Weird Possibly Dumb Question?

[addictionary]

here's a question - why when using phrases like "there's a X year age difference" or "there's a X hour time difference" etc - why is the noun (ie, year or hour) singular even though the number is most likely more than one? Examples: there's a three year age difference between my kids, or there's a two hour time difference between Chicago and Los Angeles.

But if you say it like this: the difference is three years or the difference is two hours then you pluralize the noun.

Doesn't that seem odd?

Cause the word year is not a noun but more like an adjective in there. And I think it's more about the word phrases than the rules. Imagine a sentence like "I'm gonna year your sorry young face!" Now it's a verb. The same rule applies to words that hold a value of accountability/quantity. E.g. "Honey can you pay that fifty dollar bill for me? I'm a little down these days." Making it plural makes the saying sound a bit raw. So them English speakers leave it like that.

 

[moevillini]

LOL @ ECTYA


that reminds me of an I Love Lucy episode where Ricky is trying to read a story to Little Ricky and he pronounces "bough" to rhyme with "through" (boo) and "cough" to rhyme with "bough" (cow)

 

[moevillini]

here's a question - why when using phrases like "there's a X year age difference" or "there's a X hour time difference" etc - why is the noun (ie, year or hour) singular even though the number is most likely more than one? Examples: there's a three year age difference between my kids, or there's a two hour time difference between Chicago and Los Angeles.

But if you say it like this: the difference is three years or the difference is two hours then you pluralize the noun.

Doesn't that seem odd?

Cause the word year is not a noun but more like an adjective in there. And I think it's more about the word phrases than the rules. Imagine a sentence like "I'm gonna year your sorry young face!" Now it's a verb. The same rule applies to words that hold a value of accountability/quantity. E.g. "Honey can you pay that fifty dollar bill for me? I'm a little down these days." Making it plural makes the saying sound a bit raw. So them English speakers leave it like that.

ah thank you, AD, makes sense!

Actually, I think at one point I had a teacher who instructed us to hyphenate those types of phrases: three-year gap, two-hour time difference and so on


But I don't get how you would "year" a face? Explain please

 

[addictionary]

ah thank you, AD, makes sense!

Actually, I think at one point I had a teacher who instructed us to hyphenate those types of phrases: three-year gap, two-hour time difference and so on


But I don't get how you would "year" a face? Explain please

Giving someone a terrible news? Hiding her moisturizor and other cosmetic products? Burying her head into sand? I'm sure there are more creative solutions for that =)

 

[LogGrad98]

Cause the word year is not a noun but more like an adjective in there. And I think it's more about the word phrases than the rules. Imagine a sentence like "I'm gonna year your sorry young face!" Now it's a verb. The same rule applies to words that hold a value of accountability/quantity. E.g. "Honey can you pay that fifty dollar bill for me? I'm a little down these days." Making it plural makes the saying sound a bit raw. So them English speakers leave it like that.

This is getting there. The problem is you are missing hyphens. Two-year time difference as opposed to two year time difference, or two-hour time difference instead of two hour. In that case "two-year" or "two-hour" is describing the time difference. Like a two-year contract.

Ah the lost art of grammar.


Punctuation saves lives:

"Let's eat, grandma!"
"Let's eat grandma!"

 

[moevillini]

BRAVO LOG!!!!!

You win the internetz.


But we can't just eat grammar no how!

 

[addictionary]

This is getting there. The problem is you are missing hyphens. Two-year time difference as opposed to two year time difference, or two-hour time difference instead of two hour. In that case "two-year" or "two-hour" is describing the time difference. Like a two-year contract.

Ah the lost art of grammar.


Punctuation saves lives:

"Let's eat, grandma!"
"Let's eat grandma!"

LoL there is a similar example in Turkish for that. Not sure if the translation gives the idea but I'll try. If not, then lots of LoLz for Turkish posters.

Read my son like your father, don't be a donkey.
Read my son, like your father don't be a donkey.