spelling out numbers

Any number less than one hundred, you have to spell it out. Unless they are addressess, phone numbers, zip codes, birthdates etc.

I don't spell out years either but that could be just because I'm a little lazy.

Oh and feed every illness...except the stomach flu.

I recall hearing 2 two conflicting rules from 2 two different college English teachers. The 1 one I remember is 10 or higher (or was it higher than ten?), write the digits, otherwise write the word.

kristie911 said:

I don't spell out years either but that could be just because I'm a little lazy.

Oh and feed every illness...except the stomach flu.

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I recall in older movies (like 1960's or earlier) the copyright statement would put the year in Roman numerals. I've always wondered about this, and poking around, it appears the concensus is it's an attempt to be confusing about the exact date of copyright:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=224712
http://www.sizes.com/numbers/roman_numerals.htm

I heard the "write out below ten" rule so that's what I adhere to. If a number is the first word in a sentence, I think you're supposed to spell it out no matter what it is.

I always thought that you had to spell it out if it was only one digit. I'm not sure though.

This is a good summary of the rules on this topic.

Feed a cold, starve a fever.

talkwrite said:

My critique group couldn't agree on the rule: so here's our question for the rule sages among you:
Higher than ten spell it out?
Less than twenty spell it out ?
always spell out years?. . .

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It depends on the kind of writing and specific context. Spend some time with the Chicago Manual of Style. If the context is a statistical report, different rules apply than for ordinary narrative. And different publishers use different style conventions. Use what your publisher expects.

Years are in numerals, not spelled out. That, at least, is the Chicago rule, and some experimentation will show that it is a necessary rule if you want to avoid something like this:

Between eighteen forty-nine and eighteen eighty-two, events unfolded in a manner reminiscent of the infamously troubled periods of seventeen twelve to seventeen thirty-five and eighteen oh four to eighteen eleven.

Puleeze. No one wants to read that. And consistency dictates that you not change styles for a paragraph like that when ordinarily you might only have an occasional year or two in your narrative.

Oh . . . do not begin a sentence with a numeral. Spell it out or rewrite to avoid the problem.

--Ken

• One to ninety-nine, spell them.
• Dialoque, spell them (unless it's a really long number, but placing numerals in dialogue looks a little odd).
• Above 100, write the numbers.
• Addresses, post/zip codes, phone numbers, birthdays, use numbers.

Those are the rules I follow ^_^

inkkognito said:

I heard the "write out below ten" rule so that's what I adhere to. If a number is the first word in a sentence, I think you're supposed to spell it out no matter what it is.

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These are the editing standards used for the magazines for which I write. Your mileage may vary.

Years in dialogue

Several years were in dialog in the book I just finished (Donna Andrews' wacky mystery We'll Always Have Parrots). All were numerals. (I made a point of checking that after I finished reading the book.)

I would wager that you will not find years spelled out in dialog or otherwise in current commercially published books. If you find an exception, let me know. If you find ANY exceptions in commercially published books (recognized publishers), I'd like to know.

--Ken

Also in numerals; percentages, decimals, fractions can go either way.

AP Style Guide says zero through nine spell it out. Two digits and above use the digits: 10, 11, etc.

Chicago Style Guide says differently, pretty much what Shanster said. Numbers that can be written in two words or less get spelled out. Addresses, Phone numbers, etc. do not.

Last workshop I was at said use Chicago, AP is for journalism.

Lots of different situations and rules apply when it comes to using numbers. Whatever your choice, remember to always be consistent.

My rules re "ordinary writing" are:

Numbers from one to ten are generally expressed in writing, not numerals. Exceptions:

*When the number is part of a caption (e.g., Table 3).
*When the number is part of a seres of numbers (e.g., ...the sequence of 2,4,6, 16, 32).
*When the number is part of another number or a math problem (e.g., 5-2X3).
*When the number is part of a proper name (e.g., Boeing 747).
*Dates and street numbers (e.g., March 7, 2008; East Park Street)
*For numbers larger than ten: If a number can be expressed in three or fewer words, write it out

In journalism, you spell out numbers one through nine, and you don't spell out numbers 10, 11, 12 or higher. I think this is true in most writing.

There are a few exceptions. "The students were 8-years old. They were in the 8th grade. They made up 22 percent of the school, but six percent of the school district. They shouted 'We're number one!' whenever their team made a goal. They could add 2 + 2 and they knew it equaled four."

Ingredients:
1 Tb. olive oil
135 green beans, chopped
3 cans tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Stir beans in the hot oil for 3 minutes or until done. Add the other two ingredients. Serves four.

talkwrite said:

My critique group couldn't agree on the rule: so here's our question for the rule sages among you:
Higher than ten spell it out?
Less than twenty spell it out ?
always spell out years?

Oh and while you're at it
Feed a fever, starve a cold?

Click to expand...

I think the different answers are due to

1. The AP style book calls to write numbers less than 10..

2. In fiction it is different. I believe you always write the numbers..

However addresses, phone numbers, dates, and times do not follow these rules..

Okay, so I have a story I'm writing that I need to get the American way of saying numbers right for.

In the English version I have two weights: nine stone, and nine and a half stone.

In the American version I want it to be 125 pounds and 130 pounds. So how would you write that: one hundred twenty-five and one hundred thirty? Or one twenty-five, one thirty? Or something else? And would you include the units or not? It's in a casual, informal conversation where it's clear that they're discussing her weight.