net

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

Please read the following sentence:

His total sales that year grossed about 20 million dollars.
My question is: Can I use "netted" to replace ''grossed"?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

 

[riquecohen]

You cannot. Net is frequently used incorrectly in this context. Gross sales refers to the amount of money he received from the sale of his product. His net would be the amount of money remaining after all deductions (what he paid for the product, taxes, etc.) have been made (his profit.)

 

[jiang]

Dear riquecohen,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Please read the next sentence:

The company's profit last year _____ 5 million dollars.
The key to this sentence is either "netted" or "grossed". Could you please explain if it is correct or not?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

You cannot. Net is frequently used incorrectly in this context. Gross sales refers to the amount of money he received from the sale of his product. His net would be the amount of money remaining after all deductions (what he paid for the product, taxes, etc.) have been made (his profit.)

 

[SoothingDave]

Profit is "net" by definition.

The company's profit last year was 5 million dollars.

OR

The company netted 5 million dollars last year.

 

[jiang]

Dear SoothingDave,

Thank you very much for your explanation. May I ask if you mean "grossed" is not correct?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Profit is "net" by definition.

The company's profit last year was 5 million dollars.

OR

The company netted 5 million dollars last year.

 

[Raymott]

Dear SoothingDave,

Thank you very much for your explanation. May I ask if you mean "grossed" is not correct?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

A profit can't net or gross anything. The company does.
The original question is trying to say, "The profit made a profit of $5m." It's wrong.

 

[riquecohen]

Dear riquecohen,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Please read the next sentence:

The company's profit last year _____ 5 million dollars.
The key to this sentence is either "netted" or "grossed". Could you please explain if it is correct or not?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

"Grossed" is not correct. The easiest way to complete the sentence is "The company´s profit last year was 5 million dollars." See also SoothingDave´s suggested options and Raymott´s recent post.

 

[SoothingDave]

Dear SoothingDave,

Thank you very much for your explanation. May I ask if you mean "grossed" is not correct?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Do you understand that "gross" and "net" are two different measures?

In your original sentence, you could say the sales grossed 5 million. Normally sales are a measure of gross income. But it is possible to say the sales netted 5 million.

In your second sentence, the word "profit" is used, which automatically means "net." So adding "netted" is redundant, adding "grossed" is illogical.