[Grammar] What's the correct option: They spent _____ of dollars.

[Mike MC]

They spent _____ of dollars to help save endangered animals in the region.
a. hundreds of millions
b. a hundred of millions
c. hundreds of million
d. hundred of millions

I know a is more common, but I wonder if there's anything wrong with the other options.

 

[jutfrank]

Only a. is correct. The others are ungrammatical.

 

[Mike MC]

Only a. is correct. The others are ungrammatical.

Why is b ungrammatical?

 

[jutfrank]

Mostly because a hundred is singular and it should be plural.

$100,000,000 = a hundred million dollars

$500,000,000 = hundreds of millions of dollars

But also because, in the first phrase above, the word million should be singular, not plural, and the word of should not be there.

 

[Mike MC]

Mostly because a hundred is singular and it should be plural.

$100,000,000 = a hundred million dollars

$500,000,000 = hundreds of millions of dollars

But also because, in the first phrase above, the word million should be singular, not plural, and the word of should not be there.

You're right!
How about c and d? According to the Longman Dictionary, both hundred and hundreds can be used as the plural form of hundred. The same goes for million. So c and d don't seem to be ungrammatical.

 

[Mike MC]

They are.

Would you mind explaining why?

 

[GoesStation]

c. hundreds of million
d. hundred of millions

Would you mind explaining why?

In C, "million" has to be plural to agree with "hundreds". In D, "hundred" has to be plural to agree with "millions".

 

[Mike MC]

They are.

What can we say about the examples found in COCA:

• hundreds of million of
  
• hundred of millions of
  

 

[Mike MC]

That COCA is non-judgmental. It records all examples of words/phrase searched, including incorrect ones.

Ngram

I note that COCA has 3,102 examples of hundreds of millions of, and six of hundreds of million of.

Great answer! How about example sentences in dictionaries? Should I expect to see such "errors" in those sentences?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Why is b ungrammatical?

Because it doesn't make sense.

How can you have one hundred of millions? It's like saying you have a hundred of many.

 

[Rover_KE]

Mike, whatever else you find in dictionaries or on the internet, only 'hundreds of millions' is correct.

Use that.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Great answer! How about example sentences in dictionaries? Should I expect to see such "errors" in those sentences?

No, not if it's really a dictionary. Often there are online sources that seem authoritative but aren't.

COCA, for instance, is not a dictionary.

 

[Mike MC]

No, not if it's really a dictionary. Often there are online sources that seem authoritative but aren't.

COCA, for instance, is not a dictionary.

• multitude: "Today the seas teem with multitudes of creatures comprising hundred of thousands of species."
• upwards of: "Litigation in Federal Court can cost upwards of tens or hundreds of thousand of dollars, which, in effect, means that only big hit songwriters backed by large publishers have legal recourse."

 

[Rover_KE]

They're both incorrect. Both 'hundreds' and 'thousands' must be pluralised.

What do you hope to achieve by persisting in posting incorrect examples?

 

[Mike MC]

What do you hope to achieve by persisting in posting incorrect examples?

I thank you and all other contributors to this great forum! :up::up:
I just meant to answer Charlie Bernstein's post: #15. Sorry if this thread took too long!

 

[Rover_KE]

It won't get any longer.

Thread closed.