Stuart Cook February 19, 2012 Grammar articles 52
I received emails from two people last week asking about the word million. Both people asked the same question:
”What is the plural of million?
Is it millions, or is it million (without ‘s’)?”
The answer is that million, like the words hundred, thousand and billion, has two possible plural endings. Sometimes we say million, sometimes millions.
Withoutthe plural ending -s
1. We don’t add ‘s’ when we give an exact number:
- two million pounds
- two thousand years
- threehundred
- four billion.
2. Wedon’t add ‘s’ when we use a quantifier like several or a few:
- several million years
- a few thousand dollars
- a few hundred.
With the plural ending -s
Add ‘s’ if you don’t give an exact number:
- hundreds of people
- thousands of years
- millions of dollars.
That’s the rule. It’s nice and simple!
On the subject of dollars and amounts of money, there is another common question worth answering: which of the following is correct?
1. There is a hundred dollars in my wallet.
or
2. There are a hundred dollars in my wallet.
The first sentence is correct. We see an amount of money as a whole thing, and so we useis, not are.
Here are some more examples:
- Give me back that ten pounds you owe me. (not
those ten pounds) - Two million euros is difficult to earn. (not
are difficult)
Do you have a question about this grammar? Do you have any more examples? Please leave a message below in the comments section.
By Stuart Cook
Stuart is an English teacher and runs the Speakspeak website. He currently lives in Prague and has been teaching for over 25 years. ⎜Get Stuart's e-books ⎜Contact
52 Comments
nick - July 29, 2012, 9:54 am Reply
thanx cook…that kinda helped.
jiri - January 16, 2013, 6:08 pm Reply
good stuff, cheers
Helen - May 27, 2013, 5:25 pm Reply
Thank you! Your explanation is very clear and easy to understand.
Manuel - May 28, 2013, 11:42 am Reply
Yeah i understand
Anonymous - September 25, 2021, 1:49 pm Reply
Ese último ejemplo no lo entendí, gracias
Francesca - September 11, 2013, 10:45 am Reply
Hi,
what if i have to say “3 million of us” ?
Do I add the final -s?
Thanks a lot.Stuart Cook - September 11, 2013, 11:02 am Reply
Three million of us is correct – no ‘s’.
Without the number, it’s with ‘s’: There were millions of us.Pjotr - September 10, 2023, 2:37 pm Reply
“Without the number, it’s with ‘s’: There were millions of us|.
Is that so? Henry Knox, US Secretary of War, in his raport to Congress in 1787 wrote: ” The expense od such an armament if succesful for the two years could not be estimated less than two millions of dollars…”
Sure, Mr Knox, a bookeeper by profession, or a congressional copyist, might not have been versed with English.
English grammar might have undergone some subtle alterations.But since when has this been considered wrong?
[Link deleted]
paola from Italy - October 21, 2013, 5:37 pm Reply
thanks
Robert - October 19, 2020, 5:36 pm Reply
I am in debt of $150 from my friend. Is the sentence correct or should I use some other preposition?
ali - November 6, 2013, 5:27 pm Reply
a good English teacher .. better than millions of them 🙂
Edosa King - January 3, 2014, 6:18 am Reply
Thank you.
Am a millionaire in Dollars
Am a millionaire in Dollar
Which of them is more appropriate…Stuart Cook - January 3, 2014, 5:44 pm Reply
A millionaire in dollars is correct.
Alonso - January 5, 2014, 9:52 am Reply
Please, which is correct “all the house was dirty Or all of the house was dirty?
Thanks in advance
rama - March 11, 2014, 6:04 pm Reply
do i say 20 million chinese muslim or 20 million chinese muslims
Stuart Cook - March 11, 2014, 8:20 pm Reply
20 million Chinese muslims is correct.
rama - March 15, 2014, 2:42 pm Reply
thank you
rama - March 15, 2014, 2:47 pm Reply
which part do i use although with
is it according to the sentence?does matter if i switch ?
e.g : although she is beautiful , she isn’t married .
but could i say although she isn’t married , she is beautiful .Moshe - April 19, 2014, 6:30 pm Reply
Which is correct: 10 million dollar, or 10 million dollars?
ThanksStuart Cook - April 19, 2014, 9:24 pm Reply
“10 million dollars” is correct.
Moshe - April 19, 2014, 9:31 pm Reply
Thank you!
Noak Sten - May 24, 2014, 1:44 pm Reply
nice, thanks!
rama - May 25, 2014, 5:01 pm Reply
please answer my questions
do i say the selection and mixing of the different kinds of fabric is done by experts.
or the selection and mixing of the different kinds of fabric are done by experts.
please answer quiclyStuart Cook - May 25, 2014, 10:36 pm Reply
is done
Ekaterina - November 14, 2020, 1:34 pm Reply
Hi,
would you say “A million of flowers grow there” or rather “grows” ?
Thanks a lot!
Confused - June 5, 2014, 9:03 pm Reply
hi, I don’t quite get it- on one hand you say don’t use the ending -s when giving an exact number but on the other hand you wrote
“give me back that 10 poundS you owe me”
typo or does that rule specifically apply to words milion/hundred/thousand/bilion and no othersStuart Cook - June 5, 2014, 9:32 pm Reply
The rule ‘We don’t add ‘s’ when we give an exact number’ applies only to the words hundred, thousand, million, billion, etc. It’s correct to say twenty pounds, ten dollars, etc.
Confused - June 5, 2014, 9:55 pm Reply
clear now! thank you and wow what a prompt reply:) best regards
Alessandra - June 18, 2014, 6:21 pm Reply
Hi!
Found in an academic book: “..there were a total of 5.5 million Malays..”
Wouldn’t be rather right to say “there was”?
Thank you!Stuart Cook - June 18, 2014, 9:09 pm Reply
Good question, Alessandra.
There were is correct in your example, as we see 5.5 million people as plural. The same rule applies to a number of and a few:
A number of survivors were found; a few of them were uninjured.
The rule is:
a total of . . . were,
but
the total of . . . was.It’s also worth noting that in the example you gave a total of is redundant, i.e. it’s unnecessary. It’s enough to say There were 5.5 million Malays.
Alessandra - June 19, 2014, 9:08 am Reply
Academic books have to be redundant, you know!
Thank you for your kind reply.
sonia zarif - February 7, 2015, 6:14 pm Reply
Hi.your comments are really helpful.i have a problem
Three dollers were spent or
Three dollars was spentStuart Cook - February 11, 2015, 11:21 pm Reply
Three dollars was spent. We see an amount as a singular thing. Similarly, we’d say: Here is the ten dollars that you lent me.
Victor - January 11, 2016, 8:10 pm Reply
Hello! Your explanations are really helpful, but I have a question. If I ask (or reask):
– How many million(s)?
– There are five million(s).Without a noun. I’m interested in the amount of millions / hundreds / thousands. Do I need the ‘s’ ending or not?
Johnny - February 18, 2016, 5:53 am Reply
How can I describe below?
Some one ask: What is your daily business volume?
Me: I want to say my business volume is between 30 million dollars and 90 million dollars. Is there a word cover range between 30million to 90million?
matt - May 10, 2016, 3:17 pm Reply
What is correct?
There are thousands and thousands of dollars in my pocket.
or
There is thousands and thousands of dollars in my pocket.
Thank you for an utterly informative article!
mattStuart Cook - May 10, 2016, 6:29 pm Reply
There are
matt - May 12, 2016, 1:34 pm Reply
Thanks a million!
By the same token, it would be correct to say
Please give me back that several million dollars you owe me. (quantifier)
Please give me back those millions of dollars you owe me. (number is not exact)
Right?
Much appreciated!
Mattmatt - May 12, 2016, 1:34 pm Reply
Thanks a million!
By the same token, it would be correct to say
Please give me back that several million dollars you owe me. (quantifier)
Please give me back those millions of dollars you owe me. (number is not exact)
Right?
Much appreciated!
MattMa`soumeh bagheri - October 21, 2019, 6:50 pm Reply
Hi thank you loads
Your answers are so clear and helpfulBut what about these sentences
Two hundred people are needed
Or two hundred people is needed
Thanks in advance
Annemarie Dowds - April 21, 2017, 8:45 am Reply
I saw that you wrote “euros” not “euro”. Is it that we use “euros” for general conversation and “euro” for formal writing?
Stuart Cook - May 1, 2017, 9:35 pm Reply
Euros is simply the plural of euro. In news articles you might see five million euros written as €5m.
Here’s an example: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39733452
Den - February 27, 2019, 4:53 pm Reply
Thank you!
Ma'soumeh bagheri - October 21, 2019, 7:02 pm Reply
Hi .
Thanks for useful explanations
Which one is correct
There is /are two hundred people here.
Thanks a lotmaged - April 9, 2020, 7:55 am Reply
I need a million dollars in cash…. this sentence is right or mistake and why
Anonymous - April 10, 2020, 8:55 am Reply
a few stars are known which are hardly bigger than the earth but most of them are so large that hundreds of thousands of Earth’s could be packed inside each.
So explain me why therz s with thousands though we have 100 given?
I’ll be thankfulTonto McGregor - June 9, 2020, 6:14 pm Reply
If you say hundreds OF thousands then it is still not stating a number.. but it is defining a ballpark figure. More than 99 thousand but less than a million. You’re not specifying an exact number like “there was twenty thousand Earths” (note the complex loss of the “of” for another complicated topic). But just like “millions of Earths” “hundreds of thousands of Earth” both do not specify how many and therefore the plural is required.
Siadou - July 4, 2020, 3:43 pm Reply
Is it correct to say population of about four millions or population of about four millions
Leo - August 27, 2020, 8:34 am Reply
which is right, 45 million or 45 millions?
Lady Soin - November 13, 2022, 2:09 pm Reply
So the advert for the Chace Bank does say it wrong. Thought so!
hamza - July 5, 2023, 4:48 pm Reply
I don’t get it
xnxx - September 4, 2023, 11:38 am Reply
On the subject of dollars and amounts of money, there is another common xnxx.llc question worth answering: which of the following is correct?
