Norman Werling wrote:
> The subject is my height.
>
> In English, I would say this "one point eighty metres". Right?
I would hope not. You would say one point eight meters, or one point eight
oh meters, or one point eight zero meters, or one hundred and eighty
centimeters.
Words like twenty, thirty, ... eighty and ninety are strictly reserved for
the left side of the decimal point. Eighty is ten times eight. Point eighty
sounds like ten times point eight, which of course would be eight. On the
other hand, point eight oh is one position more precise than point eight,
although nominally equal to it.
Colloquially, one can say one meter eighty (just as one can say a dollar
eighty). In the first case, centimeters is implied; in the second case,
cents is implied.
> The question is how to say it. Would I say "un virgule
> quatre-vingt m�tres"
That would be mathematically wrong (see above). You can say un m�tre
quatre-vingt, which is colloquial but correct, and somewhat less lugubrious
than un virgule huit z�ro m�tre.
One can also, of course, say cent quatre-vingt centim�tres (180 cm).
> or "une pointe quatre-vingt m�tres"?
That would be grammatically and mathematically wrong (see comments, above,
on English version). M�tre (which is what the indefinite article is
referring to) is masculine.
> or "un m�tre quartre-vingt" or "un
> m�tre quatre-vingt centim�tres"?
See above.
Bill Potts, CMS
Roseville, CA
http://metric1.org [SI Navigator]
