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In mathematics one will often say "This plus that" or "This times that". This means "This added too that" and "This multiplied by that".

Multiply, Add, Subtract, Divide - All are verbs. But what part of speech is "times" or "plus". It's wrong to say "times this by that" or "plus this with that". So they do not seem to be verbs, but they imply an action.

zeel
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    As you will have observed by now, identifying the "part of speech" of a particular word tells you nothing about the grammar, and is always fraught with disagreement, because the usual list of the Classical Eight was developed at about the same time as the Crusades for a different language, and suits modern English somewhat worse than English spelling does. So, whatever you decide, nothing useful has been discovered. However, it may please your teacher. – John Lawler Nov 19 '13 at 00:33
  • Actually, its just helpful when yelling about people for says that they "timesed something" - I can now explain exactly why they are wrong. . . – zeel Nov 19 '13 at 01:23
  • But they weren't wrong. They were just talking like mathemeticians talk (I used to socialize with the editors of Math Reviews). I would hope that you would not yell at people about what they say in English, because that's rude and incorrect behavior. Especially if they're your students and have paid for teaching, not abuse. Most especially if they demonstrate their mastery of mathematics and you put them down about something irrelevant; that's poor practice, in any class. – John Lawler Nov 19 '13 at 16:22
  • Just hyperbole. . . – zeel Nov 19 '13 at 20:19
  • @John Lawler: Don't be surprised if you find this (1st comment above) quoted in many and various arenas. I might even give an attribution. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 19 '13 at 21:26
  • Sorry I spelled mathematicians wrong, then. (But not very) – John Lawler Nov 20 '13 at 00:40
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    @John Lawler: Sorry, the mathematicians managing your annuity funds missed a digit off your last cheque. (But it was only a zero.) – Edwin Ashworth Nov 20 '13 at 22:17

2 Answers2

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M-W defines plus (definition 3, used in addition) as a preposition.

This would make sense if you think of "Three plus four" as "Three added to four."

Alternatively, you could hedge your bets and call the operator a conjunction, which would make sense if you think of "Three plus four" as "Three and four."

rajah9
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    So then "plus" dose not imply an action, instead it implies a relationship. – zeel Nov 18 '13 at 17:31
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    If I say 'Apple pie with custard is nice', 'with' is a preposition. So what if I say 'apple pie and custard' is nice? You might argue that 'and' is a conjunction. Well it would be if you meant that both apple pie and custard in their separate ways were both nice. But then you would have to replace 'is' with 'are'. But what is being said is that apple pie and custard, taken together, is nice. And that makes 'and' into a preposition, I believe. So in 'three and four make seven' 'and' is a preposition, the same as 'plus' in 'three plus four'. – WS2 Nov 18 '13 at 17:46
  • Point taken, @WS2. Out of curiosity, in your flavor of BE, do you say "Two plus two are four" (plural verb) or "Two plus two is four"? – rajah9 Nov 18 '13 at 18:06
  • @zeel, By definition, an equation is saying that the left-hand side is equal to the right-hand side. It is stating a relationship between the two sides. But at the same time, the plus, minus, times, and divides are called "operators." An operation is happening on those numbers or variables, implying an action. – rajah9 Nov 18 '13 at 18:11
  • @rajah9 'I think we say 2 plus two' is four, which is like 'apple pie and custard is nice'. As regards your other point, I do not think that plus, minus etc imply actions, but relationships, as prepositions do. 'Apple pie with custard' does not involve an action, but a relationship between the two words. – WS2 Nov 18 '13 at 18:22
  • @rajah9 I feel sure it has to be 'two plus two is four'. Because pother functions e.g. two times three 'is' six, and four divided by 2 'is' two. Why would 'plus' be different? – WS2 Nov 18 '13 at 20:43
  • If "Car keys and whiskey are trouble" sounds grammatical, then "Car keys plus whiskey are trouble" (plural verb) sounds grammatical also. (I am trying to get a feel for the linguistics by substituting different nouns for the numbers.) In this (admittedly contrived) sentence, "plus" acts more like a conjunction than a preposition. However, if I say, "Two plus three is five," (singular verb) it behaves more like a math statement than an English sentence. The "is" acts as an equals sign, caring neither that the number on the right is more than one nor that there were two numbers on the left. – rajah9 Nov 18 '13 at 21:14
  • @rajah9 The term 'operator' has vastly different meanings in maths and generative grammar (In generative grammar, the technical term operator denotes a type of expression that enters into an a-bar movement dependency). When discussing the language used in maths, it is necessary to define terms to disambiguate. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 18 '13 at 21:54
  • And one could also model 'five plus four' on 'five add four' and call plus a marginal verb. Similarly with 'five minus/take' four. When examining the role of 'minus', it may be showing a transformation (five reduced by four) or a static relation, difference (the gap between five and four). These are verbal and prepositional (comparison; 1 bigger than 4) characteristics respectively. I'd leave plus and minus as hybrid terms. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 18 '13 at 22:17
  • @EdwinAshworth, I've been playing catch-up with your generative grammar link. Yes, I'm using "plus, minus, times, divide" as math operators. (Of note is the linguistic sentential operator "not," which appears to have roughly the same function as the (unary) negative math operator (as in "-5").) – rajah9 Nov 19 '13 at 15:03
  • @EdwinAshworth, could you tell me more about marginal verbs? I only found marginal auxiliary verbs at http://awelu.srv.lu.se/grammar-and-words/selective-mini-grammar/verb-phrases/marginal-auxiliary-verbs/. And if "two plus three" is undergoing linguistic transformation, could you briefly describe the transformation? And is the use of math operators defective, in the same sense that "to rain" is a defective verb? – rajah9 Nov 19 '13 at 15:07
  • @rajah9: Sorry, I'm not disambiguating clearly now: transformation in the maths sense. 7 is (7-4) larger than 4, static maths relation. A worm is (7-4) cm long after being attacked by a bird, maths transformation. 7 - 4 = 3 describes both. // & I'm using 'marginal' in the sense of 'not behaving as a typical [verb here], but hard to classify in any other way' as it is used with 'marginal adjectives'. 'Marginal adjective' is a collocation; 'marginal verb' isn't. Overall, I'm just saying that classifying 'plus', 'minus' and perhaps 'times' logically and unequivocally is far from easy. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 19 '13 at 21:10
  • I would upvote this if the last line is removed (suggesting conjunction). As a mathematician, I would certainly not consider "three and four" to be a linguistically correct way of expressing addition (even if that abuse is seen in some elementary schools). The preposition seems unquestionably the correct answer. – Daniel R. Collins Jan 29 '16 at 17:28
  • Not that ngram closed any arguments, Daniel, but please take a look at this graph: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=two+and+two%2Ctwo+plus+two&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Ctwo%20and%20two%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Ctwo%20plus%20two%3B%2Cc0 . "Two plus two" didn't arrive on the scene until after 1900. However, "two and two" has endured. – rajah9 Jan 29 '16 at 23:45
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    @DanielR.Collins I'm not sure why "As a mathematician" you could consider "three and four" to be linguistically incorrect. Yes, it is still done in elementary schools, but it is hardly an abuse. You may as well heap scorn on Danny Kaye and Sesame Street for the Inchworm song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchworm_(song). Let's sing it together... "Two and two are four / Four and four are eight" – rajah9 Jan 29 '16 at 23:50
  • Ironically, Oxford Dictionary considers "plus" a preposition and "times" an informal verb! I would think that either "times 4" (= multiplied by 4) in "3 times 4" is a prepositional phrase or "3 times" (= thrice) is an adjectival phrase. – Andy Apr 02 '17 at 18:54
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If I say 'Jelly with ice-cream is nice', it seems to follow the same structure as 'One plus two equals three'.

So in the sentence 'One plus two equals three', 'One plus two' I would have said was a subject clause, 'equals' is the verb, and 'three' is the predicate.

Therefore in the context 'plus' seems to me to be a preposition, equivalent to 'with' in 'jelly with ice-cream'.

WS2
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  • But if we consider 'one add / plus two (equals)' to be a shortened form of '(when) two is added to one (the result is)', we can draw up different equivalences. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 19 '13 at 21:18