Home & Garden1 min ago
Is foot acceptable in plural height?
32 Answers
If somebody asked me how tall I am, I would say
"I am six foot one (6"1)"
However looking at it I am inclined to think 6 feet one may actually be the better option.
Can anybody please clarify?
"I am six foot one (6"1)"
However looking at it I am inclined to think 6 feet one may actually be the better option.
Can anybody please clarify?
Answers
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Wardy, there are more rules to this than meets the eye, its I am 6 foot if you say tall after it, it becomes I am 6 feet tall.
Other than that though
" In Standard English, foot and feet have their own rules when they are used in combination with numbers to form expressions for units of measure: a four-foot plank, but not a four feet plank; also correct is a plank four feet long (or, less frequently, four foot long). When foot is combined with numbers greater than one to refer to simple distance, however, only the plural feet is used: a ledge 20 feet (not foot) away. At that speed, a car moves 88 feet (not foot) in a second."
Other than that though
" In Standard English, foot and feet have their own rules when they are used in combination with numbers to form expressions for units of measure: a four-foot plank, but not a four feet plank; also correct is a plank four feet long (or, less frequently, four foot long). When foot is combined with numbers greater than one to refer to simple distance, however, only the plural feet is used: a ledge 20 feet (not foot) away. At that speed, a car moves 88 feet (not foot) in a second."
When I said earlier that, when preceded by a numeral-word, 'foot' could be used effectively as a plural, it wasn't just me making it up...it came directly from The Oxford English Dictionary - the 'bible' of English word-usage. One of the earliest quotes the dictionary uses in illustration of this fact dates back to 1205.
The plain fact is that saying, "I am six foot one" has been perfectly acceptable for centuries. In fact, I cannot imagine anyone saying it any other way, although "I am six feet one" would not actually be wrong.
We are all aware that the standard plural of 'foot' is 'feet' but, in English, usage is king and if we've employed a usage for nearly 1,000 years, it's fine to go on doing so.
If you've arranged to call on someone and you go and knock on their door, they may well call out, "Who is it?" You are perfectly entitled to reply, "It's me", even though the 'correct' answer would be "It is I." Why? Because that's what virtually everybody - with the possible exception of a professor of linguistics - does say!
Stick with "six foot" in these circumstances, BB...trust me.
The plain fact is that saying, "I am six foot one" has been perfectly acceptable for centuries. In fact, I cannot imagine anyone saying it any other way, although "I am six feet one" would not actually be wrong.
We are all aware that the standard plural of 'foot' is 'feet' but, in English, usage is king and if we've employed a usage for nearly 1,000 years, it's fine to go on doing so.
If you've arranged to call on someone and you go and knock on their door, they may well call out, "Who is it?" You are perfectly entitled to reply, "It's me", even though the 'correct' answer would be "It is I." Why? Because that's what virtually everybody - with the possible exception of a professor of linguistics - does say!
Stick with "six foot" in these circumstances, BB...trust me.
Well, I'm a Scot, Fred and here's what I would say as regards 'stone(s)'...If I weighed exactly twelve stones and someone asked what I weighed, I'd say, "Twelve stones." However, if I weighed that number of stones plus, say, four pounds, I'd say, "Twelve stone four" and certainly not "Twelve stones four."
figure, you haven't been watching Spinal Tap, have you?
Anyway, you're a six-footer. There's no such word as six-feeter. And Quizmonster and Goodsoulette are right about why. Feet is generally used as the plural of the things on the end of your legs, and of distances. But foot is more common when describing people's height. You could</> say you're six feet tall and everyone would understand you, so it's not wrong. But I think six foot is the more common expression (and to me, six foot tall is ok too).
However it's 1.85 metres, not metre.
And I'd never say twelve stones whether there were pounds after it or not. Stones to me are little rocks. But I'm not Scottish.
Anyway, you're a six-footer. There's no such word as six-feeter. And Quizmonster and Goodsoulette are right about why. Feet is generally used as the plural of the things on the end of your legs, and of distances. But foot is more common when describing people's height. You could</> say you're six feet tall and everyone would understand you, so it's not wrong. But I think six foot is the more common expression (and to me, six foot tall is ok too).
However it's 1.85 metres, not metre.
And I'd never say twelve stones whether there were pounds after it or not. Stones to me are little rocks. But I'm not Scottish.
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