[Vocabulary] How to read "3.2 hours"?

[AyoBi]

How to read "3.2 hours"?
I don't know how to read this, "3 point 2 hours"?
And I also want to learn ways of saying such numbers. If there are some you can provide, I would be grateful... thanks!

 

[Glizdka]

Not a teacher
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"Three point two hours."
"Three and two tenths of an hour."
"Three hours and twelve minutes."

The fact you've asked about hours throws me off. I'm not sure if you're asking about decimal fractions in general, and hours is just an example, or if you're asking specifically about time, in which case you should remember normal people just use hours, minutes, and seconds, and don't get bothered with fractions.

If you're looking for a way to deal with decimal fractions, point is good; use it.
If you're looking for a way to deal with time, forget math; just convert the remainder to minutes.

 

[GoesStation]

Three point two hours.:tick:
Three and two tenths of an hour.:cross:
Three hours and twelve minutes.:cross:

The third choice is mathematically correct but it's not what the text says.

 

[Glizdka]

What's wrong with "Three and two tenths of an hour"?

 

[emsr2d2]

Simply the fact that we don't normally convert ".2" (written) to "two tenths" (spoken).

 

[Glizdka]

Simply the fact that we don't normally convert ".2" (written) to "two tenths" (spoken).

Oh... it's never occurred to me. I was just looking for a mathematically correct way of expressing the idea. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever actually used it like that.

 

[emsr2d2]

To be fair, the original sentence is very unlikely. I can't really think of a situation in which I would say "three point two hours". I'd say "three hours [and] twelve minutes".

 

[GoesStation]

What's wrong with "Three and two tenths of an hour"?

Simply the fact that we don't normally convert ".2" (written) to "two tenths" (spoken).

If we did, we'd say three and two-tenths hours.

 

[emsr2d2]

Also, we wouldn't say "two-tenths". We'd say "one fifth"!

 

[GoesStation]

Also, we wouldn't say "two-tenths". We'd say "one fifth"!

Not if we were being faithful to the text.

 

[Tarheel]

How should I say "3.2 hours"?

I think that's what you mean. Also, we wouldn't say it like that. We would say something like three hours and ten minutes or three and a half hours.

 

[probus]

Decimal fractions of hours are used only in special circumstances. For example, I've used them in various aviation logbooks, and also when I was employed by a large professional firm. We billed out our time to our various clients, and tracked our time spent as 1.2 or 2.3 or whatever hours.

 

[tedmc]

I can only think of "3.2 hours" as a result of a mathematical calculation, as in the travelling time between two places, rather that something that is said in everyday life. Otherwise, who would express time that way?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

What's wrong with "Three and two tenths of an hour"?

It's not as natural as "Three point two hours."

 

[GoesStation]

I can only think of "3.2 hours" as a result of a mathematical calculation, as in the travelling time between two places, rather that something that is said in everyday life. Otherwise, who would express time that way?

See the post immediately above yours. Billing by tenths of hours is common in American law offices and consulting practices.

 

[tedmc]

See the post immediately above yours. Billing by tenths of hours is common in American law offices and consulting practices.

The numbers in decimal are a result from calculations as I said. For example, 0.2 hours is derived from 12 minutes.

 

[GoesStation]

The numbers in decimal are a result from calculations as I said. For example, 0.2 hours is derived from 12 minutes.

It doesn't matter. Durations are often expressed in hours and tenths of hours in many American firms. We read them as, for example, three point two hours.

 

[Skrej]

Have none of you ever had a job where you had to clock in and clock out? :shock: Decimal time is quite common for payroll computation, where an hour is divided into hundredths.

The last job I had to clock in for, employees were responsible for tabulating their own time card each pay period. The time clock just stamped the card with 12 hour format, so ever last day before payroll deadline, I'd spend 30 minutes or so (always on company time!) converting my daily 12 hour format into decimal, then subtracting start time from end time to get a decimal number. At some point, you had to mentally convert the 12 hour to 24 hour as well to subtract. Then you had to add up all your decimal totals for each week, and a grand total for the two week period. Mess up anything, and you had to initialize your mistakes and corrections. I'm sure the ladies in HR hated me because my timecards were a mess of correction fluid, circles, and initials.

I'm really not sure why we did it, when HR double-checked them anyway, but it was sure was an incentive to clock in and out exactly on time because landing on any combination of quarter hours made for quicker tabulation later on.

Of course now that I no longer have to do it, it's all computerized. You just type in your employee ID number and it's calculated automatically.

I'm sure if varies widely by organization, but my sick leave is still accrued at a decimal rate. I earn 0.833 days per calendar month, which works out to about 6.67 hours per month. Not sure why the funky number for sick leave, when vacation leave is accrued at a nice even number of hours per month.

 

[Glizdka]

I'm glad I've never had to clock in and I hope I'm never going to have to.

 

[Tdol]

See the post immediately above yours. Billing by tenths of hours is common in American law offices and consulting practices.

I'd have thought that they would be happy to round up. ;-)