a/one thousand dollars

[Kenny Chang]

Hello, everyone.

Is there any difference between a thousand and one thousand in the following sentences?
- When I walked on the street, I found a wallet. When I opened it, I saw a/one thousand dollars inside.

If there any particular situation that I must use a instead of one when referring to money, and vice verse?
Thank you.

 

[lingobingo]

They both mean the same. In most everyday statements, $1,000 would be pronounced as a thousand dollars — not one thousand, unless perhaps you were comparing that with a different figure, e.g. one thousand rather than two.

 

[Kenny Chang]

Thank you for your help.

Then, do you also pronounce the following figures as a? (because I pronounce all of them as one)

$1
$100
$10,000
$100,000
$1,000,000
$10,000,000
$100,000,000
$1,000,000,000

For example, what would you buy if you had a/one million dollars?

Btw, if it is not about money, it is just the amount of things, which one do you pronounce?
For example, I have 100 pairs of shoes. (a hundred or one hundred)

 

[lingobingo]

Yes, I think the same comment applies to all of those.

 

[dojibear]

$1 = a/one dollar
$100 = a/one hundred dollars
$10,000 = ten thousand dollars (no "a", no "one")
$100,000 = a/one hundred thousand dollars
$1,000,000 = a/one million dollars
$10,000,000 = ten million dollars (no "a", no "one")
$100,000,000 = a/one hundred million dollars
$1,000,000,000 = a/one billion dollars

 

[Kenny Chang]

$1 = a/one dollar
$100 = a/one hundred dollars
$10,000 = ten thousand dollars (no "a", no "one")
$100,000 = a/one hundred thousand dollars
$1,000,000 = a/one million dollars
$10,000,000 = ten million dollars (no "a", no "one")
$100,000,000 = a/one hundred million dollars
$1,000,000,000 = a/one million dollars

Is the last one a typo? Is it a/one billion dollars?

 

[dojibear]

Yes, it's a typo. I think your supposed to say "b-b-b-billion dollars". It's a lot of money.

 

[Kenny Chang]

Hello, everyone.

In what situations would you pronounce 100 and 1000 as "one hundred" and "one thousand," or even "one million"?

Do you pronounce "one" (instead of "a") when you try to correct the number? For example,
A: Did you say you have two hundred dollars?
B: No. I said I have one hundred dollars.

Thank you.

 

[entangledbank]

Yes, 'a' is unemphatic, but 'one' contrasts it with two or three; that's one common reason to emphasize the number.

 

[lingobingo]

In what situations would you pronounce 100 and 1000 as "one hundred" and "one thousand," or even "one million"?

Probably only when contrasting them with a similar amount, such as two hundred, thousand, etc.


cross-posted and agreeing with eb

 

[Kenny Chang]

Thank you for your help.

By the way, when you count, 97, 98, 99, 100, do you also say "a hundred"?
101 → a hundred and one?
199 → a hundred and ninety-nine?
997, 998, 999, 1000 → a thousand?

 

[lingobingo]

Yes.

 

[kentix]

I think in that case it's up to personal choice and the context.

If counting I think I would tend to say "one", but it might depend on the exact context.

 

[Kenny Chang]

I think in that case it's up to personal choice and the context.

If counting I think I would tend to say "one", but it might depend on the exact context.

Thank you for your help.

I tend to use "one" instead of "a" when I count, or talk about any numbers starting with 1... (no matter what the noun follows them), but maybe it's because of the mother tongue influence.

I have one more question, do you say "a minute" or "one minute" more in these contexts?

A: Are you done?
B: I need a/one minute!
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Hurry up! You only got a/one minute!
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A: How much time do I have left?
B: Just a/one minute!

(These three examples are individual.)

 

[kentix]

A: Are you done?
B: I need a minute!

A: Are you done?
B: I need one more minute!

---------------------------------------------------
Hurry up! You've only got one minute!
---------------------------------------------------

A: How much time do I have left?
B: Just one minute!

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I'll be there in a minute. (Approximate)
I'll be there in one minute. (Very specific)