# Why "foot' instead of "feet"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 7, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121 "2011-07-07T02:30:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/21 "2011-07-07T18:40:33Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Actually, English starting losing/simplifying its case endings long before 1066. Part of it was the direction almost all European languages were going – even vulgar (i.e., spoken) Latin during the late Roman Empire. But mostly, this happened during the transition from Old English to Middle English, largely due to the influx of Danish speakers (8th century? something like that) who spoke English as a second language, and raised their children to speak that simplified English as their first language. More like 9th century, and they would be Old Norse speakers, not Danish speakers. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/22 "2011-07-08T16:22:16Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > There’s also a difference between American and British English. I still wince when here a Brit say that he weighs 175 pound. At least then he’s not talking about how many stone[s] he weighs… Pardon the hijack. But, how much does a “stone” weigh? (In pounds, if you please.) 😉 ---
**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:** [July 8, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/23 "2011-07-08T16:42:24Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > Pardon the hijack. But, how much does a “stone” weigh? > (In pounds, if you please.) 😉 14 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![TXCowboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/76d3ee/32.png) [@TXCowboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TXCowboy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/24 "2011-07-08T17:02:45Z")
> [@TerpBE](#): > > I normally hear “feet” when it doesn’t include inches, but “foot” when it does. > > “Is he five foot eleven?” > “No, he’s six feet tall.” This is kind of what I was been told by an old carpenter. “Foot” is an exact measure, “feet” is an approximate measure. I can tell you to “walk away from me 20 feet” meaning an approx distance equal to your foot. Could be a 11" foot or a 13" foot. If I tell you to measure something 20 foot long, I mean 20 exact increments equal to 12 inches. For instance, if you climbing a ladder and about half way up, slipped and fell, I would say you fell about 10 feet off a 20 foot ladder. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/25 "2011-07-08T20:13:17Z")
> [@TXCowboy](#): > > This is kind of what I was been told by an old carpenter. “Foot” is an exact measure, “feet” is an approximate measure. > I can tell you to “walk away from me 20 feet” meaning an approx distance equal to your foot. Could be a 11" foot or a 13" foot. > If I tell you to measure something 20 foot long, I mean 20 exact increments equal to 12 inches. > For instance, if you climbing a ladder and about half way up, slipped and fell, I would say you fell about 10 feet off a 20 foot ladder. I think your carpenter acquaintance was not representative of carpenters in general. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/26 "2011-07-09T06:11:28Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > Pardon the hijack. But, how much does a “stone” weigh? At least as much as a henway. (Someone hadda say it.) ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/27 "2011-07-09T10:52:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > At least as much as a henway. What’s a ‘henway’? About 3 or 4 pounds (And someone had to finish the stupid joke) ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/28 "2011-07-09T18:36:27Z")
> [@](#): > > This is kind of what I was been told by an old carpenter. “Foot” is an exact measure, “feet” is an approximate measure. > I can tell you to “walk away from me 20 feet” meaning an approx distance equal to your foot. Could be a 11" foot or a 13" foot. > If I tell you to measure something 20 foot long, I mean 20 exact increments equal to 12 inches. > For instance, if you climbing a ladder and about half way up, slipped and fell, I would say you fell about 10 feet off a 20 foot ladder. TXCowboy > [@](#): > > I think your carpenter acquaintance was not representative of carpenters in general. John Mace I’m gonna have to concur with John Mace on this one. Seeing as how I’ve been a carpenter for 30+ years, and my Dad has been a carpenter for 50+ years, and neither of us has ever heard _ **anything** _, like that. And a big thank you to pulykamell for enlightening us all, on a “stone’s” weight. 🙂 14 pounds.What an odd unit of measurement!:eek: > [@](#): > > At least as much as a henway. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/29 "2011-07-09T19:15:16Z")
It’s not just English measurements. “That pole is two meters long.” “That is a two meter pole.” It’s been a while since I took an English class, but I think the phenomenon can be described like this: When the physical object is the grammatical object, a measurement is singular. When the physical object is the grammatical subject, a measurement is plural. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/30 "2011-07-09T19:27:28Z")
> [@Timchik](#): > > As a result of Old English’s collision and intermingling with Norman French after 1066. Actually, English lost most of its inflections as a result of the establishment of the Danelaw, long before the Norman invasion. ---
**Author:** ![AntiCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a587f6/32.png) [@AntiCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AntiCoyote)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/31 "2011-07-10T03:26:50Z")
I never thought about it, but just randomly trying different heights, I find myself alternating between feet and foot. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/32 "2011-07-10T12:24:53Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > It’s not just English measurements. > > “That pole is two meters long.” > “That is a two meter pole.” > > It’s been a while since I took an English class, but I think the phenomenon can be described like this: > > When the physical object is the grammatical object, a measurement is singular. > When the physical object is the grammatical subject, a measurement is plural. It’s not just measurements, and it’s nothing to do with whether the noun being qualified is subject or object. “A five-man team” “Seven nation army” “A six-hankie weepie” “A twelve-place table setting” In any of these examples the plural form would be incorrect, regardless of whether the noun being qualified is subject or object: “The thirty-lamp chandelier fell on my head.” “I smashed the thirty-lamp chandelier into a million pieces.” ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121/33 "2011-07-10T14:10:07Z")
Probably a better way to put it would be: If used as an adjective, the unit of measurement is singular. If it is used as the object, the unit of measurement is plural. “I am five foot ten.” - used as an adjective (like “I am green”) “I am five feet ten inches tall.” - used as an object (like “I am many molecules.”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-foot-instead-of-feet/588121.md?page=1)