Skip to main content

Spelling Numbers

By P!apoose

Single-digit Numbers


Spell out numbers under eleven. Yes, I’m aware ten is not a single-digit number, but can you imagine a world where we excluded ten from this rule. Imagine I wrote eight, nine, 10 in a sentence. Now can you see how horrible the world would be in that case?

Best Practices of Single-digit Numbers


All jokes aside, best practices, as well as most (if not all) professional manuals of style dictate that when writing out numbers, spell the number out when it is a single digit, and write the actual number itself for values that are multiple digits.

Some style guides will include the number ten in this rule, and some style guides will not include 10 in this rule. Personally, I obviously favor including ten, because it is such a short number of letters in the word that it makes sense to include it. There are some style guides that suggest spelling out all numbers less than twenty. Personally, I doubt anybody reads those style guides anymore, so they don’t count. Some people might decide to spell out numbers less than 13, and I do not oppose that rule, but I personally do not subscribe to that rule. I would suggest allowing personal preference to act as a guide while closely adhering to the general principles of this rule.

I believe this rule is especially true for numbers in a list. When listing numbers, if the first one is spelled out, then the rest should be spelled out. If the first is written in numerals, then the rest should be written in numerals. This exception is the result of the rule on Parallelism, which supersedes this rule when there is a conflict.

Exceptions

Besides from lists that follow the rules of parallelism, other exceptions include section titles or headers, such as Chapter 1; outline numbering, such as the case when a list has numbering before each item; writing checks, which demand large numbers be spelled out in a tiny space in the middle of the check; in quoted speech or quoted text, such as “...she counted 1, 2, 3...”

Other exceptions may exist, but it’s best to use common sense, personal preference, and sound judgment before adding anymore exceptions to this rule.

Summary


In conclusion, it is best practices to spell out the numbers less than or equal to ten and write the numerals of numbers 11 and greater.

Following style guides when it comes to numbers should allow for a certain amount of personal preference to dictate how closely someone adheres to this rule.

And finally, if you are a good person, then you will spell out the number ten unless it is in a list where the first number isn’t spelled out.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The Dark Market

By P!apoose
Dark Market Once upon a time, and that time is now. Shen do Shen owns a small business in the dark market, which he keeps hidden in the back room of a legitimate business in the royal marketplace. The front business, also known as just a front, is a dry cleaning store. In the back room, Shen sells various spices as a luxury commodity to the wealthier class of citizens in the kingdom. Today is a special occasion for which the dry cleaner's store is closed and no visitors are permitted into the back market. The king has requested a visit a few days ago to purchase spice. Aside from the fact that the king wants the store to himself because he is very busy and doesn't have time to get tangled up in long lines at a busy market, Shen knows the king will purchase a large quantity of spice. So Shen can afford to close the market for one day and still earn a day's worth of profits just from what the king will spend. "Your majesty, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Sh
»»»»» read more »»»»»

Hob v Gob (Hidden Beginning)

By P!apoose
Welcome to Goblin's Hidden Game. In this puzzle, you have to decode the hidden meaning of the words spoken with a thick accent that makes it sound like other words were spoken instead. Click the links (...) at the end of the coded sentences to play. Scroll down to the bottom to see if you guessed right on any given puzzle set. The answers appear in the story after each play. My responses to Hob are hints at what he was trying to say. The best part is after you finish the puzzle, you can start over, and they'll still be just as difficult to solve. Difficulty ratings are provided. Even I can't figure them all out, and I'm the one who wrote them, so hopefully you'll enjoy the challenge... Goblin's Grammar help " Juan's supper knit, I'm dare! Wassup? Bee gain hand? ... " he says. L1 "Right? Beginning... go on..." I answer. " Hand edge; jostle happy! inn satay Miss now ... " he continues. L2 "Okay? Rig
»»»»» read more »»»»»

111 Semicolons (English)

By P!apoose
Home >> Grammar Style Guide >> Semicolons Understanding Semicolons Semicolons have a number of useful reasons to be included in a sentence or paragraph. Where colons can be useful outside of sentence structures, semicolons are typically limited to separating text in paragraphs or similar constructs. You may think semicolons are the halfway point between commas and colons, and in some respects, that assumption wouldn't be far from the truth. Where a comma offers a pause and a colon introduces something, a semicolon can be considered a halfway point between these two attributes. However, a semicolon adds value to a sentence with its own merits. At times, only a semicolon can offer the clear interpretation of text intended to be set off in a manner that other punctuation might not be able to achieve as precisely and clearly. Using a semicolon in a sentence may not be as forgiving as a misplaced comma or period , so special consideration should be taken before tr
»»»»» read more »»»»»