diff --git a/lib/elapsed_time/numeric.rb b/lib/elapsed_time/numeric.rb
index 26a4a10..c8906da 100644
--- a/lib/elapsed_time/numeric.rb
+++ b/lib/elapsed_time/numeric.rb
@@ -6,34 +6,45 @@ module NumericMethods
     #    => "20 minutes and 34 seconds"
     #    123456.to_elapsed_seconds
     #    => "1 day, 10 hours, 17 minutes and 36 seconds"
-    def to_elapsed_seconds
-      return '' if zero?
+    def to_elapsed_time(options = {})
+      unit = options[:unit] || :second
+      units = {:day => :day, :hour => :hour, :minute => :minute, :second => :second}
+      units.merge!(options[:units]) if options[:units] 
+
+      return options[:include_zero] ? enumerate(unit, true) : '' if zero?
+
       minutes,seconds = divmod(60)
       hours,minutes = minutes.divmod(60)
       days,hours = hours.divmod(24)
-      [ days.enumerate(:day), hours.enumerate(:hour), minutes.enumerate(:minute), seconds.enumerate(:second) ].compact.to_sentence :last_word_connector => I18n.translate('support.array.two_words_connector')
-    end
 
-    def to_elapsed_minutes
-      return '' if zero?
-      minutes.to_elapsed_seconds
+      [
+        days.enumerate(units[:day], options[:include_zero]),
+        hours.enumerate(units[:hour], options[:include_zero]),
+        minutes.enumerate(units[:minute], options[:include_zero]),
+        seconds.enumerate(units[:second], options[:include_zero])
+      ].compact.to_sentence :last_word_connector => I18n.translate('support.array.two_words_connector')
     end
+    alias_method :to_elapsed_seconds, :to_elapsed_time
 
-    def to_elapsed_hours
-      return '' if zero?
-      hours.to_elapsed_seconds
+    def to_elapsed_minutes(options = {})
+      minutes.to_elapsed_time(options.merge(:unit => :minute))
     end
 
-    def to_elapsed_days
-      return '' if zero?
-      days.to_elapsed_seconds
+    def to_elapsed_hours(options = {})
+      hours.to_elapsed_time(options.merge(:unit => :hour))
     end
 
-    # alias for legacy compatability
-    alias_method :to_elapsed_time, :to_elapsed_seconds
+    def to_elapsed_days(options = {})
+      days.to_elapsed_time(options.merge(:unit => :day))
+    end
 
-    def enumerate(type)
-      I18n.translate(type, :scope => 'datetime.units', :count => self) unless zero?
+    def enumerate(type, include_zero)
+      return if zero? && !include_zero
+      if type.is_a?(Symbol)
+        I18n.translate(type, :scope => 'datetime.units', :count => self)
+      else
+        "#{self} #{type}"
+      end
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/numeric_test.rb b/test/numeric_test.rb
index 6ad7e43..daf4a29 100644
--- a/test/numeric_test.rb
+++ b/test/numeric_test.rb
@@ -36,4 +36,24 @@ def test_zero_elapsed_hours
   def test_zero_elapsed_days
     assert_equal '', 0.to_elapsed_days
   end
+
+  def test_to_elapsed_time_with_alternate_units
+    assert_equal '1 day, 10 hr, 17 min and 36 sec', 123456.to_elapsed_time(:units => {:day => 'day', :hour => 'hr', :minute => 'min', :second => 'sec'})
+  end
+
+  def test_zero_elapsed_seconds_including_zero
+    assert_equal '0 seconds', 0.to_elapsed_seconds(:include_zero => true)
+  end
+
+  def test_zero_elapsed_minutes_including_zero
+    assert_equal '0 minutes', 0.to_elapsed_minutes(:include_zero => true)
+  end
+
+  def test_zero_elapsed_hours_including_zero
+    assert_equal '0 hours', 0.to_elapsed_hours(:include_zero => true)
+  end
+
+  def test_zero_elapsed_days_including_zero
+    assert_equal '0 days', 0.to_elapsed_days(:include_zero => true)
+  end
 end