# A hundred vs one hundred **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hundred-vs-one-hundred/653291 "2013-03-18T19:52:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hundred-vs-one-hundred/653291/61 "2013-03-25T12:04:36Z")
I thought the teachers trying to make us omit the “and” was just one of those prescriptionist things that teachers always do. I swear I and the other kids in my school grew up saying the “and” in these constructions as our native dialect. Never knew until now that made me British. Blimey. Anyhow, the OP is actually asking about the indefinite article “a” as opposed to the numeral “one.” I was always aware that the indefinite article made it colloquial, but I was just more comfortable saying it that way; I never set out to be a math teacher anyway. Ironically, I did wind up teaching algebra at one point. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hundred-vs-one-hundred/653291/62 "2013-03-25T13:33:33Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That said, I voted for the second option in the poll not because of the word “and,” but because it used the number “one.” I am not aware of anyone who would read that number without the “one,” even if they left out the word “hundred.” It’s pretty common in my dialect. “A hundred (and) fifty six” sounds slightly more conversational than “one hundred (and) fifty fifty six,” but it’s not a strange way of saying it. Hell, there’s a John Fogerty song entitled “A Hundred and Ten in the Shade.” ---
**Author:** ![Terra1041](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Terra1041](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terra1041)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hundred-vs-one-hundred/653291/63 "2013-03-25T18:57:21Z")
I usually say “a hundred” but on checks and the like I’ll write out “one hundred”. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hundred-vs-one-hundred/653291/64 "2013-03-26T19:36:01Z")
American, use the and. Had a few teachers say it was wrong. Promptly ignored them. Never heard anyone else say it was wrong besides teachers until the internet and discussions like this one. One vs a, depends on context, time of day, mood, and a million other things. (In other words, no strong preference either way). ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hundred-vs-one-hundred/653291/65 "2013-03-27T03:08:33Z")
Aside from the teachers who told me the “and” was wrong, the main reason I usually don’t use it is that it adds a superfluous word that is sometimes – though not often – ambiguous. I was always taught to write using as few words as possible, and I tend to speak that way, too. Why add an extra word in the middle of the number? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hundred-vs-one-hundred/653291/66 "2013-03-27T03:14:56Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:65, topic:653291”] Aside from the teachers who told me the “and” was wrong, the main reason I usually don’t use it is that it adds a superfluous word that is sometimes – though not often – ambiguous. I was always taught to write using as few words as possible, and I tend to speak that way, too. Why add an extra word in the middle of the number? [/QUOTE] Rhythm? Euphony? Because language isn’t about cramming-as-much-info-into-as-few-words-as-possible-type efficiency (irony intended)? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hundred-vs-one-hundred/653291/67 "2013-03-27T03:43:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Rhythm? Euphony? Both of those are reasons to leave out the “and.” 😉 See, it’s all subjective. That’s what makes the word unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hundred-vs-one-hundred/653291/68 "2013-03-27T03:49:02Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:67, topic:653291”] Both of those are reasons to leave out the “and.” 😉 [/QUOTE] Or leave it in. Euphony isn’t tied to being concise. Sometimes that extra beat is needed and natural. Sometimes it’s not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hundred-vs-one-hundred/653291.md?page=3)