2.267 Talking about measurements

You can refer to a size, distance, area, volume, weight, speed, or temperature, by using a number or quantifier in front of a measurement noun. Measurement nouns are countable.

• They grow to twenty feet.
• ...blocks of stone weighing up to a hundred tons.
• The daily requirement of vitamin B1 is 1 --- 10 milligrams.
• Reduce the temperature by a few degrees.
• Average annual temperatures exceed 20° centigrade.

Other ways of expressing distance are explained in paragraphs 6.71 to 6.72. Measurement nouns referring to size, area, volume, and weight are often used in partitive structures (see paragraphs 2.211 to 2.224) such as 'a pint of milk' and 'a pound of onions'. They can also be used as qualifiers beginning with 'of', (see paragraph 2.300).