This is something that gets me each time I come across it. I don’t know why, but I must look it up each time I come across this in a manuscript.
They’re six foot. No, they’re six-feet. Or are they six foot tall? Six-foot-tall?
Whenever I look things up, I turn first to my trusty books. See this post about some of these books.
First, let’s look at this flagpole.
I know you cannot tell, but it’s three feet. So, it’s a three-foot flagpole. What’s the difference?
Well we have foot (singular) used in one description of the stick but feet (plural) used in the other. When do we use the singular and when do we use the plural? I’ve tried to break it down into four rules. If anyone has an easier way of remembering this information, I’d be over the moon to hear it!
Here goes.
Rule number one: when you are creating a compound (with a hyphen) it’s singular. For example, a six-inch ruler or a six-foot-tall door.
Rule number two: when followed by an adjective (a describing word) it’s plural. Using the examples above, the ruler is six inches long or the door is six feet tall.
Rule number three: No adjective? Back to singular again. Our ruler is a six inch ruler and our door is a six foot door.
Confusing rule four: We mostly come across this when describing a character’s height, so we’ll take Chris. Chris is six foot three. Here foot is singular because the word inches isn’t there. If we add the word, we get Chris is six feet three inches.
Nick (he/him) is an experienced professional editor and proofreader, specialising in LGBTQ+ writing.
To find out more and to work with Nick, use the buttons above.
Receive my newsletter!
Your support helps!
Your Ko-fi donations help keep me blogging about writing and editing. They also ensure that I can create and provide free resources for editors and writers. Please consider buying me a cuppa!
Editorial services for fiction and non-fiction authors, businesses and organisations
LGBTQ+ writing | Developmental editing | Copyediting | Proofreading | Formatting and typesetting | Beta reading | Authenticity reading | Inclusive language training
Nick (he/him) is an experienced professional editor and proofreader, specialising in LGBTQ+ writing.
To find out more and to work with Nick, use the buttons above.
Receive my newsletter!
Your support helps!
Your Ko-fi donations help keep me blogging about writing and editing. They also ensure that I can create and provide free resources for editors and writers. Please consider buying me a cuppa!
Editorial services for fiction and non-fiction authors, businesses and organisations
LGBTQ+ writing | Developmental editing | Copyediting | Proofreading | Formatting and typesetting | Beta reading | Authenticity reading | Inclusive language training
