Water boils at 100 degree Celsius.

[Rollercoaster1]

In present indefinite tense, we can tell/write habitual actions, universal truth, general statements/truth, and future actions after temporal conjunctions; such as:

1- We go to the movies every Sunday.
2- The sun rises in the east.
3- He drives very well.
4- Before you go outside, take this umbrella with you. It's raining.

What if I say 'Water boils at 100-degree Celcius', is it a universal or general truth?

 

[jutfrank]

Yes.

 

[emsr2d2]

"at 100 degrees Celsius". No hyphen is required and you need the plural noun.

 

[Rollercoaster1]

"at 100 degrees Celsius". No hyphen is required and you need the plural noun.

I think it doesn't matter.

 

[Rollercoaster1]

Yes.

We can't say that 'Water boils at 100-degree Celcius' is a universal or general truth because it's not that everywhere happens. If you are on top of a mountain, the consequence will definitely change your answer.

 

[Rover_KE]

"at 100 degrees Celsius". No hyphen is required and you need the plural noun.

I think it doesn't matter.

You'd better believe it does matter to those who want to write in standard English.

We can't say that 'Water boils at 100-degree Celsius' is a universal or general truth because [STRIKE]it's not that everywhere happens[/STRIKE] ​that doesn't happen everywhere. If you are on top of a mountain, the consequence will definitely change your answer.

Well why did you ask in the OP if it is a universal or general truth?

 

[Rollercoaster1]

You'd better believe it does matter to those who want to write in standard English.

Well why did you ask in the OP if it is a universal or general truth?

I wanted to know your opinion.

 

[jutfrank]

We can't say that 'Water boils at 100-degree Celcius' is a universal or general truth because it's not that everywhere happens. If you are on top of a mountain, the consequence will definitely change your answer.

The speaker of this utterance assumes that it is implied that the statement applies to sea-level. If you want to argue with him/her about the accuracy of the statement, that's fine, but the fact is that the use of the present simple is to assert a fact (or a general/universal truth).

Don't confuse the factuality of statements with use of language.

 

[Rollercoaster1]

The speaker of this utterance assumes that it is implied that the statement applies to sea-level. If you want to argue with him/her about the accuracy of the statement, that's fine, but the fact is that the use of the present simple is to assert a fact (or a general/universal truth).

Don't confuse the factuality of statements with use of language.

I offend people unknowingly, I am sorry if my words were harsh in post# 4 and 5.

 

[jutfrank]

I offend people unknowingly, I am sorry if my words were harsh in post# 4 and 5.

Okay.

Let me be precise about the answer to your question in the original post:

What if I say 'Water boils at 100-degree Celcius', is it a universal or general truth?

No, it is not a universal truth—it is a statement of a universal truth, whether it is true or false.

 

[Tdol]

It may well not be true when at the summit of Mount Everest, but I agree with Jutfrank that it is meant to be a universal truth.