Meaning & use
a tenth
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Meanings
phrasesingular
One of ten equal parts of something; the fraction 1/10.
Grammar: Usually followed by 'of' and a plural noun or an uncountable noun: a tenth of the money.
Patterns
- a tenth of something
A tenth of the students were absent that day.
She gave a tenth of her salary to the charity.
The price rose by a tenth in just one month.
phrasesingular
The person or thing that comes after the ninth in a series or competition.
Grammar: Takes 'the', not 'a': he was the tenth to arrive, not 'a tenth to arrive'.
Patterns
- the tenth to do something
- the tenth of the month
He was the tenth runner to cross the line.
The tenth of May is her birthday.
Common combinations
- a tenth of
- A tenth of the class missed the test.
- about a tenth
- About a tenth of the land is still unused.
- one tenth
- One tenth is the same as ten percent.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ten percent
- Means the same amount but is used in everyday talk about money and statistics rather than in fractions.
- one in ten
- Describes the same share but counts individual items, so it often sounds more concrete.
Word family
Commonly confused: a tenth or tenth?
a tenth vs tenth
Without 'a', 'tenth' is an adjective or an ordinal number: the tenth page. Add 'a' only when you mean a share or amount.
Practice
A tenth ___ the money was spent on food.
Choose one answer.
Fractions take 'of' before the thing being divided: a tenth of the money. 'From' would suggest a source, and 'in' or 'for' do not fit the pattern for parts of a whole.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a tenth”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.