numbers

Humble   Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:43 pm GMT
Hello,
I wonder if you could explain why it’s in the plural.
<From the start, the Bush administration miscalculated the numbers of troops needed…>

If it were “the number of troops”, would it be a mistake ?
Thank you.
Guest   Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:37 pm GMT
I guess you can go either way -- I prefer just plain "number" in this sentence. Maybe it's different in Canada, UK, NZ, etc.
Guest   Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:50 pm GMT
Most likely because there were more than just one number of troops.

If you need one number for infantry
another number for support
another for special ops
then you have "numbers of troops" and not a number of troops
Humble   Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:48 am GMT
Thanks, guys.