7.6 Quantities

Some grammatical points

When asking for a quantity "of" something in German, the word for "of" is omitted.

Note too that even following numerals greater than one, masculine and neuter nouns of weight, measurement or value must remain in the singular:

Feminine nouns of quantity do take the plural form however:

Feminine nouns for currencies remain singular however. Thus the former German currency "die Mark" never took a plural ending - i.e. "zwanzig Mark", "drei Mark 50". 

German weights and measures

German uses the metric system and the basic unit of weight is the gram - das Gramm - which equates to 0.0353 ounces. One ounce equals 28 Gramm. Note again here that the quantity is singular in German wheras we would say 28 grams in English.

 

The pound - das Pfund - is also used in German-speaking countries, but note that a German pound is slightly heavier than an English pound. One Pfund is equal to 500 Gramm, wheras one English pound equates to 454 grams.