Writing Numbers

Except for a few basic rules, spelling out numbers vs. using figures (also called numerals) is largely a
matter of writers' preference. Again, consistency is the key.
Policies and philosophies vary from medium to medium. America's two most influential style and usage
guides have different approaches: The Associated Press Stylebook recommends spelling out the numbers
zero through nine and using numerals thereafter—until one million is reached. Here are four examples of
how to write numbers above 999,999 in AP style: 1 million; 20 million; 20,040,086; 2.7 trillion.
The Chicago Manual of Style recommends spelling out the numbers zero through one hundred and using
figures thereafter—except for whole numbers used in combination with hundred, thousand, hundred
thousand, million, billion, and beyond (e.g., two hundred; twenty-eight thousand; three hundred
thousand; one million). In Chicago style, as opposed to AP style, we would write four hundred, eight
thousand, and twenty million with no numerals—but like AP, Chicago style would require numerals
for 401; 8,012; and 20,040,086.
This is a complex topic, with many exceptions, and there is no consistency we can rely on among blogs,
books, newspapers, and magazines. This chapter will confine itself to rules that all media seem to agree
on.
Rule 1. Spell out all numbers beginning a sentence.
Examples:
Twenty-three hundred sixty-one victims were hospitalized.
Nineteen fifty-six was quite a year.
Note: The Associated Press Stylebook makes an exception for years.
Example: 1956 was quite a year.
Rule 2a. Hyphenate all compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine.
Examples:
Forty-three people were injured in the train wreck.
Twenty-seven of them were hospitalized.
Rule 2b. Hyphenate all written-out fractions.
Examples:
We recovered about two-thirds of the stolen cash.
One-half is slightly less than five-eighths.
However, do not hyphenate terms like a third or a half.
Rule 3a. With figures of four or more digits, use commas. Count three spaces to the left to place the first
comma. Continue placing commas after every three digits. Important: do not include decimal points when
doing the counting.
Examples:
1,054 people
$2,417,592.21
Note: Some choose not to use commas with four-digit numbers, but this practice is not recommended.
Rule 3b. It is not necessary to use a decimal point or a dollar sign when writing out sums of less than a
dollar.
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 Not Advised: He had only $0.60.
Better:
He had only sixty cents.
OR
He had only 60 cents.
Rule 3c. Do not add the word "dollars" to figures preceded by a dollar sign.
Incorrect: I have $1,250 dollars in my checking account.
Correct: I have $1,250 in my checking account.
Rule 4a. For clarity, use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 PM and 12:00 AM.
NOTE
AM and PM are also written A.M. and P.M., a.m. and p.m., and am and pm. Some put a space between the
time and AM or PM.
Examples: 8 AM 3:09 P.M. 11:20 p.m.
Others write times using no space before AM or PM.
Example: 8AM 3:09P.M. 11:20p.m.
For the top of the hour, some write 9:00 PM, whereas others drop the :00 and write 9 PM (or 9 p.m., 9pm, etc.).
Rule 4b. Using numerals for the time of day has become widely accepted.
Examples:
The flight leaves at 6:22 a.m.
Please arrive by 12:30 sharp.
However, some writers prefer to spell out the time, particularly when using o'clock.
Examples:
She takes the four thirty-five train.
The baby wakes up at five o'clock in the morning.
Rule 5. Mixed fractions are often expressed in figures unless they begin a sentence.
Examples:
We expect a 5 1/2 percent wage increase.
Five and one-half percent was the expected wage increase.
Rule 6. The simplest way to express large numbers is usually best.
Example: twenty-three hundred (simpler than two thousand three hundred)
Large round numbers are often spelled out, but be consistent within a sentence.
Consistent: You can earn from one million to five million dollars.
Inconsistent: You can earn from one million dollars to 5 million dollars.
Inconsistent: You can earn from $1 million to five million dollars.
Rule 7. Write decimals using figures. As a courtesy to readers, many writers put a zero in front of the
decimal point.
Examples:
The plant grew 0.79 inches last year.
The plant grew only 0.07 inches this year.

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Rule 8a. When writing out a number of three or more digits, the word and is not necessary. However, use
the word and to express any decimal points that may accompany these numbers.
Examples:
one thousand one hundred fifty-four dollars
one thousand one hundred fifty-four dollars and sixty-one cents
Simpler: eleven hundred fifty-four dollars and sixty-one cents
Rule 8b. When writing out numbers above 999, do not use commas.
Incorrect: one thousand, one hundred fifty-four dollars, and sixty-one cents
Correct: one thousand one hundred fifty-four dollars and sixty-one cents
Rule 9. The following examples are typical when using figures to express dates.
Examples:
the 30th of June, 1934
June 30, 1934 (no -th necessary)
Rule 10. When spelling out decades, do not capitalize them.
Example: During the eighties and nineties, the U.S. economy grew.
Rule 11. When expressing decades using figures, it is simpler to put an apostrophe before the incomplete
numeral and no apostrophe between the number and the s.
Example: During the '80s and '90s, the U.S. economy grew.
Some writers place an apostrophe after the number:
Example: During the 80's and 90's, the U.S. economy grew.
Awkward: During the '80's and '90's, the U.S. economy grew.
Rule 12. You may also express decades in complete numerals. Again, it is cleaner to avoid an apostrophe
between the year and the s.
Example: During the 1980s and 1990s, the U.S. economy grew.

The government spent ten millions dollars on education last year. [incorrect]
The government spent ten million dollars on education last year. [correct]

There were thousands of people at the football match. [correct]

There were a thousand of people at the football match. [incorrect]

When we talk about a specific large number, we do not add 's' to the number:
200,000 = two hundred thousand (not two hundred thousands)
10,000,000 = ten million (not ten millions)

The noun that follows is always plural:

There must have been at least three thousand students at the protest.

We use the plural form of large numbers + of to give an approximate idea of how many:
There must have been thousands of students at the protest.

We can use a instead of one. One is more formal:

If I won a million dollars, I would probably take a year off and travel around the world.
The president promised to increase the health budget by one million dollars.

We usually use numerals for numbers that cannot be written in one or two words:
More than two million people attended last year. but: 2,001,967 people attended last year.

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You should write fractions in words:
half a (million); a/one third of a (million); three quarters of a (million); one and a quarter (million); one and three
quarter (million):
Example: According to the chart, in 2004 over half a million people went to the cinema. (not 1/2 a million)
*****
When we use the word number, we refer to specific numbers:
Here’s the phone number of the firm where she works.
She plays in the local hockey team and wears the number six.
We also use the phrases a number of, numbers of or the number of with a plural verb when we mean
‘many’ or ‘several’:
There are a number of things we need to discuss.
A significant number of people are ill with flu so the performance had to be cancelled.
Large numbers of bees have died because of the cold summer.
I couldn’t believe the number of cars that were parked outside the hall.

Numbers: first, second, third

Numbers such as first, second, third are ordinal numbers. We use them to put things in an order. We most
commonly use ordinal numbers as determiners. When we use ordinal numbers as determiners (before
nouns), we commonly use other determiners such as articles (a/an, the) and possessives (my, your) in front
of them:
This was the fifth science exam that he had failed.
It’s her twenty-first birthday and she’s spending it with friends in Malaysia.
We use the ordinal numbers to refer to dates. We usually write them in abbreviated form and often in
superscript (above the line). We usually say the and of when we speak, but we often omit them in writing:
My birthday is 3rd January. (usually spoken as ‘the third of January’)
The museum was opened on 25th June 2008.
What are you doing on the 2nd of May? Do you want to join us at the theatre?
We also use ordinal numbers as nouns:
All three singers in the competition were excellent but I’m voting for the third.
Ordinal numbers are also used as adverbs:
A: He came tenth in the New York marathon.
B: That’s fantastic! Did he really?
First, let me introduce you to my brother Jack.

Numbers: one, two, three

Numbers such as one, five, eleven, two hundred are cardinal numbers. We most commonly use cardinal
numbers as determiners (before nouns). When we use them in this way, we can use other determiners
such as articles (a/an, the) and possessives (my, your) in front of them. We can use cardinal numbers
+ of before determiners (one of my friends):
She loves animals and has two dogs, three cats and one rabbit.
My two best friends are Amy and Louise.
Three of his colleagues were sacked yesterday. (sacked = lost their jobs)
We also use cardinal numbers as nouns:
The children arrived in twos and threes.
Large numbers
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We normally say a hundred, a thousand, a million. We only say one hundred, one thousand and one
million when we want to emphasise the number:
What would you do if you won a million euros? (preferred to one million euros)
The city is about a hundred kilometres from the capital.
Numbers such as 100, 200, 1,000, etc. do not take a plural -s when we use them as determiners:
There were about two hundred people at the meeting.
Not: There were about two hundreds people …
However, we use the plural forms hundreds, thousands, millions + of + noun to refer to large, non-specific
numbers:
It’s happened hundreds of times.
Millions of people live in poverty.
We often use commas in writing to separate long numbers of a thousand or more into each thousand part:
The repairs cost £1,250.
A total of $5,000,000 was spent on the project.

Writing the date

We write the date in English in different ways. The most common way in British English is to write the day
of the month first, then the month (starting with a capital letter) and then the year:

20 January 1993 14 November 2005

We can also write the date in numbers only:

20 January 1993 = 20/1/1993 14 November 2005 = 14–11–2005 or 14.11.05

Sometimes the last two letters of the number as spoken can be used (th, rd, st, nd):
Today is the 7th September.
The grand opening is on 1st June. or … on June 1st.
With the exception of May and June, months can be shortened as follows:
Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Jul, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec.
Dates in American English

In written American English, the month of the date comes before the day and year. For example,
Independence Day in the USA is on July 4th each year. In the year 2000 the date was 4/7/2000 in British
English. In American English this is written 7/4/2000.
Speaking the date

We ask the date or about dates in several ways. We can add the and of when we reply:
What date did they get married?
A: What date is it?
B: It’s the first of June. (1st June)
A: What’s the date today?
B: It’s June the first. (June 1st)
A: What’s today’s date?
B: Fifteenth of April. (15th April)
We talk about years like this:

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 Before the year 2000

1492: fourteen ninety-two

1700: seventeen hundred
1801: eighteen hundred and one or eighteen oh /əʊ/ one
1908: nineteen oh eight
After the year 2000

2000: two thousand

2003: two thousand and three or twenty oh three
2012: two thousand and twelve or twenty twelve
Typical error

 Make sure you use the correct abbreviated form:

My birthday is the 28th of January.
Not: … the 28st …

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