Question

Posted by rfvv on Monday, October 4, 2010 at 2:24am.


1. Cut long rice cake into 4-5 cm pieces.

(How do you read '4-5 cm'?)

1-1. four to five centimeter
1-2. four and five centimeter
1-3 four or five centimeter
1-4 from four to five centimeter

(Which one is right? Do we have to read 'centimeters'?)





English - Writeacher, Monday, October 4, 2010 at 7:17am
I'd read that like 1-1. And yes, you need to read the word "centimeters" in the sentence. Otherwise, you would say to cut it into 4 to 5 pieces!! There's a big difference!

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Thank you for your help.

1. Cut long rice cake into 4-5 cm pieces.

1-1. Cut long rice cake into four to five centimeter pieces.
(Don't whe have to use the singular form 'centimeter'?)

2. That is is a 10 centimeter stick.
3. He is a three-year-old boy.
4. I have two dollar coins.
(What about the sentences? Do we have to use a singular form or a plural form? For example 'two dollar coins' or 'two dollars coins'?)

Answer 1

1-1 and 2 = There need to be hyphens here, just as there are in #3.

1-1. Cut long rice cake into four-to-five-centimeter pieces.
2. That is a 10-centimeter stick.

But if you were talking about actual centimeters, then you'd use the plural. "He is 168 centimeters tall."