A quick question about a phrase

[ESquared]

What does the following mean to you?

100,000's of something

The writer intended "hundreds of thousands of something." After looking at it twice, though, I saw it as "one hundred thousands of something." Then I realized that with the apostrophe it was closer to, "The OF something belonging to one hundred thousand."

How would you say it? I can think of

100s of 1000s of something

I'm not 100% sure I would/will argue strongly for it. It has a certain appeal, though.

 

[Grenage]

Personally I would use the words hundreds of thousands of something, if I had to use numbers then your version would seem best.

 

[ESquared]

Perhaps we can generalize and ask what the rules are for spelling out numbers instead of using the numbers?

 

[SF0751]

I will generally spell out a number that can be written in a word or two, and use actual numbers for everything else.

The website

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslnumber.html

has some good examples.




Susan
[green]Gramen artificiosum odi. [/green]

 

[sleipnir214]

I think that

100,000's of something

is just plain bad.

First, there's the whole apostrophe thing. But that's a question for another thread in this forum.

Second, there's the fact that the author of the phrase isn't providing an exact or even approximate number of something -- he's providing a general description of the order of the number of somethings.

That should most definately have been spelled out, if for no other reason than disambiguation.


Want the best answers? Ask the best questions!

TANSTAAFL!!

 

[Dimandja]

hundreds of thousands is not a number; it's a idiomatic expression. Using 100,000 is simply inaccurate.

 

[shirleyowl]

Can an apostrophe even be used with a numerically written number? I definitely think this is good for a long discussion.
I wonder what the author of Eats,Shoots and Leaves would say about this?



PC 2.3Mhz 80 gb HDD 512 RAM :

iMac OSX 10.2.8 17 Flat panel 80gb,800mhz,256 Ram, Superdrive.

 

[CajunCenturion]

Yes, I think an apostrophe can be used with a numerically written number.

That is blue player number 23's helmet. But in this case, 23 is referring to a specific person, as an identifyer.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[entaroadun]

Setting aside the apostrophe issue for a moment:

I don't think an inexact amount should ever be expressed as a number. Numbers are for precise amounts. The expression "hundreds of thousands" should be spelled out for that reason.


To me, using an apostrophe with a number is bad form. However, form is not the issue. The real question is whether or not the expression is syntactically concise. The purpose of language is to communicate clearly, and I think CajunCenturion's example of "blue player number 23's helmet" is clear and unambiguous. Therefore, it should be acceptable.

 

[ESquared]

Why do I know how to pronounce entaroadun but I can't pull out what it is? Stargate? Some sci-fi TV show?

 

[entaroadun]

Close. Starcraft.

 

[ESquared]

HA!!! Cool. I love Starcraft but my linear-thinking brain had such trouble with doing everything at once, I never became as good as I wanted. Of course, I was only spending 10 hours a week on it instead of the 40+ that some of the crazy people were.

Have you ever spent multiple minutes just repeatedly clicking on various characters? It's hilarious

I know... totally off-topic, sorry!

Loktar. Zug zug!

 

[KenCunningham]

Certainly 'hundreds and thousands' are those little sugary bits one gets on one's ice-cream, if that helps. No? Thought not!