| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| times more, times less |
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| are both idiomatic and hence need not be restrained by mathematical logic, which sometimes argues that two times more is possible but two times less is not. Both are possible in natural language, and both are Standard in American English. So too is the formulaic use of either a singular or a plural verb with multiplication: Six times two is [are] twelve. The singular seems more common in mathematical writing generally, but laypeople seem to use either, perhaps relying most on the form of the second number in the statement: Six times one is six. Six ones are six. See also TWO PLUS TWO. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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