Is “10 pounds heavy” correct? Can we also say “she is 150 pounds heavy”?

No. "It weighs 10 lbs/4.5kg" is fine "It's *x amount* heavy" is not typical usage for native speakers. The book is wrong.

Both of these sound weird to my American ears. They make sense, but they're unnatural. You'd be much more likely to say "It weighs 10 pounds" or "simply "it's 10 pounds".

In my neck of the woods (northeastern USA), no one would say this. Can’t speak for other regions

I’ve never heard or said that something is “10 pounds heavy.” I would say “It weighs 10 pounds” or just “It’s 10 pounds.”  Similarly, the second example would be “She weighs 150 pounds” or “She is 150 pounds.” (Native English speaker— United States)

You could say “10 pounds in weight”. What they have in the book is wrong, as you suspected.

No, "10 pounds heavy" is not grammatically correct. The correct way to say it is: * "It's 10 pounds." (This implies it weighs 10 pounds) * "It weighs 10 pounds." * "It's heavy." (If you just want to state it's heavy without specifying the weight) You would not combine "10 pounds" and "heavy" in that way.

Never heard a native speaker say this. The rest are fine, but no one says "it's \[amount\] heavy." People *do* say "it's \[amount\] tall," which is the same idea, so it's not consistent, but this is not a normal usage.

10 lbs heavy would apply if it was 10 lbs overweight. "This shipment is 10 lbs heavy"

I wouldn't use heavy here. You can even just say "It's 10 pounds", you don't need an adjective at all.

I understand 'it's x feet deep/x meters tall/X YEARS YOUNG' but this one I ain't heard before. I wouldn't be like 'HUHUHHH???' if someone threw it at me unexpectedly, I wouldn't even *register* it as incorrect, but I do believe it's grammatically incorrect.

I have never heard this in my life, it's either "it weighs 10 pounds" or "it is ten pounds".

Brit here and this still sounds really weird

It doesn't sound right to me. I would say "it weighs 10 pounds" or "she weighs 150 pounds".

Definitely no need to add ‘heavy’ - the fact that it’s in pounds tells you that we are dealing with weight. Same for temperature: ‘32 degrees’ is enough, we don’t add warm/cold at the end. For dimensions it’s perfectly normal to add high/wide/long etc since the unit doesn’t include the measured direction.

The only time I would use this phrasing is if I was saying it as part of a relative comparison: For example: "Sir, your bag is too heavy. We restrict on-flight bags to 40 lbs" "Oh, how much is it over?" "It's about 10 pounds heavy." "Oh, well if it's only 10 pounds over, could I just pay a small feel? I don't want to throw out any of my souvenirs."

Ok sentences: It's heavy. It's 10 pounds. It's 10 pounds too heavy. Not OK sentence: It's 10 pounds heavy. The pattern is ok with years old: I'm 35 years old. I could see some highly contextual situations where you are clarifying that the pattern could work. A: Is heavy. B: Like 10 pounds heavy, or like 100 pounds heavy? But those statements would never be said in isolation and need context to make sense.

The only context were that use of "heavy" makes sense is when it is intended to be short for "heavier than expected / desired / usual". "This 10 pound bag of flour is 2 pounds heavy \[2 pounds heavier than it should be, ergo 12 pounds\]." If your F1 race car is 50 pounds heavy, you need to figure out how to shed some weight so that it doesn't get disqualified. If you told a woman that she was "150 pounds heavy", I think you would be inviting violence.

that's not typical usage, but I wouldn't think it strange if someone said that. you'd normally just say 'it's 10 pounds', or 'it weighs 10 pounds'. But it's understandable why they think that because many other forms of measurement do use some kind of specifying adjective, i.e. 'an hour later/long/earlier', '10 feet wide/tall/deep/etc', 'a mile away/wide'. But weight only really has one way of interpreting it, so it doesn't need the specifier.

People will understand what you mean, but it sounds weird. "It weighs 10 pounds" would be the common way of saying it.

No one English would say this.

Normalize include the book’s name pls

Not to further confuse things, but for any type of technical or scientific communication, kg is a measure of mass (the amount of matter in an object), not weight. Pounds are a measure of weight (the force of gravity on an object). People will generally know what you mean if you say something weighs x kg, but I just wanted to point out that this is technically incorrect if you’re in a situation where specificity matters. The correct phrasing would be “the mass of something is x kg.” And for either unit of measurement, “something is x kg/pounds heavy” is not correct.

You don't need to add the adjective heavy. Either: 10 pounds or 10 pound weight

Saying "it's 10 pounds" here would have people saying "it's not for sale?"

US native speaker here, and i’m going to disagree slightly. this isn’t exactly wrong or ungrammatical, it just sounds very childish. this is the kind of thing that a 5 year old would say. you could say that it’s a mistake that children make by analogizing similar structures like “5 feet tall” or “30 minutes long”, or you could say that it’s just a childish form of speech that adults would basically never use. also, as others have noted, this can be used to mean that something is over a limit. “i checked my bag at the airport but it was 5 pounds heavy so i was charged a fee” doesn’t mean that the bag weighs 5 pounds, it means it weighs 5 pounds too much (ie 45 pounds, since the weight limit for bags on US flights is 40lbs)

It's could be correct in a poem or a song lyric. But it's not correct in typical everyday usage.

No, this sounds like it was written by a non-native speaker. The correct phrase is “It weighs 10 pounds”.

Englishman here, no. “It weighs 4.5kg” or “it’s 4.5kg” are fine. 

No. It’s not correct, and there’s actually a chance that you would misunderstood, especially if you were talking about a human. The person you were talking to might think you were saying “this person or object *weighs* this amount *and* I think that amount is heavy/is a large weight.” You say “it wighs 10 lbs,” or “its weight is 10 lbs,” or even “it is 10 lbs.” (“Lbs” is the abbreviation for “pounds.” Please do not use the “pound key,” also know as the “hashtag symbol,” although you may *very* occasionally see that done by a very small and specific slice of the population, typically but not limited to people born in the 50’s or 60’s who have less formal education.) I realize that “it is X lbs” might sound confusing, since we describe age similarly. That’s why you *must* always say the unit (pounds, kilograms, ounces, tons (American spelling), etc.)

Talking about distance, we’d have to say either “10 meters long” or “10 meters wide” because simply “10 meters” is confusing… is it length or width? Talking about weight, it’s simply “10 pounds,” with no reason to specify further that we’re talking about its heaviness.

Just to add to everything else, nope. I wouldn’t say it. The only difference is in in British English you might say ‘ten pounds in weight’ to differentiate it from ten pounds in money.

Native speakers imply the, "heavy." A sentence meaning the same thing would be. "She is 150 pounds." Or, "I am roughly 200 pounds." That's American Shorthand at least. I can't speak for British English or Aussie. Common slang also changes from region to region. Relatively common slang to describe a person's body weight in my region might go like, "I'm (I am) about a buck fifty." "about a buck fifty," in this context meaning the subject weighs roughly one hundred fifty pounds. Unrelated: It's worth noting that in some academic/technical dialects, (specialized terms as applied to a trade or area of study not used in common speach but still considered proper language and not slang) when speaking numbers in regards to raw math or values aloud, saying "and," can imply a decimal. For example, "one hundred fifty," spoken out loud would translate numerically to 100. "One hundred and fifty,"would translate numerically to 100.50. Binis fun fact: This actually changes when using older dialects of or certain translations to English grammar. For example, the book, "1001 Arabian Nights," contains a line involving a large building with, "four and twenty windows." This building described has 24 windows. That was originally translated in 1704.

Canadian native English speaker here. At least in the dialect I speak, this is wrong.

The only time where I can see using the phrase 10 pounds heavy, is if you are weighing something to a precise measurement and you've gone over the weight limit. For example your checked baggage at the airport can only weigh 50 pounds, but you over packed it with souvenirs from your trip. The baggage checker might say "your bag is 10 pounds heavy" meaning it is 10 pounds over the maximum weight. But this isn't too common.

I'm from the South West of the UK and have heard "it's x kilogrammes heavy." I do still agree that "heavy" in this context is redundant, but will say that it (for me, and fairly infrequently) comes up in conversation people are not directly responding to the question such as "how much does it weight?" I hear it when offering a response to a question where the 'weight' is an answer to a question but 'weight' in general is not the only answer. For instance: "Why did it do that much damage when falling?" "Well it was 10 kilogrammes heavy" Or "It's there something to be careful of when moving this item?" "It's 5 kilos heavy. Be careful "

The only way that phrase could work is in the context of saying something is 10lb more than it should be. As in “This bag that’s supposed to be 50 pounds actually weighs 60 pounds. It’s 10 pounds heavy”.

This is correct in some contexts, like exceeding a limit. For instance if you were sending a package and the weight limit for a package that size was 20 pounds but your package was 30 pounds you could say it was "10 pounds heavy" to indicate that it's over the limit by 10 pounds.

The book is correct. But it's not giving the proper explanation. If I say "the suitcase is 10 pounds heavy", it means it ten pounds *too heavy*, not that it weighs If you told a woman she was 150 pounds heavy, you're saying she needs to lose 150 pounds. Which might be true in a conversation, but would definitely be rude. This same thing applies for many adjectives, you can drop the "too" and the meaning doesn't change. For example, if you're watching a soccer match, and someone misses a shot, you could say "the ball sailed ten feet wide". Or "ten feet high" if it sailed high above the net. If a bartender makes you a drink, you might take a sip and say "it's a bit too strong", but you could also simply say "its a bit strong"

The phrase "It's 20 pounds heavy" can only refer to a situation where a package or load should weigh X pounds, but this particular load is overweight by ten pounds. A native could say "Each basket should weigh 50 pounds. These three are ten pounds heavy." Or "This bag of sugar is three ounces light." From your title, if you refer to a woman as 150 pounds heavy, you would be saying she is 150 pounds overweight.

Colloquially, I would say "It is ten pounds over" instead, meaning it is ten pounds heavier than expected or allowed. "Ten pounds heavy" works for that purpose as well. "She is 150 pounds heavy" also works, but it would be unkind and probably unwise to say within earshot of her.

Book is dead wrong

**10 pounds heavy** is unusual and doesn't mean what the book suggests. To be 10 pounds heavy is to be 10 pounds more than you're supposed to be. >At the weigh-in, the wrestler was 1 pound heavy. Meaning, the wrestler was overweight for the competition - which would lead to disqualification. >I was disqualified because I was 1 pound heavy. Can you believe it? Just one pound.

I've never heard that form before, and it would sound very strange for someone to say it. I would say "it weighs 10 pounds" or "it is 10 pounds."

Im not gonna lie, I feel like I’ve said “it’s 10 lbs heavy” before. I can’t really explain why, but I’ve definitely said it.

Not even a little bit, LOL. She weighs 150 lbs, or she is 150 lbs. Nobody would ever say ‘she is 150 lbs heavy.’

it might be a dialect thing. where was the book published?

You only add 'heavy' at the end when you want to express something is too heavy. "She is 10kilos heavy." == "She should lose 10 kilos of weight."

not sure if it's actually grammatically incorrect, but it definitely sounds strange and is never used by native speakers.

This way of phrasing reminds me of physics books in my native language (German), which need to differenciate between mass and weight and sometimes add extra words for clarity. Might that be the case here?

That isn't how a typical native US English speaker would say it. It would be either: "It weighs 10 pounds." or "It's 10 pounds in weight." or even: "It's 10 pounds."

Drop the heavy, and you will be all light...

"10 pounds heavy" tells me that the expected/allowed weight is X lbs, but it is currently X + 10 lbs.

Saying something is “10 pounds heavy” to me implies that it’s 10 pounds *too* heavy over a limit, which would usually be said as “10 pounds *too* heavy.” If you’re talking about the weight of something, it would either be “it weighs 10 pounds” or “it is 10 pounds.”

I've only heard the phrase "x pounds heavy" when reading about shipping cargo. It's not a phrase in daily circulation for most people. And even in the context of shipping, you're more likely to hear "x pounds overweight/over limit" than "x pounds heavy."

Just say 10 pounds or if you’re studying British English say it’s 4.5 kilograms.

hi what is name of this book? is it handbook or normal

Could you share the name of this book? Thanks 🙂

Where I'm from "10 pounds heavy" means that something weighs 10 pounds too much. You could also say "10 pounds too heavy." It also works with its antonym: "10 pounds light" means that the weight is 10 pounds under the goal.

You can say something is 10 pounds *heavier* than something else. But I've never heard just "10 pounds heavy".

"10 pounds heavy" is technically not wrong, but it is an odd way to phrase things. I think most people would understand. That said, please NEVER say "she is X pounds heavy", in that usage you would be calling her fat, which is generally considered an insult. Just say "She is about X pounds", or "she weighs about X pounds", "her weight is X pounds", etc. It is understood you are talking about weight even if you don't say it.

If you can, just cut through all the crosstalk about why this sentence is potentially reasonable. The bottom line is nobody speaks like this, nobody says this.

"How heavy is your backpack?" "It weighs 10 lbs."

Heavy is an adjective, something is heavy or light but it isn’t “x units of weight” heavy or light. However you do use “heavier/lighter” when comparing weights of things.

In some contexts and it's more colloquial than correct. If something is 10 pounds heavier than it should be you can say it's 10 pounds heavy, it's a shortening of 10 pounds too heavy.

It sounds consistent with, "He's six feet tall," but I've never heard that usage before.

What's that book called? :)

We *can*. But why would we want to?

I would almost always say "She is 150 pounds," or, more formally, "She weighs 150 pounds."

We might be overlooking that you can say "it's ten pounds *too* heavy" if you're discussing a weight limit. Like if you're checking a bag at the airport and it's overweight.

As others have said, it's not natural for a native speaker. Heavy implies that the items is loaded, like a water bottle that weighs 1lb (light) and carries 9lb of water would weigh 10lbs heavy, but no one would put it that way in normal conversation.

Not regular syntax for English, do not imitate this example. There is an uncommon vernacular usage, for the sake of completeness. Specifically when dealing with weight *requirements,* you may sometimes hear, “This is 10 pounds heavy,” meaning it is *too* heavy by 10 pounds. Bad news when you put a carton on a shipping scale. Analogously, something or someone can be “10 pounds light” in the sense of being underweight by 10 pounds. Again, a bad thing to hear when you thought you had 50 pounds of potatoes in a sack. I’ve heard and also used these constructions, but if you do so on a test you’ll be marked wrong. It is *not* ordinary English.

In England you would say something weighs 10lb or 4.5kg.

i definitely heard this as a child so it doesn't bother me. we just dont say it

No. "He/she/it weighs 150lbs" would be correct. Adding heavy makes it sound like they are over a specified weight. For instance, your luggage needs to weight 50lbs, but it weights 60lbs, so it is 10lbs heavy, since it exceeds the required weight by 10lbs.

I see what they’re trying to say, but this English is not natural. It’s better to say: - “This weighs 10 pounds.” - “She weighs 150 pounds.”

On another note "How long / high / wide / deep / big around ***does it measure***" is also not correct, at least in the US. You would only ever say something like "how big is it?" and never "how big does it measure?"

Measures of length (inches, meters, etc) usually have a direction modifier after them because they can refer to different dimensions. Something that’s a mile long is clearly different from something that’s a mile tall. However, some other quantities, like speed and weight, are dimensionless, and therefore have no modifier. It’s pointless to say “10 pounds heavy” because pounds only ever refers to one thing - weight.

no one says this. your book is wrong lol. "It's 4.5kg" OR "It weighs 4.5kg" is the common way

Height, weight, length, width… these are all measurable quantities. Heavy is a relative term. Ten pounds heavy is wrong.

10 lbs in weight.

who be writing these textbooks 🥀

"It weighs 10 pounds" or "It has 4.5kg of mass." You could say "it has 10 pounds of weight" also, but that isn't a common way to phrase it.

I’ve heard that many times for sure

The only context in which you might hear someone say "It's ten pounds heavy" is when someone is indicating that it is 10 pounds *over* a weight limit. In that case, they are implying there is a "too" before heavy.

If you say “She is [X] pounds heavy” you’ll get punched in the face. It weighs [x] pounds is proper

No, we would never say it that way (at least in standard Canadian English). We would say either "it weighs 10 pounds" or just "it's 10 pounds." Pounds are units of weight so there's no further need to specify.  However, I would use "heavier" or "lighter" after pounds if I'm making a comparison (ex. "This bag 10 pounds heavier than that bag.") 

People rarely add “heavy.” Instead say it/he/she weighs ___ lbs/kgs. If using they, use singular. They weigh __ lbs/kgs

"She" in English is a subject pronoun reserved for a person. So, saying "she is 150 pounds heavy" is going to get you *slapped hard*, my dude.

Natural: It weighs 4 kilograms. Its weight is 4 kilograms. It's 4 kilograms. Awkward: It's 4 kilograms heavy It's 4 kilograms in weight

This definitely sounds strange. I would say "It weighs 10 pounds/4.5 kilograms" instead. If I heard "it's 10 pounds heavy", I would have to think for a second and would assume it was 10 pounds *heavier* than it's normal weight.

You wouldn’t say it like that here in the UK. I’d understand, but assume English is not your first language.

I _do_ know “10 pounds heavy”, but _only_ in the meaning “10 pounds _too_ heavy”, i.e. “10 pounds above the limit”. It really has to be in a very clear context to be understandable. I found several examples on sites that look like native speakers, all related to weightlifting or boxing, [for example this one](https://www.elitefts.com/education/nutrition/a-powerlifters-guide-to-making-weight/): > Body weight can fluctuate from day to day. Think of it this way—one gallon of water weighs eight pounds. So hypothetically speaking, if you drank one gallon of water, did not urinate or lose water by sweating, and then stepped on a scale, you would be eight pounds heavy.

It's not technically wrong, but it sounds *very* weird.

You’d never use it to describe the total weight of something, but “10 pounds heavy” is correct in one specific circumstance: when you’re describing something (or someone) that is over some specified weight limit. It means “10 pounds *too* heavy”, or 10 pounds over that limit, whatever the total weight might be.

This is a really odd sentence. I'd just say "it weighs 10 lbs"