Dozen, hundred, thousand vs dozens, hundreds, thousands

Question

I have read that dozen, hundred, thousand etc. have no -s and of when they are used after a numerical, a few or several : Three dozen eggs. A few hundred times, Several thousand years. But with some and many, they take -s, and of is used : Some/many dozens of mangoes.

There are some similar questions in this form but they don't clarify the following, particularly my 2nd question.

"Three dozen eggs" is correct; but "three dozen of eggs" is not correct. Why?
"Some/many dozens of eggs" is correct; but "A few/several dozens of eggs" is incorrect.

Why? I am really confused. Could anyone of you please clarify my queries with brief & precise grammatical explanation.

Does this answer your question? "Four dozen" or "Four dozens" — ColleenV, Apr 30 '20 at 13:02
In #2, I would not say that "some/many dozens of eggs" is correct. Understandable, but does not sound natural. — Justin, Apr 30 '20 at 13:06
Does this answer your question? Why is there no plural 's' after "hundred" or "thousand" in cardinal numbers? — JavaLatte, Apr 30 '20 at 13:08
Your called out question in the second paragraph is misleading. Neither three dozen* of eggs* nor three dozens* of eggs* is grammatical. You also seem to be asking several different questions. Or at least it's not clear what specific question you are asking. I would focus on a single thing with a single example. — Jason Bassford, Apr 30 '20 at 16:22

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 30 '20 at 16:41

Collins Dictionary says: The plural form is dozen after a number, or after a word or expression referring to a number, such as 'several' or 'a few'.

We usually use dozen without of unless the 12 items are being selected from a particular group - a dozen eggs, but a dozen of your freshest eggs. There's no use asking why; that's just the way it is.

We say dozens of meaning a lot. I think many dozens of mangoes implies an indeterminate number, but for a specific number we would say ten dozen mangoes.

Thank you, @Kate Bunting. Your valuable opinion is appreciated. — Sandip Kumar Mandal, May 02 '20 at 03:11

Dozen, hundred, thousand vs dozens, hundreds, thousands

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