I hate using "multiply". Times ftw.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

times is easier to say. who do you honestly know who would say 5 multiplied by 5 equals 25 in a normal conversation. its 5 times 5 is 25.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

'5 times 5 is 25' is fine, 'times' works in that scenario. What OP is talking about is when people are explaining an equation or something and say "...then times each side by 5" (which is simply not grammatically correct) instead of "... then multiply each side by 5."

by Anonymous 12 years ago

@Emperorerror: You just explained exactly what I was about to say!

by Anonymous 12 years ago

instead of times or multiply i prefer to say add by itself number of times so if its 5x5 i say 5+5+5+5+5

by Anonymous 12 years ago

i would imagine that would be troublesome should large numbers arise

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Not only large numbers, but in dealing with exponents as well

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's improper grammar, but it's socially recognized as proper grammar. That makes it okay and as long as you understand what they're saying, there's not a problem. If you go, "What?" when they say times in that way, you must be new, and need to adapt.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

OP wasn't saying that its hard to understand, they were saying that its annoying. Like a pet peeve.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

But I think that's just weird. Then again, I'm annoyed by the word "simply", and there's no justification for that either. Guess I ought to be a bit more sympathetic...empathetic? Christ, school never taught me the right word.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I agree with you. The only problem here is that "times" isn't a verb. Once society accepts that it is a verb, then it becomes a verb. Albeit, I'll never accept "axing a question" as proper. So, yes, I so understand your frustration.

by Anonymous 12 years ago