Page 397 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

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billion
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A billion is a thousand million. (But in older British usage a billion was a million million.)
five hundred etc without -s
After a number, the words dozen, hundred, thousand, million and billion have no final -s, and of is not used. This also happens after several and a few. Compare:
- Jive hundred pounds - a few miUion years
hundreds ofpounds millions ofyears - several thousand times
It cost thousa,rds.
Singular forms are used as modifiers before nouns in plural measuring expressions.
a Jive-pound note (NOT tl five I'(Jl;tntls Nate)
a three-mile walk a four-foot deep hole six two-hour lessons a six-foot tall man
a three-month-old baby
In an informal style, we often use foot instead of feet in other structures, especially when we talk about people's heights.
My father'S just over six foot two.
For the use of be in measurements, see 92.
For the use of possessive forms in expressions of time (e.g. ten minllles' walk; four cklys'journey), see 440-444.
British money (pre-euro)
There are 100 pence in a pound. Sums of money are named as follows: Ip one penny (informal one p (/pi:j) or a penny)
5p five pence (informal five p)
£3.75 three pounds seventy-five (pence) OR three pounds and seventy-five
pence (more formal)
Some people now use the plural pence as a singular in informal speech; pound is sometimes used informally as a plural.
That's two pounds and one pence, please.
It cost me eight pound fifty.
Singular forms are used in expressions like a five-pound note (see above). However, pence is often used instead of penny (a five pence stamp).
American money
There are 100 cents (¢) in a dollar ($). One-cent coins are called pennies; five-cent coins are nickeLs; ten-cent coins are dimes; a twenty-five cent coin is a quarter.
non-metric measures
In recent years, Britain has adopted some metric measurement units, but non- metric measures are still quite widely used. America uses mainly non-metric
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units. Approximate values are as follows:
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