Meaning & use
seventy
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Meanings
number
The number 70, which is seven times ten.
Grammar: Used before a noun: seventy students. It can also stand alone: seventy were invited.
Patterns
- seventy + plural noun
- seventy of + plural noun
There are seventy seats in the auditorium.
She scored seventy on the test.
Seventy people came to the party.
numberplural
The years from 70 to 79 in a particular century or period of life.
Grammar: Often written as the seventies or the '70s.
Patterns
- the seventies
- in the seventies
The band was popular in the seventies.
My grandfather is in his seventies.
The temperature reached the seventies yesterday.
Common combinations
- seventy percent
- Seventy percent of the students passed the exam.
- seventy years old
- My grandmother is seventy years old.
- seventy miles per hour
- The speed limit is seventy miles per hour on this highway.
Word family
- seventieth adjective
- Coming after sixty-ninth and before seventy-first.
Commonly confused: seventy or seventeen?
seventy vs seventeen
Seventeen is 17, while seventy is 70. Pay attention to the ending: -teen vs -ty.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
Seventy is used with a plural noun: seventy students. Option A uses a singular noun, C uses the wrong form, and D confuses seventeen (17) with seventy (70).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “seventy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.