Half hour or half an hour
Goofy
(an) hour to get on the bus. Or there is half-(an)-hour break before the
class.
For this matter, also 'half second' or 'half a second', 'half minute' or
'half a minute', and 'half day' or 'half a day'?
Thanks.
Mark Barratt
> Should I say 'half hour' or 'half an hour'? For example, I waited half
> (an) hour to get on the bus.
I would say "(for) half an hour", here.
> Or there is half-(an)-hour break before the class.
This one would be "a half-hour break".
The difference seems to be whether the expression is being used as a
noun or as an adjective.
> For this matter, also 'half second' or 'half a second', 'half minute' or
> 'half a minute', and 'half day' or 'half a day'?
The same applies.
--
Regards,
Mark Barratt
Donna Richoux
> "Mark Barratt" <mark.b...@enternet.hu> wrote in message
> news:2qb0otF...@uni-berlin.de...
> I think it's largely pondial:
>
> AmE: a half-hour
>
> BrE: half an hour
Not simply pondial, though. I say both and hear both in the US. It
depends on the phrase Some quick googling suggests that both sides say
"for half an hour" but the US is more willing to say also "for a
half-hour" than is the UK.
--
Best -- Donna Richoux
An American living in the Netherlands
Tony Cooper
<m.j.m...@bradford.ac.uk> wrote:
>"Mark Barratt" <mark.b...@enternet.hu> wrote in message
>news:2qb0otF...@uni-berlin.de...
>I think it's largely pondial:
>
>AmE: a half-hour
>
>BrE: half an hour
>
>Mike M
I don't think the usage of either is just AmE usage. Both "It's a
half-hour show" and "I'll be there in half an hour" would be used
here.
Areff
> Mike Mooney <m.j.m...@bradford.ac.uk> wrote:
>>
>> I think it's largely pondial:
>>
>> AmE: a half-hour
>>
>> BrE: half an hour
Dead wrong!
> Not simply pondial, though. I say both and hear both in the US.
Dead right!
> It depends on the phrase Some quick googling suggests that both sides say
> "for half an hour" but the US is more willing to say also "for a
> half-hour" than is the UK.
The reason for that might be the prevalent UK (Southeastern England)
pronunciation of "half hour" as [Af a:], no? UK speakers might be trying
to avoid wondering whether to use "a" or "an".
--
Tom
Can I say "I'll be there in a half-hour" or "I'll be there in half
hour"? I'm in the States.
Donna Richoux
> Can I say "I'll be there in a half-hour"
Yes.
>or "I'll be there in half
> hour"?
No, but you can say "I'll be there in half an hour," which maybe is what
you meant to type.
>I'm in the States.
--
Best -- Donna Richoux
Areff
Coop wrote:
>>I don't think the usage of either is just AmE usage. Both "It's a
>>half-hour show" and "I'll be there in half an hour" would be used
>>here.
Tom wrote:
> Can I say "I'll be there in a half-hour" or "I'll be there in half
> hour"? I'm in the States.
First off, you get Oy!ed for using that expression "the States". This is
a deprecated usage outside of military and diplomatic contexts. Odd thing
is, the British think Americans commonly use "the States" (they don't),
and the Americans think the British commonly use "the States" (they do,
but only because they mistakenly think that's what Americans commonly do).
Second off, in American English, you can say:
I'll be there in half an hour.
or
I'll be there in a half hour.
But the first one is more likely, at least in my dialect. The second one
sounds sort of awkward for some reason.
--
Ian Noble
>First off, you get Oy!ed for using that expression "the States". This is
>a deprecated usage outside of military and diplomatic contexts. Odd thing
>is, the British think Americans commonly use "the States" (they don't),
>and the Americans think the British commonly use "the States" (they do,
>but only because they mistakenly think that's what Americans commonly do).
Naturally. We have mandatory weekly meetings to discuss how Americans
have improved our language, and how we might ape them. It's the main
topic of conversation on the Clapham Omnibus.
"They're round, and they bounce."
Regards - Ian
Richard Maurer
Can I say "I'll be there in a half-hour" or "I'll be there in half
hour"? I'm in the States.
Areff responded:
First off, you get Oy!ed for using that expression "the States".
This is a deprecated usage outside of military and
diplomatic contexts. Odd thing is, the British think Americans
commonly use "the States" (they don't), and the Americans think
the British commonly use "the States" (they do, but only because
they mistakenly think that's what Americans commonly do).
Which brings up the question about what term USA people do use
while they are not in "The States". UK and Australian people
can play as well, and indeed may be better judges.
-- ---------------------------------------------
Richard Maurer To reply, remove half
Sunnyvale, California of a homonym of a synonym for also.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[a subthread of Half hour or half an hour]
Areff
> Tom wrote:
> Can I say "I'll be there in a half-hour" or "I'll be there in half
> hour"? I'm in the States.
>
>
> Areff responded:
> First off, you get Oy!ed for using that expression "the States".
> This is a deprecated usage outside of military and
> diplomatic contexts. Odd thing is, the British think Americans
> commonly use "the States" (they don't), and the Americans think
> the British commonly use "the States" (they do, but only because
> they mistakenly think that's what Americans commonly do).
>
>
>
> Which brings up the question about what term USA people do use
> while they are not in "The States". UK and Australian people
> can play as well, and indeed may be better judges.
A lot of them use "the States" when speaking to UK, etc. people, because
they mistakenly think that's how UK people etc. commonly refer to the US.
It's really a bizarre case of mutually-reinforcing double-error
traditions.
--
Skitt
> Tom wrote:
> Can I say "I'll be there in a half-hour" or "I'll be there in half
> hour"? I'm in the States.
>
> Areff responded:
> First off, you get Oy!ed for using that expression "the States".
> This is a deprecated usage outside of military and
> diplomatic contexts. Odd thing is, the British think Americans
> commonly use "the States" (they don't), and the Americans think
> the British commonly use "the States" (they do, but only because
> they mistakenly think that's what Americans commonly do).
>
> Which brings up the question about what term USA people do use
> while they are not in "The States". UK and Australian people
> can play as well, and indeed may be better judges.
Oh, after a while abroad I'm usually ready to go back to the States.
--
Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/
Charles Riggs
This detail of difference holds even less interest for me than the
hairball, if there is one, in my belly button.
Charles Riggs
wrote:
I talk about 'back in The States' or 'in The States...', but one can
never say such things as 'The States declared war on another country
today'. I first heard it from US military people in Germany, often in
a context where someone was expressing a desire to get back to
'civilization' or to the shopping centers or to where a good slice of
pizza can be found. That sort of thing. Sergeant talk more often than
officer talk, it seemed to me, but only somewhat so.
Areff
> I talk about 'back in The States' or 'in The States...', but one can
> never say such things as 'The States declared war on another country
> today'. I first heard it from US military people in Germany, often in
> a context where someone was expressing a desire to get back to
> 'civilization' or to the shopping centers or to where a good slice of
> pizza can be found.
You know about the Whitestone Shopping Center?
--
Tony Cooper
You both may and can. However, the second would be non-standard
without an "a" before "half" or an "an" before "hour".
Tony Cooper
What? You've cut down the meetings to once a week? Are we no longer
respected over there?
Tony Cooper
wrote:
You can eliminate that problem by not letting the cat sleep on your
stomach. When you do, you'll be like the rest of us and only
accumulate lint in your belly button.
Tony Cooper
wrote:
>Richard Maurer wrote:
Navy types talk about returning "state-side". I don't know if this
also an expression used by the other services.
don groves
_mau...@yahoo.com wrote...
> Tom wrote:
> Can I say "I'll be there in a half-hour" or "I'll be there in half
> hour"? I'm in the States.
>
>
> Areff responded:
> First off, you get Oy!ed for using that expression "the States".
> This is a deprecated usage outside of military and
> diplomatic contexts. Odd thing is, the British think Americans
> commonly use "the States" (they don't), and the Americans think
> the British commonly use "the States" (they do, but only because
> they mistakenly think that's what Americans commonly do).
>
>
>
> Which brings up the question about what term USA people do use
> while they are not in "The States".
...
It would depend on which part of the world I was visiting. In
some places I wouldn't mention where I was from (not that they
wouldn't notice anyway).
Usually, I would say "back home".
--
dg
CyberCypher
> Tom wrote:
> Can I say "I'll be there in a half-hour" or "I'll be there in
> half hour"? I'm in the States.
>
>
> Areff responded:
> First off, you get Oy!ed for using that expression "the
> States". This is a deprecated usage outside of military and
> diplomatic contexts. Odd thing is, the British think
> Americans commonly use "the States" (they don't), and the
> Americans think the British commonly use "the States" (they
> do, but only because they mistakenly think that's what
> Americans commonly do).
I guess that puts people like me --- expatriate --- into the diplomatic
category. I use "the States" all the time and have for the past 20
years. It's only youse guys who actually live there what don't use "the
States". I think the same goes for terms like "the continent" for Brits
and Europeans, and "the mainland" for Taiwanese and mainlanders.
> Which brings up the question about what term USA people do use
> while they are not in "The States". UK and Australian people
> can play as well, and indeed may be better judges.
It all depends on how I feel and what my brain forces out of my mouth.
"The States", "the US", "the USA", "America", "the United States", "the
Great Satan" (when I'm being iranic), and possibily other minor usages.
--
Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
For email, replace numbers with English alphabet.
CyberCypher
> Richard Maurer wrote:
[...]
>>
>> Which brings up the question about what term USA people do use
>> while they are not in "The States". UK and Australian people
>> can play as well, and indeed may be better judges.
>
> A lot of them use "the States" when speaking to UK, etc. people,
> because they mistakenly think that's how UK people etc. commonly
> refer to the US.
I can't agree, Richard. I don't think about what others might call the
US. I use "the States" because it's always been available to me. I
don't think my two UK officemates ever use "the States", but I could be
wrong about that.
> It's really a bizarre case of mutually-reinforcing double-error
> traditions.
>
--
R H Draney
>
>It would depend on which part of the world I was visiting. In
>some places I wouldn't mention where I was from (not that they
>wouldn't notice anyway).
>
>Usually, I would say "back home".
While they're technically "states", people in Hawai'i say "the mainland" when
they mean the 48 contiguous states, and in Alaska they refer to "outside"....r
Areff
> While they're technically "states", people in Hawai'i say "the mainland" when
> they mean the 48 contiguous states, and in Alaska they refer to "outside"....r
Perhaps Alaska should be "down west".
--
Peter Moylan
>"the Great Satan" (when I'm being iranic),
Oh, for a better memory. By the time I find an occasion to use that,
I will have forgotten it.
Nevertheless, it's memorable. Thank you.
--
Peter Moylan peter at ee dot newcastle dot edu dot au
http://eepjm.newcastle.edu.au (OS/2 and eCS information and software)
Ian Noble
I'm afraid so. Apparently it was taking too much time from
forelock-tugging practice. It's sad to see the old crafts and
traditions dying out, but "instructions from the very top", and all
that, what?
Lor' bless 'ee, Sor - Ian
("Oh arrr, the loikes of us do be be'olden to the loikes of 'ee....")
Brian Wickham
<tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>Navy types talk about returning "state-side". I don't know if this
>also an expression used by the other services.
>
I thought I would here that expression in the Army overseas but I
didn't. In Vietnam the US was invariably called "the world" by
enlisted men, as in, "I'm going back to the world next week." That
week would be expressed as "six days and a wake up".
"The world" was the place you went home to when leaving the Army. If
you were being transferred to a Stateside duty station then you were
going "CONUS", which is Army shorthand for Continental US. It was on
everyone's travel orders so it was picked up as everyday slang.
Brian Wickham
Robert Bannister
> Mike Mooney <m.j.m...@bradford.ac.uk> wrote:
>
>
>>"Mark Barratt" <mark.b...@enternet.hu> wrote in message
>>news:2qb0otF...@uni-berlin.de...
>>
>>>Goofy wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Should I say 'half hour' or 'half an hour'? For example, I waited half
>>>>(an) hour to get on the bus.
>>>
>>>I would say "(for) half an hour", here.
>>>
>>>
>>>>Or there is half-(an)-hour break before the class.
>>>
>>>This one would be "a half-hour break".
>>>
>>>The difference seems to be whether the expression is being used as a
>>>noun or as an adjective.
>>>
>>>
>>>>For this matter, also 'half second' or 'half a second', 'half minute' or
>>>>'half a minute', and 'half day' or 'half a day'?
>>>
>>>The same applies.
>>>
>>
>>I think it's largely pondial:
>>
>>AmE: a half-hour
>>
>>BrE: half an hour
>
>
> Not simply pondial, though. I say both and hear both in the US. It
> depends on the phrase Some quick googling suggests that both sides say
> "for half an hour" but the US is more willing to say also "for a
> half-hour" than is the UK.
>
I think adding an adjective to it makes a big difference. I'm sure /we/
would say "a good half hour" too, although we might not pronounce a
hyphen in between, but "half an hour" is standard BrE when unqualified.
--
Rob Bannister
mcco...@gmail.com
> Should I say 'half hour' or 'half an hour'? For example, I waited half
> class.
>
> 'half a minute', and 'half day' or 'half a day'?
>
its supposed to be half a hour because hour starts with a h
Tough Guy no. 1265
--
"One dies in Istanbul suicide attack"
Peter T. Daniels
> On Thursday, September 9, 2004 at 7:47:30 AM UTC-4, Goofy wrote:
> > Should I say 'half hour' or 'half an hour'? For example, I waited half
> > (an) hour to get on the bus. Or there is half-(an)-hour break before the
> > class.
> > For this matter, also 'half second' or 'half a second', 'half minute' or
> > 'half a minute', and 'half day' or 'half a day'?
>
Bob Martin
"An" precedes a vowel *sound*.
"hour" starts with one of those!
Also, it should be "starts with an h" as "h" is pronounced "aitch".
Peter Moylan
an ancient message. The corollary, I think, is that that person is
unlikely to see any responses.
On the other hand, it's possible that this is the real McCoy, and that
he really does say [xAf A xaU@].
(I assumed [x] because it's quite difficult to pronounce [h] naturally
in that context.)
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Peter T. Daniels
> On 14/06/15 16:31, Bob Martin wrote:
> > in 2196832 20150613 185420 mcco...@gmail.com wrote:
> >> On Thursday, September 9, 2004 at 7:47:30 AM UTC-4, Goofy wrote:
> >>> Should I say 'half hour' or 'half an hour'? For example, I waited half
> >>> (an) hour to get on the bus. Or there is half-(an)-hour break before the
> >>> class.
> >>> For this matter, also 'half second' or 'half a second', 'half minute' or
> >>> 'half a minute', and 'half day' or 'half a day'?
> >>> Thanks.
> >> its supposed to be half a hour because hour starts with a h
> > It's.
> > "An" precedes a vowel *sound*.
> > "hour" starts with one of those!
> > Also, it should be "starts with an h" as "h" is pronounced "aitch".
>
> Note that this is yet another case of a Google Groups user
> responding to
> an ancient message. The corollary, I think, is that that person is
> unlikely to see any responses.
the AUE list of threads, since they're ordered by recency of latest reply.
I do believe you've exploded your own petard!
> On the other hand, it's possible that this is the real McCoy, and that
> he really does say [xAf A xaU@].
>
> (I assumed [x] because it's quite difficult to pronounce [h] naturally
> in that context.)
Richard Tobin
>Thus _not_ a GG user, for a GG user would see the thread near the very top of
>the AUE list of threads, since they're ordered by recency of latest reply.
Complaints-To: groups...@google.com
Injection-Info: glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com; posting-host=71.13.79.230;
posting-account=Mr7nkQoAAAA8xg-Ym6wS3IbTvnqhLEjY
User-Agent: G2/1.0
Message-ID: <cd6c5b5e-fad9-4d5b...@googlegroups.com>
-- Richard
Peter T. Daniels
make someone a GG user. They used GG once.
If somone persuaded you to take one hit of cocaine thirty years ago,
and you never did it again, were/are you a user?
Tony Cooper
>On Sunday, June 14, 2015 at 9:50:02 AM UTC-4, Richard Tobin wrote:
>> In article <66e3ee01-58ac-48b8...@googlegroups.com>,
>> Peter T. Daniels <gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>> >Thus _not_ a GG user, for a GG user would see the thread near the very top of
>> >the AUE list of threads, since they're ordered by recency of latest reply.
>>
>> There is no doubt that it is a Google Groups user:
>>
>> Complaints-To: groups...@google.com
>> Injection-Info: glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com; posting-host=71.13.79.230;
>> posting-account=Mr7nkQoAAAA8xg-Ym6wS3IbTvnqhLEjY
>> User-Agent: G2/1.0
>> Message-ID: <cd6c5b5e-fad9-4d5b...@googlegroups.com>
>
>Accessing a single message via some sort of search procedure does not
>make someone a GG user. They used GG once.
>
>If somone persuaded you to take one hit of cocaine thirty years ago,
>and you never did it again, were/are you a user?
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando FL
Peter T. Daniels
Richard Tobin
>> >Thus _not_ a GG user, for a GG user would see the thread near the very top of
>> >the AUE list of threads, since they're ordered by recency of latest reply.
>> There is no doubt that it is a Google Groups user:
>>
>> Complaints-To: groups...@google.com
>> Injection-Info: glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com; posting-host=71.13.79.230;
>> posting-account=Mr7nkQoAAAA8xg-Ym6wS3IbTvnqhLEjY
>> User-Agent: G2/1.0
>> Message-ID: <cd6c5b5e-fad9-4d5b...@googlegroups.com>
>Accessing a single message via some sort of search procedure does not
>make someone a GG user. They used GG once.
Should I take it that in all your previous messages on the subject
when you said "GG user" you meant "habitual GG user"?
>If somone persuaded you to take one hit of cocaine thirty years ago,
>and you never did it again, were/are you a user?
talking about about software, I would certainly call someone a
"<whatever> user" if talking about an occasion when they used
<whatever>, regardless of whether they used it at other times.
Incidentally, the headers don't refer to accessing a message, but
sending one.
-- Richard
Peter T. Daniels
> In article <06fa6665-a432-4bde...@googlegroups.com>,
> Peter T. Daniels <gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
> >> >Thus _not_ a GG user, for a GG user would see the thread near the very top of
> >> >the AUE list of threads, since they're ordered by recency of latest reply.
> >> There is no doubt that it is a Google Groups user:
> >> Complaints-To: groups...@google.com
> >> Injection-Info: glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com; posting-host=71.13.79.230;
> >> posting-account=Mr7nkQoAAAA8xg-Ym6wS3IbTvnqhLEjY
> >> User-Agent: G2/1.0
> >> Message-ID: <cd6c5b5e-fad9-4d5b...@googlegroups.com>
> >Accessing a single message via some sort of search procedure does not
> >make someone a GG user. They used GG once.
>
> I was not aware that you were using the term in such a restricted sense.
>
> Should I take it that in all your previous messages on the subject
> when you said "GG user" you meant "habitual GG user"?
> >If somone persuaded you to take one hit of cocaine thirty years ago,
> >and you never did it again, were/are you a user?
>
> I don't know how the term is used in the context of drugs. But when
> talking about about software, I would certainly call someone a
> "<whatever> user" if talking about an occasion when they used
> <whatever>, regardless of whether they used it at other times.
never did it again, were/are you a smoker?
> Incidentally, the headers don't refer to accessing a message, but
> sending one.
Dr Nick
> In article <06fa6665-a432-4bde...@googlegroups.com>,
> Peter T. Daniels <gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>>> >Thus _not_ a GG user, for a GG user would see the thread near the very top of
>>> >the AUE list of threads, since they're ordered by recency of latest reply.
>
>>> There is no doubt that it is a Google Groups user:
>>>
>>> Complaints-To: groups...@google.com
>>> Injection-Info: glegroupsg2000goo.googlegroups.com; posting-host=71.13.79.230;
>>> posting-account=Mr7nkQoAAAA8xg-Ym6wS3IbTvnqhLEjY
>>> User-Agent: G2/1.0
>>> Message-ID: <cd6c5b5e-fad9-4d5b...@googlegroups.com>
>
>>Accessing a single message via some sort of search procedure does not
>>make someone a GG user. They used GG once.
>
> I was not aware that you were using the term in such a restricted sense.
>
> Should I take it that in all your previous messages on the subject
> when you said "GG user" you meant "habitual GG user"?
association" that no-one is actually trying to cast.
I believe he does post through GG but - while I've often been known to
object to what he posts - they show none of the typical flaws of
inexperienced users. GG has nothing to do with it.
This all feels as though I'm trying to find an excuse for a number of
car accidents or crimes involving cars of the sort I drive, because in
some way I feel the fact that Joe Blogs was doing the ton on a suburban
road reflects on me for choosing the same car.
It's all most odd and I'm sure would give a budding psychologist
material for a thesis.
Snidely
Recent Posts
(alt.usage.english - 1 posts)
Re: Half hour or half an hour alt.usage.english Jun 13
Post History
(alt.usage.english - 1 posts)
2015
Jun
1
For PTD, the activity looks more like
(alt.usage.english - 3000 posts)
2015
Mar Apr May Jun
567 846 986 601
And for Richard
2015
Mar Apr May Jun
130 155 210 91
All 3 activity reports are restricted to AUE; I don't know the current
way of getting activity across all groups. (That used to be "profile")
Mesnews isn't showing me any other messages by mcco...@gmail.com,
but Mesnews' search function is somewhat idiosyncratic, and I'm not
subscribed to very many groups.
/dps
--
"This is all very fine, but let us not be carried away be excitement,
but ask calmly, how does this person feel about in in his cooler
moments next day, with six or seven thousand feet of snow and stuff on
top of him?"
_Roughing It_, Mark Twain.
Reinhold {Rey} Aman
>
Note Mr. Snidely's statistics:
> For PTD, the activity looks more like
> (alt.usage.english - 3000 posts)
> 2015
> Mar Apr May Jun
>
PeteY's *insane* number of posts prove
that he's AUE's lonesome attention-whore.
--
~~~ Reinhold {Rey} Aman ~~~
mandiri pinjaman dana
Syarat gadai bpkb mobil ▶▶ https://bit.ly/2Kfh7wU
Pembiayaan mobil bekas ▶▶ https://bit.ly/2Jy25i8
Jenis uang kuno paling mahal ▶▶ https://bit.ly/3gCOTyo
Peter Moylan
in a language I don't know.
I suspect that Google Translate has screwed up for "The most expensive
type of ancient money".
--
Peter Moylan Newcastle, NSW http://www.pmoylan.org
CDB
> On 26/11/22 20:55, mandiri pinjaman dana wrote:
>
>> gadai bpkb mobil ▶▶ https://big.lie/2Kfh7wUhoo Pembiayaan mobil
>> bekas ▶▶ https://bit.eme/2Jabcd8 Jenis uang kuno paling mahal ▶▶
>> https://bit.ter/3gEnD
> I would never click on your links, but I do appreciate having
> examples in a language I don't know.
> I suspect that Google Translate has screwed up for "The most
> expensive type of ancient money".
rspond to that kind of posting, it would be a good idea to mess up the
OP text in your reply, especially any URLs. As above.
Peter Moylan
guilty of doing so.
I doubt that it matters, mind you. Only gullible people would click on
the links. Our RRs aren't that gullible. I'm not sure about the lurkers.
Peter T. Daniels
Peter Moylan
the btots is to break into our google data.