halves' are not always exchangeable, are they?
e.g. to cut a pear/watermelon in half = to cut a pear/watermelon into halves
e.g. to fold the paper in half =? to fold the paper into halves
e.g. to cut the salary in half
e.g. * to cut the salary into halves (probably a wrong usage)

I would say that if you can cut something into halves and still have something recognizable, they are interchangeable. With a watermelon or a pizza, half of one of those is still someting you eat.
On the other hand, if you take your saw and cut a chair in half, you have only rubbish. There is no such thing as "half a chair."
Any time you have something that isn't physical, like a salary or even the time you wait for something, then you can cut it in half, but not into halves.

Meantolearn · Answer

Hi, GG.

Do 'folding the paper in half' and 'folding the paper into halves' mean the same?

Thanks

BarbaraPA · Answer

Yes and no.

The person will take the same action either instruction. The more common thing to say is "Fold it in half" but I wouldn't think it was very weird if someone said "into halves." However, with the latter, I would expect that I'm going to do something different with one half than I will with the other.

Meantolearn · Answer

Hi, GG.

You wrote, "however, with the latter, I would expect that I'm going to do something different with one half than I will with the other."

Could you please elaborate more? I don't quite follow.

Thanks for the follow-up.

BarbaraPA · Answer

If I'm told to "fold the paper in half" it could be just to create a crease that helps me keep track of where the center of the page is.

If I'm told to "fold the paper into halves" I'm going to think that the top half (or maybe left half, depending on how we folded it) will be used for something different from the other half. Maybe I'm going to draw a picture on one half and write something on the other. I would expect the instructions to continue with something like "Use the top half to list... " and "use the bottom half to..." because they are now two seperate things.

Note that I'm thinking that you fold it to create the halves and then open it back up again so you can see both halves at the same time.

If you want to fold it in half and keep it closed, then I would use only "fold it in half."

It's not a big distinction. Don't spend too much time on this. In most cases, just say "fold the paper in half."

In half, into halves

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