[Grammar] Article before grade percentage

[vpriest]

Hi,


(A) Students must get seventy percent on all tests.
(B) Students must get a seventy percent on all tests.

Which one is the formal and/or correct one and why?

Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

A is correct.
B is incorrect.

Why do you think that might be?

 

[vpriest]

A is correct.
B is incorrect.

Why do you think that might be?

Because the results are plural?
I got mixed results from google searches. So we are not supposed to use an article before the score if it's multiple tests, right?

 

[jutfrank]

It is possible for a native-speaker to have a reason to say I got a seventy percent, thinking of 70% as a discrete grade in the same way as in I got a 'C', but this is not something you should try to do.

In the context you've given us, sentence B is the correct form because 70% is seen as a threshold rather than a discrete grade. Students obviously don't have to get exactly 70%. That's just the threshold below which they will fail the test.

 

[vpriest]

It is possible for a native-speaker to have a reason to say I got a seventy percent, thinking of 70% as a discrete grade in the same way as in I got a 'C', but this is not something you should try to do.

In the context you've given us, sentence B is the correct form because 70% is seen as a threshold rather than a discrete grade. Students obviously don't have to get exactly 70%. That's just the threshold below which they will fail the test.

Students must get an seventy percent or higher on all tests.

So because it's a threshold, not a discrete grade, we do need an article, right?
If that's the case, we should not have an article before any percentage (if they are evaluation grades), right?

 

[jutfrank]

So because it's a threshold, not a discrete grade, we do need an article, right?

Not exactly. The reason no article is needed is that the speaker does not want to use an indefinite noun phrase.

If that's the case, we should not have an article before any percentage (if they are evaluation grades), right?

I don't wish to make this any more difficult than it already is, so I'll just tell you not to use articles before percentages, although it is conceivable that you may have a reason to, in the right context.

Furthermore, you shouldn't really think of percentages as grades at all. They are not meant to be thought of as discrete grades in the same ways as alphabetical or numerical grades, such as A/B/C/D/ or 1/2/3/4/5.

 

[vpriest]

Not exactly. The reason no article is needed is that the speaker does not want to use an indefinite noun phrase.



I don't wish to make this any more difficult than it already is, so I'll just tell you not to use articles before percentages, although it is conceivable that you may have a reason to, in the right context.

Furthermore, you shouldn't really think of percentages as grades at all. They are not meant to be thought of as discrete grades in the same ways as alphabetical or numerical grades, such as A/B/C/D/ or 1/2/3/4/5.

I do see what you are saying. I am just getting a little confused here. I would like to confirm.

You are saying 70% is a threshold, so you do NOT need an article because it's not a discrete grade (and never should be treated as such).

If that's the case, sentence A (NO ARTICLE) is the correct form, is it not?

(A) Students must get seventy percent or higher on all tests.

I think I got confused because you said B (with an article) is the right answer initially.

Thanks for being patient.

 

[jutfrank]

In the context you've given us, sentence B is the correct form

I'm so sorry, that was an awful mistake! I meant to write that sentence A is the correct form. Apologies.

 

[emsr2d2]

At its simplest, we just don't say "a + number + percent" without something like "score" coming after it. Of course, they don't have to get exactly 70%. They must get a score of at least 70%.

Students must get [at least] seventy percent on all tests.
Students must get a score of [at least] seventy percent on all tests.

To use "a", it would have to be something like:

I want all my students to get a seventy percent score/result/mark on all their tests.

 

[GoesStation]

Americans are quite likely to say "I got a seventy." Adding "percent" would not be natural.

 

[emsr2d2]

Americans are quite likely to say "I got a seventy." Adding "percent" would not be natural.

Would that be taken to mean "seventy percent" or could it be that they scored 70 points (out of any possible maximum from 70 to infinity)?

 

[jutfrank]

Would that be taken to mean "seventy percent" or could it be that they scored 70 points (out of any possible maximum from 70 to infinity)?

I'm sure GoesStation means that it means 70%, but that that particular phrasing, using a seventy is treating the number as if it were a score rather than a percentage, which is basically a quantity. Like when we say I got a ten out of ten instead of I got ten out of ten.

I think the difference becomes a bit clearer if you change the grammar, as I've done below by adding the word correct at the end.

I got seventy percent correct. :tick:
I got ten out of ten correct. :tick:

But we can't say:

I got a seventy percent correct. :cross:
I got a ten out of ten correct. :cross:

 

[Tarheel]

Would that be taken to mean "seventy percent" or could it be that they scored 70 points (out of any possible maximum from 70 to infinity)?

Ron: I got a seventy.
Bob: Bummer! You usually do better than that.
Ron: Yeah, only a C. Oh well, I'll do better next time.

 

[GoesStation]

Would that be taken to mean "seventy percent" or could it be that they scored 70 points (out of any possible maximum from 70 to infinity)?

It would be 70 points on the relevant scale. With that size number, that would usually one to a hundred. Not always, though; for example, the PSAT exam taken by many high school juniors is graded on a 20 to 80 scale.