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Half

A half is one of two equal parts of something:

  • Half an orange.

The plural of half is halves, pronounced /hɑ:vz/:

  • She cut it into two halves.

Half in noun phrases​

We can use half and half of before nouns with the definite article (the), possessives (my, your) and demonstratives (this, that):

  • We spent half the time talking. It was an absolute waste of time for all of us.
  • Why don’t you have half my chocolate?
  • At least half of those books can be sold.

Half of, not half, can occur with a pronoun as head of the noun phrase:

  • Almost half of us were not allowed to vote. It was completely unfair.

Half, not half of, is used in the pattern half a/an and is followed by a noun of measurement:

  • It’s at least half a kilometre to those shops.
  • Not: … half of a kilometre … or … half kilometre …
  • It’ll take me half an hour so I’ll see you at the club.
  • Not: … half of an hour … or … half hour …

Half as an adverb​

We can use half as an adverb which means ‘not completely’, ‘partly’:

  • She’s half French and half Algerian.
  • The theatre wasn’t even half full.
  • She is not half as clever as her sister.

Half as a noun​

  • It took them a day and a half to reach the top of the mountain.
  • He’s lecturing on English painting in the first half of the nineteenth century.
  • It looks like it’s broken but we should be able to glue the two halves together.

Half as an adjective​

  • They’re offering the flowers for almost half price.
  • Children under sixteen can travel half fare on trains.