Why has “pence” been used in this sentence, not “pences”?Why 'the' is required in these sentences?Why does this sentence use “away from”?Is “before” used correctly in this sentence?Differences “that” and “this” used to refer to something/somebody that has already been mentionedHow “shall” has been used?Why is “do” needed in this sentence?Why the prep 'in' used in this sentence?it has been known thatWhy is “on the season” used in this sentence?Why 'anything' used instead of 'something' in this sentence?
Can I Retrieve Email Addresses from BCC?
Did US corporations pay demonstrators in the German demonstrations against article 13?
Can I rely on these GitHub repository files?
Is there a problem with hiding "forgot password" until it's needed?
Why is delta-v is the most useful quantity for planning space travel?
What (else) happened July 1st 1858 in London?
The One-Electron Universe postulate is true - what simple change can I make to change the whole universe?
What does the "3am" section means in manpages?
Lifted its hind leg on or lifted its hind leg towards?
How will losing mobility of one hand affect my career as a programmer?
Bob has never been a M before
Was the picture area of a CRT a parallelogram (instead of a true rectangle)?
Identify a stage play about a VR experience in which participants are encouraged to simulate performing horrific activities
How to prevent YouTube from showing already watched videos?
What to do when my ideas aren't chosen, when I strongly disagree with the chosen solution?
Could solar power be utilized and substitute coal in the 19th century?
Is there an wasy way to program in Tikz something like the one in the image?
I2C signal and power over long range (10meter cable)
Can a Bard use an arcane focus?
Invariance of results when scaling explanatory variables in logistic regression, is there a proof?
Why does this part of the Space Shuttle launch pad seem to be floating in air?
How do ultrasonic sensors differentiate between transmitted and received signals?
Would it be legal for a US State to ban exports of a natural resource?
Should my PhD thesis be submitted under my legal name?
Why has “pence” been used in this sentence, not “pences”?
Why 'the' is required in these sentences?Why does this sentence use “away from”?Is “before” used correctly in this sentence?Differences “that” and “this” used to refer to something/somebody that has already been mentionedHow “shall” has been used?Why is “do” needed in this sentence?Why the prep 'in' used in this sentence?it has been known thatWhy is “on the season” used in this sentence?Why 'anything' used instead of 'something' in this sentence?
You can then open the chest, and take from it as many pence as you please, they are only copper pence, but if you would rather have silver money, you must go into the second chamber.
Source: The Tinder Box by Hans Christian Anderson
Is that boldface correct grammatically?
Why is that "pence", not "pences"?
word-choice
edited yesterday
J.R.♦
100k8129248
asked yesterday
FringetosFringetos
23018
add a comment |
You can then open the chest, and take from it as many pence as you please, they are only copper pence, but if you would rather have silver money, you must go into the second chamber.
Source: The Tinder Box by Hans Christian Anderson
Is that boldface correct grammatically?
Why is that "pence", not "pences"?
word-choice
edited yesterday
J.R.♦
100k8129248
asked yesterday
FringetosFringetos
23018
1
What is the source of the quote please?
– James K
yesterday
7
Partially irrelevant pedantry: Andersen's original story was written in Danish and so does not say "pence". The word he used was "skillinger" which is cognate to shilling, though the value of the actual Danish skilling coin that circulated in Andersen's time seems to have been closer to an English penny than to a shilling.
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
3
Exchange rates aside, the skilling was the smallest named unit of currency in circulation, and the context makes it clear that Andersen was not using the word to refer to a particular value, but as a generic word for small common coins. Thus a truer translation to modern English would probably be "pennies" rather than "pence"
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
3
You could have started by looking up pence in a dictionary.
– Carsten S
18 hours ago
add a comment |
You can then open the chest, and take from it as many pence as you please, they are only copper pence, but if you would rather have silver money, you must go into the second chamber.
Source: The Tinder Box by Hans Christian Anderson
Is that boldface correct grammatically?
Why is that "pence", not "pences"?
word-choice
edited yesterday
J.R.♦
100k8129248
asked yesterday
FringetosFringetos
23018
You can then open the chest, and take from it as many pence as you please, they are only copper pence, but if you would rather have silver money, you must go into the second chamber.
Source: The Tinder Box by Hans Christian Anderson
Is that boldface correct grammatically?
Why is that "pence", not "pences"?
word-choice
word-choice
edited yesterday
J.R.♦
100k8129248
asked yesterday
FringetosFringetos
23018
edited yesterday
J.R.♦
100k8129248
asked yesterday
FringetosFringetos
23018
edited yesterday
J.R.♦
100k8129248
edited yesterday
J.R.♦
100k8129248
edited yesterday
J.R.♦
100k8129248
100k8129248
asked yesterday
FringetosFringetos
23018
asked yesterday
FringetosFringetos
23018
asked yesterday
FringetosFringetos
23018
23018
1
What is the source of the quote please?
– James K
yesterday
7
Partially irrelevant pedantry: Andersen's original story was written in Danish and so does not say "pence". The word he used was "skillinger" which is cognate to shilling, though the value of the actual Danish skilling coin that circulated in Andersen's time seems to have been closer to an English penny than to a shilling.
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
3
Exchange rates aside, the skilling was the smallest named unit of currency in circulation, and the context makes it clear that Andersen was not using the word to refer to a particular value, but as a generic word for small common coins. Thus a truer translation to modern English would probably be "pennies" rather than "pence"
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
3
You could have started by looking up pence in a dictionary.
– Carsten S
18 hours ago
add a comment |
1
What is the source of the quote please?
– James K
yesterday
7
Partially irrelevant pedantry: Andersen's original story was written in Danish and so does not say "pence". The word he used was "skillinger" which is cognate to shilling, though the value of the actual Danish skilling coin that circulated in Andersen's time seems to have been closer to an English penny than to a shilling.
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
3
Exchange rates aside, the skilling was the smallest named unit of currency in circulation, and the context makes it clear that Andersen was not using the word to refer to a particular value, but as a generic word for small common coins. Thus a truer translation to modern English would probably be "pennies" rather than "pence"
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
3
You could have started by looking up pence in a dictionary.
– Carsten S
18 hours ago
1
1
What is the source of the quote please?
– James K
yesterday
What is the source of the quote please?
– James K
yesterday
7
7
Partially irrelevant pedantry: Andersen's original story was written in Danish and so does not say "pence". The word he used was "skillinger" which is cognate to shilling, though the value of the actual Danish skilling coin that circulated in Andersen's time seems to have been closer to an English penny than to a shilling.
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
Partially irrelevant pedantry: Andersen's original story was written in Danish and so does not say "pence". The word he used was "skillinger" which is cognate to shilling, though the value of the actual Danish skilling coin that circulated in Andersen's time seems to have been closer to an English penny than to a shilling.
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
3
3
Exchange rates aside, the skilling was the smallest named unit of currency in circulation, and the context makes it clear that Andersen was not using the word to refer to a particular value, but as a generic word for small common coins. Thus a truer translation to modern English would probably be "pennies" rather than "pence"
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
Exchange rates aside, the skilling was the smallest named unit of currency in circulation, and the context makes it clear that Andersen was not using the word to refer to a particular value, but as a generic word for small common coins. Thus a truer translation to modern English would probably be "pennies" rather than "pence"
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
3
3
You could have started by looking up pence in a dictionary.
– Carsten S
18 hours ago
You could have started by looking up pence in a dictionary.
– Carsten S
18 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Because pence is plural. It is historically a plural of penny, and is still used that way in some contexts in British English.
Specifically, it is normal when referring to value: "one penny, two pence" (though many people say "one p, two p")
It is not currently used when referring to individual coins: most people would say "there is a pile of pennies on the table", not "there is a pile of pence on the table". In that respect, the passage you quote is archaic.
answered yesterday
Colin FineColin Fine
31.4k24560
7
Yes, they did. Example from George Eliot, 1868 (quoted in OED): " A poor pocket-picking scoundrel, who will steal your loose pence while you are listening round the platform."
– Colin Fine
yesterday
6
I believe the term p is specific to the British new pence (i.e. post-decimalization). I thought it was adopted to distinguish it from the pre-decimal penny (whose abbreviation was d), and I don't think it would be used for pennies of another currency.
– Nate Eldredge
yesterday
1
Saying "one p, two p" only started when the UK converted to decimal currency in 1972, probably because during the changeover it was long winded to keep saying "old pence" and "new pence" (the new ones were worth 2.4 times as much as the old ones!)
– alephzero
yesterday
11
@Rupe It's not archaic. It is still often used in British English. You can say "I only have 15 pence" or "I only have 15 p", but you would never say "I only have 15 pennies", unless you meant "I only have 15 one-penny coins" and not "I only have coins worth £0.15" (for example one 10p and one 5p coin).
– alephzero
yesterday
7
@alephzero: that's exactly the point I made in my answer. Those of us who say "penny" rather than "p" do say "pence" for a value, but not referring to coins.
– Colin Fine
yesterday
|
show 6 more comments
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "481"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f202152%2fwhy-has-pence-been-used-in-this-sentence-not-pences%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Because pence is plural. It is historically a plural of penny, and is still used that way in some contexts in British English.
Specifically, it is normal when referring to value: "one penny, two pence" (though many people say "one p, two p")
It is not currently used when referring to individual coins: most people would say "there is a pile of pennies on the table", not "there is a pile of pence on the table". In that respect, the passage you quote is archaic.
answered yesterday
Colin FineColin Fine
31.4k24560
7
Yes, they did. Example from George Eliot, 1868 (quoted in OED): " A poor pocket-picking scoundrel, who will steal your loose pence while you are listening round the platform."
– Colin Fine
yesterday
6
I believe the term p is specific to the British new pence (i.e. post-decimalization). I thought it was adopted to distinguish it from the pre-decimal penny (whose abbreviation was d), and I don't think it would be used for pennies of another currency.
– Nate Eldredge
yesterday
1
Saying "one p, two p" only started when the UK converted to decimal currency in 1972, probably because during the changeover it was long winded to keep saying "old pence" and "new pence" (the new ones were worth 2.4 times as much as the old ones!)
– alephzero
yesterday
11
@Rupe It's not archaic. It is still often used in British English. You can say "I only have 15 pence" or "I only have 15 p", but you would never say "I only have 15 pennies", unless you meant "I only have 15 one-penny coins" and not "I only have coins worth £0.15" (for example one 10p and one 5p coin).
– alephzero
yesterday
7
@alephzero: that's exactly the point I made in my answer. Those of us who say "penny" rather than "p" do say "pence" for a value, but not referring to coins.
– Colin Fine
yesterday
|
show 6 more comments
Because pence is plural. It is historically a plural of penny, and is still used that way in some contexts in British English.
Specifically, it is normal when referring to value: "one penny, two pence" (though many people say "one p, two p")
It is not currently used when referring to individual coins: most people would say "there is a pile of pennies on the table", not "there is a pile of pence on the table". In that respect, the passage you quote is archaic.
answered yesterday
Colin FineColin Fine
31.4k24560
7
Yes, they did. Example from George Eliot, 1868 (quoted in OED): " A poor pocket-picking scoundrel, who will steal your loose pence while you are listening round the platform."
– Colin Fine
yesterday
6
I believe the term p is specific to the British new pence (i.e. post-decimalization). I thought it was adopted to distinguish it from the pre-decimal penny (whose abbreviation was d), and I don't think it would be used for pennies of another currency.
– Nate Eldredge
yesterday
1
Saying "one p, two p" only started when the UK converted to decimal currency in 1972, probably because during the changeover it was long winded to keep saying "old pence" and "new pence" (the new ones were worth 2.4 times as much as the old ones!)
– alephzero
yesterday
11
@Rupe It's not archaic. It is still often used in British English. You can say "I only have 15 pence" or "I only have 15 p", but you would never say "I only have 15 pennies", unless you meant "I only have 15 one-penny coins" and not "I only have coins worth £0.15" (for example one 10p and one 5p coin).
– alephzero
yesterday
7
@alephzero: that's exactly the point I made in my answer. Those of us who say "penny" rather than "p" do say "pence" for a value, but not referring to coins.
– Colin Fine
yesterday
|
show 6 more comments
Because pence is plural. It is historically a plural of penny, and is still used that way in some contexts in British English.
Specifically, it is normal when referring to value: "one penny, two pence" (though many people say "one p, two p")
It is not currently used when referring to individual coins: most people would say "there is a pile of pennies on the table", not "there is a pile of pence on the table". In that respect, the passage you quote is archaic.
answered yesterday
Colin FineColin Fine
31.4k24560
Because pence is plural. It is historically a plural of penny, and is still used that way in some contexts in British English.
Specifically, it is normal when referring to value: "one penny, two pence" (though many people say "one p, two p")
It is not currently used when referring to individual coins: most people would say "there is a pile of pennies on the table", not "there is a pile of pence on the table". In that respect, the passage you quote is archaic.
answered yesterday
Colin FineColin Fine
31.4k24560
edited yesterday
answered yesterday
Colin FineColin Fine
31.4k24560
answered yesterday
Colin FineColin Fine
31.4k24560
answered yesterday
Colin FineColin Fine
31.4k24560
31.4k24560
7
Yes, they did. Example from George Eliot, 1868 (quoted in OED): " A poor pocket-picking scoundrel, who will steal your loose pence while you are listening round the platform."
– Colin Fine
yesterday
6
I believe the term p is specific to the British new pence (i.e. post-decimalization). I thought it was adopted to distinguish it from the pre-decimal penny (whose abbreviation was d), and I don't think it would be used for pennies of another currency.
– Nate Eldredge
yesterday
1
Saying "one p, two p" only started when the UK converted to decimal currency in 1972, probably because during the changeover it was long winded to keep saying "old pence" and "new pence" (the new ones were worth 2.4 times as much as the old ones!)
– alephzero
yesterday
11
@Rupe It's not archaic. It is still often used in British English. You can say "I only have 15 pence" or "I only have 15 p", but you would never say "I only have 15 pennies", unless you meant "I only have 15 one-penny coins" and not "I only have coins worth £0.15" (for example one 10p and one 5p coin).
– alephzero
yesterday
7
@alephzero: that's exactly the point I made in my answer. Those of us who say "penny" rather than "p" do say "pence" for a value, but not referring to coins.
– Colin Fine
yesterday
|
show 6 more comments
7
Yes, they did. Example from George Eliot, 1868 (quoted in OED): " A poor pocket-picking scoundrel, who will steal your loose pence while you are listening round the platform."
– Colin Fine
yesterday
6
I believe the term p is specific to the British new pence (i.e. post-decimalization). I thought it was adopted to distinguish it from the pre-decimal penny (whose abbreviation was d), and I don't think it would be used for pennies of another currency.
– Nate Eldredge
yesterday
1
Saying "one p, two p" only started when the UK converted to decimal currency in 1972, probably because during the changeover it was long winded to keep saying "old pence" and "new pence" (the new ones were worth 2.4 times as much as the old ones!)
– alephzero
yesterday
11
@Rupe It's not archaic. It is still often used in British English. You can say "I only have 15 pence" or "I only have 15 p", but you would never say "I only have 15 pennies", unless you meant "I only have 15 one-penny coins" and not "I only have coins worth £0.15" (for example one 10p and one 5p coin).
– alephzero
yesterday
7
@alephzero: that's exactly the point I made in my answer. Those of us who say "penny" rather than "p" do say "pence" for a value, but not referring to coins.
– Colin Fine
yesterday
7
7
Yes, they did. Example from George Eliot, 1868 (quoted in OED): " A poor pocket-picking scoundrel, who will steal your loose pence while you are listening round the platform."
– Colin Fine
yesterday
Yes, they did. Example from George Eliot, 1868 (quoted in OED): " A poor pocket-picking scoundrel, who will steal your loose pence while you are listening round the platform."
– Colin Fine
yesterday
6
6
I believe the term p is specific to the British new pence (i.e. post-decimalization). I thought it was adopted to distinguish it from the pre-decimal penny (whose abbreviation was d), and I don't think it would be used for pennies of another currency.
– Nate Eldredge
yesterday
I believe the term p is specific to the British new pence (i.e. post-decimalization). I thought it was adopted to distinguish it from the pre-decimal penny (whose abbreviation was d), and I don't think it would be used for pennies of another currency.
– Nate Eldredge
yesterday
1
1
Saying "one p, two p" only started when the UK converted to decimal currency in 1972, probably because during the changeover it was long winded to keep saying "old pence" and "new pence" (the new ones were worth 2.4 times as much as the old ones!)
– alephzero
yesterday
Saying "one p, two p" only started when the UK converted to decimal currency in 1972, probably because during the changeover it was long winded to keep saying "old pence" and "new pence" (the new ones were worth 2.4 times as much as the old ones!)
– alephzero
yesterday
11
11
@Rupe It's not archaic. It is still often used in British English. You can say "I only have 15 pence" or "I only have 15 p", but you would never say "I only have 15 pennies", unless you meant "I only have 15 one-penny coins" and not "I only have coins worth £0.15" (for example one 10p and one 5p coin).
– alephzero
yesterday
@Rupe It's not archaic. It is still often used in British English. You can say "I only have 15 pence" or "I only have 15 p", but you would never say "I only have 15 pennies", unless you meant "I only have 15 one-penny coins" and not "I only have coins worth £0.15" (for example one 10p and one 5p coin).
– alephzero
yesterday
7
7
@alephzero: that's exactly the point I made in my answer. Those of us who say "penny" rather than "p" do say "pence" for a value, but not referring to coins.
– Colin Fine
yesterday
@alephzero: that's exactly the point I made in my answer. Those of us who say "penny" rather than "p" do say "pence" for a value, but not referring to coins.
– Colin Fine
yesterday
|
show 6 more comments
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f202152%2fwhy-has-pence-been-used-in-this-sentence-not-pences%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
1
What is the source of the quote please?
– James K
yesterday
7
Partially irrelevant pedantry: Andersen's original story was written in Danish and so does not say "pence". The word he used was "skillinger" which is cognate to shilling, though the value of the actual Danish skilling coin that circulated in Andersen's time seems to have been closer to an English penny than to a shilling.
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
3
Exchange rates aside, the skilling was the smallest named unit of currency in circulation, and the context makes it clear that Andersen was not using the word to refer to a particular value, but as a generic word for small common coins. Thus a truer translation to modern English would probably be "pennies" rather than "pence"
– Henning Makholm
yesterday
3
You could have started by looking up pence in a dictionary.
– Carsten S
18 hours ago