£500 a month rent

[sitifan]

They're asking £500 a month rent.
(Practical English Usage, Third Edition, by Michael Swan, Section 79)

Which is the correct reading of "£500" in the above sentence, "500 pounds" or "500 pound"?

 

[Tarheel]

500 pounds.

 

[emsr2d2]

However, you will hear some native BrE speakers reduce it to "five hundred pound a month". There are more casual ways of saying it, such as "five hundred quid a month" and even just "five hundred a month".

 

[Tdol]

This is an old sentence- they'd be asking a lot more today.

 

[emsr2d2]

This is an old sentence- they'd be asking a lot more today.

It depends where you are in the UK. There are still small flats available for under £500 p/m.