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title: Which number counts? Hyperbole and real numbers in maths — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics
description: «Which number counts? Hyperbole and real numbers in maths», a lesson of the language course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Word problems and real life are full of numbers, but not every number is there to be counted.
---

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# Which number counts? Hyperbole and real numbers in maths

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Lesson 46 of the language course of Mova's primary school: 12 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/).

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- [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/0/) — Word problems and real life are full of numbers, but not every number is there to be counted.
- [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/1/) — «Tom has told his brother a hundred times to tidy up.
- [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/2/) — His brother tidies 3 shelves with 4 books on each» asks about books, and only 3 and 4 are about books.
- [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/4/) — A fake number is round and huge and comes inside a moan or a boast: «a million miles», «a thousand sweets», «a hundred things to do».
- [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/6/) — And when someone corrects themselves — «like a million people, well, thirty» — the last real number is the one that counts.
- [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/7/) — So before you calculate, ask: which numbers are about the thing the question asks, and which are just feelings?
- [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/8/) — In a word problem, use only the numbers that are about the thing asked; «told his brother a hundred times» is decoration, and 3 shelves × 4 books = 12 books.
- [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/9/) — «Sara walked a million miles round the shops» means she walked a long way and is tired; her 2 bags × 5 apples = 10 apples.
- [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/10/) — What you can count beats what someone says: if Ben says «I've got like a thousand sweets» and empties 14 onto the table, sharing with Ama gives 7 each.
- [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/16/) — «We walked for miles and miles» is a feeling; «We walked about three kilometres» is a measurement, and in a maths answer you use the measurement.
- [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/17/) — When someone corrects themselves, the last real number counts: «like a million people, well, thirty» means 30.
- [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/46-which-number-counts-hyperbole-and-real-numbers-in-maths/18/) — Exact numbers with units from a teacher or a book (Everest is 8,849 metres high) are real; round huge numbers in a moan («that hill's a thousand miles high») are not.

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