(from) 5 to 10 people

[ShirleyLing]

If, at a house, a group of people showed up, which was at least 5 people, and at most 10 people, could I write:

a) From 5 to 10 people showed up at the house.
b) 5 to 10 people showed up at the house.

Which version is more natural to native speakers?

[ShirleyLing]

Does "from" add some subtleties to the example in post #1?

[5jj]

b is far more natural. 'From' adds nothing.

[ShirleyLing]

So, "from 5 to 10 people..." is ungrammatical?

[5jj]

So, "from 5 to 10 people..." is ungrammatical?

No. It's just not necessary in your sentence.

[Raymott]

"Between five and ten people showed up." (Though those numbers are unrealistic, since 5 is easily distinguishable from 10.)
"Roughly 7 or 8 people showed up."

"Around 25 to 30 people showed up."
"About 25 to 30 people showed up."
"Somewhere around 25 to 30 people showed up." (Not concise, but you'll hear it.)
"Approximately 25 to 30 people showed up."
...

[ShirleyLing]

So, "from" is unnecessary when trying to show the upper and lower limits on the number of people, things, etc?

[5jj]

So, "from" is unnecessary when trying to show the upper and lower limits on the number of people, things, etc?

Not always.I wrote (emphasis added), "No. It's just not necessary in your sentence."

It's fine in:

Temperatures ranged from minus ten at night to fifteen or sixteen in the day.
There were people of all ages in the group, from 6 to 60.

[ShirleyLing]

BROWN STUDENTS VOTE ON ATOM WAR 'SUICIDE PILLS' - NYTimes.com

From 700 to 1,000 students usually vote in student elections, according to Beth M. Grossman, 20, a senior from New Rochelle, N.Y., who is president of Brown's undergraduate council of students.

I am still having some demons about "from...to..."

[5jj]

BROWN STUDENTS VOTE ON ATOM WAR 'SUICIDE PILLS' - NYTimes.com

I am still having some demons about "from...to..."

Avoid using it then.

It can usually be replaced by 'between...and'. In my two previous examples, 'from...to' suggested a complete range of figures.