percent
part of speech
noun (percent — plural same); adjective and adverb (percent); also per cent (UK)
meaning for a pupil
Out of every hundred; a part of 100. The sign is %. «50 percent» means 50 out of 100, which is a half. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: percentages are fractions with a denominator of 100: 25% = 25/100 = 1/4 = 0.25; 100% is the whole; 10% of 60 is 6. In everyday life: sales («20 percent off»), battery levels, test scores, weather («80 percent chance of rain»). Phrases: «percent of», «a hundred percent» (completely), «percent off».
examples
- Fifty percent of 20 is 10. tree →
- The shop has 30 percent off all toys. tree →
- My tablet battery is at 15 percent. tree →
- There's a 70 percent chance of rain tomorrow. tree →
- She got 90 percent on the spelling test. tree →
- I'm a hundred percent sure! tree →
- Ten percent of the class walk to school. tree →
note
Spelled «percent» (US, Canada, Australia often) or «per cent» (UK, Ireland, NZ). Plural stays «percent»: «20 percent», not «20 percents». The noun «percentage» is used without a number: «a large percentage». Maths: to find x% of a number, multiply by x and divide by 100. More than 100% is possible when something grows (e.g. 200% = twice as much). 50% off makes the price half; it does not take away 50 pounds or dollars.
In the corpora
- There is no "change 30 percent and it's yours" rule; what matters is whether the original can still be recognised.
- A Komodo dragon can eat up to about 80 percent of its own weight in one meal and then wait weeks.
- About 8 percent of human DNA is made of bits of old viruses that got into our ancestors long ago.
- More than 99 percent of all species that ever lived are extinct, but today they vanish much faster than normal because of people.
- In US restaurants people usually leave a tip of about 15 to 20 percent, because it is part of the waiter's pay.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «percent» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.