Verbalizing numbers over 99 and using "and"

[mom2bee]

Is it a problem if people say "and" when reading numbers in the hundreds? I used 'and' to say large numbers when I was younger but was told in my college Spanish class that its incorrect to do this in English, but some people do it anyway. Since then, I have dropped the 'and' from my verbalizing of large numbers.

 

I've been working with a boy who finished K in PS and we've recently gotten into big numbers. We used base ten blocks for place value at first but he doesn't need them much any more. (I think that) because he learned with base ten blocks he is using 'and' because he literally sees it as a group of hundreds and a group of tens and ones but I'm not sure.

 

I have mentioned to him a couple of times that numbers such as 712 should be read 7-hundred, 12. But he consistently says 7-hundred and 12. He didn't want to switch and I don't want to force the issue as there are other hills to die on. If I show him 12,643,398 and he will read it as: 12-million, 6-hundred and 43-thousand, 3-hundred and 98.'

We talked about it once and he said he likes to say it this way and I let it go.  Its not that big of a deal, is it?

 

This is his preferred way of saying large numbers, BUT last night when we were working I modeled it as 12million, 6hundred43thousand,3hundred98 and then he corrected me and tells me that I have to say "and".

 

Should I...

make him say large numbers correctly?

let him use 'and' but continue to model the correct way? (He'll resist this. He likes things done his way or the highway.)

let him use 'and' and go ahead and use 'and' myself just to keep the peace during the math lesson?

 

 

[Ellie]

Require him to say large numbers correctly. When we say "and" we are implying that there is a decimal, as in reading 75.3 vs 753: the first is "seventy-five and thee tenths" which is not the same number as "seven hundred fifty-three."

[maize]

Require him to say large numbers correctly. When we say "and" we are implying that there is a decimal, as in reading 75.3 vs 753: the first is "seventy-five and thee tenths" which is not the same number as "seven hundred fifty-three."

But most people I know interpret "seven hundred and fifty three" as 753, that is very common usage.

 

Personally, I would model correct terminology but not make a big deal out of it.

[Aiden]

I would make him say it correctly. It is said incorrectly by most people, but that doesn't make it correct. It's easier to learn it correctly than to change it later.

[boscopup]

He's not doing this because of base ten blocks. He's doing it because it's a natural thing to do, and people around him probably talk that way.

 

My younger kids' math program has them periodically say numbers to practice saying them correctly. My 2nd grader knows not to say "and" when reading numbers. It was pretty easy to teach.

[Laura Corin]

It's correct in Britain.  'Seven hundred and five' is correct; 'seven hundred five' is incorrect.

 

L

[ElizaG]

From Wolfram Mathworld ("the web's most extensive mathematics resource") :

 

-----

 

While some authors prefer to include "and" between various parts of a number name, in this work, "and"s are omitted. For example, the number 101 is called "one hundred one" rather than "one hundred and one." According to most definitive sources (Schildberger 2001; The Chicago Manual of Style 2003, p. 381; Mish 2003, p. 852), either is acceptable. However, The Associated Press Stylebook gives implicit examples in which the "and" is omitted (Goldstein 1998, p. 145). So the fact of the matter is that different sources use different conventions, with some sources even being internally inconsistent. For example, Conway and Guy (1996) list the "(and)" as optional on p. 15, while writing out "one hundred and sixty-three" on p. 25.

 

-----

 

I let my children follow either convention, but generally use the "and" myself.   Putting in that small syllable just seems to help the phrase to roll off the tongue more easily.   :001_smile:  It's what I grew up with, in a Commonwealth country.   It's also part of English-speaking culture on both sides of the Atlantic, e.g. in titles such as One Hundred and One Dalmatians, or "A Hundred and Ten in the Shade."

 

The only risk is that your child might be lectured by someone who really likes hard and fast rules, and is convinced that "no 'ands' in a number name" is one of them.   

[mom2bee]

It's correct in Britain.  'Seven hundred and five' is correct; 'seven hundred five' is incorrect.

 

L

 

Cool to know. So when you are reading a 6 or 8 digit number like 12.675.325 do you say "12 million, 675 thousand, 3 hundred and 25"

or do you say 12million, 6hundred and 75 thousand, 3 hundred and 25?"

[Ellie]

 It's also part of English-speaking culture on both sides of the Atlantic, e.g. in titles such as One Hundred and One Dalmatians, or "A Hundred and Ten in the Shade."

 

 

 

Of course, the author was English. :-)

[Crimson Wife]

My 4th grade teacher was a real stickler about this but she's the only one I've ever encountered who was. Most people use the word "point" to indicate a decimal rather than "and".

[Arcadia]

It's what I grew up with, in a Commonwealth country.

......

The only risk is that your child might be lectured by someone who really likes hard and fast rules, and is convinced that "no 'ands' in a number name" is one of them.

Grew up in a Commonwealth country too. The banks there want the "and" in my cheques to cash it.

 

The only time I am careful about "and" is when I am writing US bank checks. So far all the checks were cashed without issue even when we forgot to drop the "and".

 

My kids are used to both British and American spelling. They find it entertaining.

[Laura Corin]

Cool to know. So when you are reading a 6 or 8 digit number like 12.675.325 do you say "12 million, 675 thousand, 3 hundred and 25"

or do you say 12million, 6hundred and 75 thousand, 3 hundred and 25?"

It would be twelve million, six hundred and seventy-five thousand, three hundred and twenty-five.  But it would be all commas - yours look like decimal points.

 

L

[Walking-Iris]

Is it a problem if people say "and" when reading numbers in the hundreds? I used 'and' to say large numbers when I was younger but was told in my college Spanish class that its incorrect to do this in English, but some people do it anyway. Since then, I have dropped the 'and' from my verbalizing of large numbers.

 

I've been working with a boy who finished K in PS and we've recently gotten into big numbers. We used base ten blocks for place value at first but he doesn't need them much any more. (I think that) because he learned with base ten blocks he is using 'and' because he literally sees it as a group of hundreds and a group of tens and ones but I'm not sure.

 

I have mentioned to him a couple of times that numbers such as 712 should be read 7-hundred, 12. But he consistently says 7-hundred and 12. He didn't want to switch and I don't want to force the issue as there are other hills to die on. If I show him 12,643,398 and he will read it as: 12-million, 6-hundred and 43-thousand, 3-hundred and 98.'

We talked about it once and he said he likes to say it this way and I let it go.  Its not that big of a deal, is it?

 

This is his preferred way of saying large numbers, BUT last night when we were working I modeled it as 12million, 6hundred43thousand,3hundred98 and then he corrected me and tells me that I have to say "and".

 

Should I...

make him say large numbers correctly?

let him use 'and' but continue to model the correct way? (He'll resist this. He likes things done his way or the highway.)

let him use 'and' and go ahead and use 'and' myself just to keep the peace during the math lesson?

 

I wouldn't worry about it with 3 digit numbers. I hear people say three hundred and twenty-five (for example) all the time. My kid did. I say and write "three hundred twenty-five", but I'm sure I've slipped and said it the other way at times. I think this is more a grammar/language issue than a math issue.

 

Except what I've bolded. I wouldn't let a child get away with that one. The reason is eventually the child will need to learn to spell these large numbers, and placing all of those "ands" in it would be (I think) grammatically incorrect. I teach my children to spell out large numbers without an "and". 

[Haiku]

"And" signifies a decimal. It shouldn't be used unless there is one no matter how large the number.

[Piper]

It's definitely regional.  My kids' US textbook teaches carefully that they shouldn't say "and", but my kids definitely do, because that's how I was taught, and how I still say it all the time.   I'm an Aussie (ex-pat) and for me to hear someone say a longer number without the "and" is a dead giveaway that they're American or American taught.  

 

For me, "point" is the indicator of a decimal.  Or if you're going to add the fraction, it's just another "and" and it becomes apparent what you're saying when you say the fraction.  "Three hundred and twenty five and four fifths" or "Three hundred and twenty five point eight".  

 

Mind you, the "and" in the middle of the number is usually verbalized more as "n" than the fully enunciated word.  Whereas the "and" that would tack on the fraction is fully enunciated.  "Three hundred-n twenty five and four fifths" would probably be a more accurate way to write how I'd say it.  But maybe that's just lazy Aussie-speak! :)

[zoobie]

I've never understood how "and" would be indicative of a decimal. One hundred and five is 105. Otherwise, five whats? Tenths? Hundredths? I would not correct my child. I don't think there's an actual risk of being misunderstood for regular people in regular circumstances. If you're in a technical field, there may be particular, technical lingo you'd need to learn, but I've never encountered a practical example in everyday life.

[Piper]

I've never understood how "and" would be indicative of a decimal. One hundred and five is 105. Otherwise, five whats? Tenths? Hundredths? I would not correct my child. I don't think there's an actual risk of being misunderstood for regular people in regular circumstances. If you're in a technical field, there may be particular, technical lingo you'd need to learn, but I've never encountered a practical example in everyday life.

:iagree:

[ElizaG]

ETA - I'm surprised this is a regional thing! I didn't know that. When I went to second grade in Great Britain I don't recall hearing gratuitous 'and' dropping in numbers, but I wasn't looking for it either :)

It's not just in the UK, either.  According to Wiktionary and other international English resources, the "and-less" way is a specifically US variant.   The "ands" can be found on school web sites in Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Jamaica, and many other places.   (As usual, Canada seems to be in between the US and everyone else.  Some sites go one way, and some go the other.)   

 

As mentioned by several posters in this thread, it's very common for people in the United States to use "and" in everyday speech, at least until a teacher drills the habit out of them.  

 

"She weighs a hundred and fifty pounds"

"It was a hundred and ten degrees yesterday" (as in the John Fogerty song I listed above)  

"A hundred and sixty acres in the valley" (Marty Robbins song)

 

It also appears to be fairly standard in older US government documents, such as these ones from the General Assembly of Virginia from 1838 to 1922, which is the most recent year available in Google's archive.   I've found a few examples from the early 1900s that don't have the "ands," but there seem to be many more with them than without.  

 

It makes me wonder when and where the "and-less rule" originated, and (most of all) why school books give the impression that the other way is objectively and logically incorrect, instead of just a different convention.  

[Laura Corin]

In finance, in particular, when verbally orating sums and percent changes, it becomes very, very important.

 

Husband is an American in finance, who now uses UK usage.  He says 'two hundred and five point three' (205.3).  It's quite clear.  The UK is not wallowing in misunderstood numbers.

 

L

[Ellie]

"And" signifies a decimal. It shouldn't be used unless there is one no matter how large the number.

 

Or a fraction, as in "three hundred one and three-fourths."

[Laura Corin]

I don't see how 'three hundred and four and three fourths' is unclear. What else could it mean? I am not saying that the US method is wrong, but neither is the UK one.

[LaughingCat]

Using 'and' instead of 'point' has not been conversational usage for decimals anywhere I have lived in the US -- I have never heard anyone say  "300 and 1" when they meant 300.1  only when they meant 301.     I have heard mixed usage between an "and" and no "and" though.   I say "and" for short numbers ( in the hundreds basically ) but not for long numbers.

 

I have heard "coke", "pop" and "soda" used as generic terms for "soda pop" - so you can tell I've lived vastly different places :lol:

[Ellie]

I don't see how 'three hundred and four and three fourths' is unclear. What else could it mean? I am not saying that the US method is wrong, but neither is the UK one.

 

I didn't say that is unclear. I said that "and" is used with decimal fractions as well as, um, "regular" fractions.

[Wheres Toto]

I've never heard that saying "and" in numbers is incorrect and I have never heard of "and" being used to indicate a decimal.  A fraction, yes.

 

So, 34.5 would be said "thirty-four point five".  34 1/2 would be said "thirty-four and a half"

 

When writing checks, I write "thirty-four dollars and 50/100 cents".  That's how I was taught to do it.

 

345 would be "three hundred and forty-five".

 

3,456,789

Three million, four hundred and fifty-six thousand, seven hundred and eighty nine.  I guess I put the "and" between hundreds and tens places.

 

For what it's worth, I've always lived in NJ and this was the convention in every math, science, etc. course I've ever taken.

 

ETA:  345 3/4 "three hundred and forty five and three fourths"

 

LOL, I actually had to say a bunch of these to check how I do it.  I really never thought about it.

[boscopup]

You would use "and" to indicate a decimal by saying:

 

34.5 as "thirty-four and five tenths"

 

You don't say "and" if you're using "point". You would just say "thirty-four point five".

 

On a check in the US, the "and" is only used before the cents, as in "thirty-four and 50/100".

 

My kids live in the US, so I teach them not to say the "and" in extra places. If I lived somewhere that had a different convention, I'd teach that.

[IsabelC]

Should I...

make him say large numbers correctly?

let him use 'and' but continue to model the correct way? (He'll resist this. He likes things done his way or the highway.)

let him use 'and' and go ahead and use 'and' myself just to keep the peace during the math lesson?

 

I don't think one way is superior to the other. Whatever you are used to just sounds better and more natural. To me, if you said "three hundred twelve" I hear two numbers: 300, 12. "Three hundred and twelve" sounds like one number, 312. (This make no logical sense, of course, but that's how it sounds to me, as a speaker of Australian English.)

 

In your example of "12-million, 6-hundred and 43-thousand, 3-hundred and 98", if you say "12-million, 6-hundred, 43-thousand, 3-hundred, 98", how can anyone tell whether you mean a list of numbers: 12000000, 600, 43000, 300, 98?

 

In your place, I would explain that in the US, the and sounds weird or even wrong, so if he chooses to say it, some people may assume he is stupid or uneducated. 

 

You may also want to explain that in other English speaking countries, it's the reverse, so the and is considered correct; omitting it could come across as silly or confusing. Generally, however, non-Americans are more aware of American usages than vice versa, so probably getting used to the US way is going to make life easier for him. I don't know about making him say them correctly, though. I suspect it might not be a big enough deal to merit a confrontation, so I'd probably go with modeling the correct way and leaving it at that.

[LaughingCat]

You would use "and" to indicate a decimal by saying:

 

34.5 as "thirty-four and five tenths"

 

You don't say "and" if you're using "point". You would just say "thirty-four point five".

 

On a check in the US, the "and" is only used before the cents, as in "thirty-four and 50/100".

 

My kids live in the US, so I teach them not to say the "and" in extra places. If I lived somewhere that had a different convention, I'd teach that.

 

 I almost included in my PP that I might say "three hundred and one/tenth" for 300.1 -- the way the PP's were worded did not sound like they meant saying one/tenth for .1 to me though.

 

I don't teach my kids not to say "and" though. I still consider it "common usage" as it was where I grew up, and I am well both educated and smart,(if I do say so myself :lol: ).

[Kerileanne99]

I've never heard that saying "and" in numbers is incorrect and I have never heard of "and" being used to indicate a decimal. A fraction, yes.

 

So, 34.5 would be said "thirty-four point five". 34 1/2 would be said "thirty-four and a half"

 

When writing checks, I write "thirty-four dollars and 50/100 cents". That's how I was taught to do it.

 

345 would be "three hundred and forty-five".

 

3,456,789

Three million, four hundred and fifty-six thousand, seven hundred and eighty nine. I guess I put the "and" between hundreds and tens places.

 

For what it's worth, I've always lived in NJ and this was the convention in every math, science, etc. course I've ever taken.

 

ETA: 345 3/4 "three hundred and forty five and three fourths"

 

LOL, I actually had to say a bunch of these to check how I do it. I really never thought about it.

This is absolutely my experience. This is how I was taught. Hubby is British and uses the same conventions. The only way I learned it might be taught differently was when my math-worshipping dd corrected me one day informing me that 'Fred said not to use the ANDS!'

I actually had to have her show me what she was talking about, lol. Sure enough, in Edgefield there is a minute mention.

 

The only other thing I would add to your list is when zero is a placeholder. Such as 4,501. Four thousand, five hundred and one....

[kirstenhill]

I picked up the "and" somehow, despite having lived in the midwest USA all my life.  Some of the math materials we have used have made a big deal of the fact that you are not supposed to say the "and" (I think this was in Fred and maybe RightStart too?), so now DD corrects me and DS7 whenever we do it.  I think i am going to start telling her that I am just doing it the British way so she doesn't need to correct me...LOL. :lol:

[MiMi 4under3]

I tell my kids "And is NOT a number! We don't write 9and56, just 956."

 

 

 

 

(unless referring to a decimal - as stated above thread.)

[maize]

I'm gonna hazard a guess that American accountants came up with the and-as-decimal-point; I think using and in large numbers is more common than not in casual speech. I had never heard of the "don't use and" rule until I started homeschooling.

[Ruby Rose]

Good question! I think when teaching I'll tell my kids they can omit the and to save breath. 101, 102 vs 100 and 1 etc.

 

If I verbalized a large number I usually say 9 hundred and 56. However, if I was speaking of money with change I would say 9 hundred 56 dollars and 42 cents. Same as with writing a check. If I were giving a calculation I would say 9hundred and 46 point 42.

 

Oh the things we just do without realizing it.

[Grover]

when I hear someone from the US saying numbers I always have a moment to check in my head - did they mean 300, 15 or did they mean 315?  We use "and" in this country.  I have never heard with out an accent not use and.  Fred (Life  of) tried to tell DS not to use "and" and DS told Fred he was wrong in his country, and left it at that.  I'm not clear on what you mean about it being confusing to use it for decimals.  It's not confusing for anyone here :-) 

[mom2bee]

It would be twelve million, six hundred and seventy-five thousand, three hundred and twenty-five.  But it would be all commas - yours look like decimal points.

 

L

 

Oh, ok.

So, in the US we would write: 12,675,325 with commas separating the periods of millions, thousands and ones. We would use a . after the ones place to denote a decimal fraction. They would do the same in GB?

 

I don't know why, but I thought that most of the western world used the opposite format, that they used a decimal point/period to separate millions, thousands and ones and a comma to denote the decimal place.

_______

I think that since both are accepted practice, I'll just go on modeling both ways and mention that you can do it both ways. Honestly, I didn't know there was this much variation. :). The math nerd and the word nerd in me are awakening and I love it! I love stuff like this personally, but I didn't want to teach the 'wrong' way to a kid who has to go back to PS in 7 weeks. I tried yesterday to figure out if I have ever heard/used 'and' for a decimal point but I don't think that I have, if I have it wasn't a conscious choice, the majority of the time I say 'point' when verbalizing a number with a decimal fraction included.

 

A big thanks to everyone for the interesting conversation. This is cool!

 

:)

 

 

[Laura Corin]

Oh, ok.

So, in the US we would write: 12,675,325 with commas separating the periods of millions, thousands and ones. We would use a . after the ones place to denote a decimal fraction. They would do the same in GB? Yes.

 

I don't know why, but I thought that most of the western world used the opposite format, that they used a decimal point/period to separate millions, thousands and ones and a comma to denote the decimal place. I think France may - I don't know about other countries.

_______

I think that since both are accepted practice, I'll just go on modeling both ways and mention that you can do it both ways. Honestly, I didn't know there was this much variation. :). The math nerd and the word nerd in me are awakening and I love it! I love stuff like this personally, but I didn't want to teach the 'wrong' way to a kid who has to go back to PS in 7 weeks. I tried yesterday to figure out if I have ever heard/used 'and' for a decimal point but I don't think that I have, if I have it wasn't a conscious choice, the majority of the time I say 'point' when verbalizing a number with a decimal fraction included.

 

A big thanks to everyone for the interesting conversation. This is cool!

 

:)

 

L

[Laura Corin]

For fun: Chinese has a value 'wan' that translates as 10 thousand.  So 100,000 is spoken as ten wan.  1,000,000 is one hundred wan.   10,000,000 is one thousand wan.

 

When my boys were small, they could swap between English and Chinese large numbers effortlessly, due to playing Monopoly in both languages.

 

L

[IsabelC]

We mostly just use spaces every three digits, although some older people (and texts) have the commas. So 12 675 325. Easier to read and the commas can't be confused for decimal points.

 

I have never heard of the word and being used in any way in connection with decimals. I have also never heard anyone (besides little kids doing their math) call 3.5 "three and 5 tenths". It's just "three point 5".

 

I'd love to know the reason behind little differences like this. 

[Tanikit]

I used and still do use "and". Decimals we say: seventy five point three and we were taught at school never to use the commas that are used to separate thousands etc that I see in so many American books. However, we all knew what they meant and had no problem reading them. I have never had any problems understanding what someone is talking about when they say a number no matter which way they say it because you can usually know what someone is talking about by using the context as a clue.

 

Then again we grow up here with a lot of things where we learn that the rest of the world just works differently so maybe have a broader view of things: summer can be in December or in June (we are flooded with books from the northern hemisphere), color can be spelt colour or color and you need to be able to read both, use both and know under which circumstances to use each, numbers can be written in different ways in different places, American dollars are pervasive in many countries around here and yet we do all have our own currencies and we need to know both and the conversions. 

 

So basically I do not think it matters - explain that there are two or more ways of doing it and under one set of circumstances the first will be better than the second. Will it cause great confusion? I doubt it - there may be some initial confusion, but in the great scheme of things, people usually figure things out.

[stutterfish]

It's correct in Britain.  'Seven hundred and five' is correct; 'seven hundred five' is incorrect.

 

L

Yes, in the UK we would never say seven hundred five. That would just be a bit...weird :)

[AmandaVT]

I've never heard that saying "and" in numbers is incorrect and I have never heard of "and" being used to indicate a decimal.  A fraction, yes.

 

So, 34.5 would be said "thirty-four point five".  34 1/2 would be said "thirty-four and a half"

 

When writing checks, I write "thirty-four dollars and 50/100 cents".  That's how I was taught to do it.

 

345 would be "three hundred and forty-five".

 

3,456,789

Three million, four hundred and fifty-six thousand, seven hundred and eighty nine.  I guess I put the "and" between hundreds and tens places.

 

For what it's worth, I've always lived in NJ and this was the convention in every math, science, etc. course I've ever taken.

 

ETA:  345 3/4 "three hundred and forty five and three fourths"

 

LOL, I actually had to say a bunch of these to check how I do it.  I really never thought about it.

 

This is exactly how I say these numbers. I was born and raised in RI - maybe the north east keeps the 'and'? I went to a quite rigorous private school growing up and was not taught to leave out the and. 

[SwallowTail]

What an interesting (and bizarre) discussion.  I have never heard of omitting the spoken "and" nor of using an "and" as an indication of a decimal point.  I have almost a double major in mathematics (engineering/chem major), and worked in my field for years both in the US and in Europe, and never once encountered this as a standard. (I have also worked quite a bit in banking, and we always used the "and").

[IfIOnly]

My kids were taught by TT not to say and unless they're expressing a decimal point.  As they're getting into and learning to express decimal and fractions, I'm glad that I encouraged the habit of not saying the "and".  I'm kind of a stickler about those things though. :P

[vonfirmath]

But most people I know interpret "seven hundred and fifty three" as 753, that is very common usage.

 

Personally, I would model correct terminology but not make a big deal out of it.

 

I would not make a big deal out of it for a first grader.  I'd start making a bigger deal about it when they start learning decimals in math.

[Kathryn]

Another here who uses "and" between the hundreds and tens place. The only time I don't is in writing checks because that's what my mom told me to do, though I thought it was just to save space.

[LizzyBee]

When I was in school, we were taught not to say and, so that's what I taught my kids.  We used Singapore Math, and I'm pretty sure SM had the ands, so I just told my kids not to say them because they use them in Singapore but we don't in America.  I had forgotten all about that until this thread.

[BatmansWife]

I grew up in Michigan and Wisconsin.  I was always taught to say "and"...345 = three hundred and forty five. 

 

 

In your place, I would explain that in the US, the and sounds weird or even wrong, so if he chooses to say it, some people may assume he is stupid or uneducated. 

 

I don't think this is true.  I don't think either way sounds weird or wrong.  If I heard someone at the grocery store, or anywhere, say it with the "and" or without the "and" I would never think, "Oh my goodness!  They said (or didn't say) and."  I can't really imagine anyone even thinking twice about it. 

 

My kids were taught by TT not to say and unless they're expressing a decimal point.  As they're getting into and learning to express decimal and fractions, I'm glad that I encouraged the habit of not saying the "and".  I'm kind of a stickler about those things though. :p

 

Same here.  I never heard not to use "and" until TT.  In fact, when there is multiple choice in TT and if one of the possible answers is the correct answer, but with "and"...you will be marked wrong if you choose that for your answer (which kind of annoys me....because I think they should have "and" or no "and" be marked as correct).  Since using TT, JB doesn't use "and".  I've tried to be more aware of it myself and try not to say "and" now also (only because I thought I must have been taught wrong if TT is telling me it's incorrect).  And when writing checks I try to think how I'm writing it and only use "and" before the change part: three hundred forty five and 00/100.  BTW...I often have to stop and think to make sure I write forty correctly.

 

[ElizaG]

Just noticed that the Khan Academy videos (at least the ones I've looked at) have the "ands."   I don't know if this was done deliberately, with the international audience in mind, or if it's just how he speaks.   But given the popularity of that site among public and parochial schools, my guess is that the war on "and" might be facing some rough days.   

 

I think it would be pretty hard to convince children that this practice is logically incorrect and confusing -- and will make people think you're ignorant! -- while simultaneously having them watch lessons by a very successful MIT math graduate who's using it right there in front of them.

[Laura Corin]

Just noticed that the Khan Academy videos (at least the ones I've looked at) have the "ands."   I don't know if this was done deliberately, with the international audience in mind, or if it's just how he speaks.   But given the popularity of that site among public and parochial schools, my guess is that the war on "and" might be facing some rough days.   

 

I think it would be pretty hard to convince children that this practice is logically incorrect and confusing -- and will make people think you're ignorant! -- while simultaneously having them watch lessons by a very successful MIT math graduate who's using it right there in front of them.

 

Khan's parents are from the Indian subcontinent, where they probably have the British 'and' usage.

 

L

[Arctic Bunny]

Representative of Canada here....

 

Until I read this thread, I didn't know people didn't use "and".

 

Just my two cents to add to the muddy waters.

 

Out of curiosity.... How did the non-and folks say the year 12 years ago?

[Mbelle]

I'm in the US (south) and I had never heard of not using and until the one year we did TT.  Honestly, I found it awkward, then DH was looking at it and he's from Aus and thought the book was wrong.  I made a call to TT and they told me all about it.