In our grammar and punctuation spot this week, we ask when should you use words instead of numbers in your writing? It’s a generally accepted rule that numbers one to ten are spelled out as words whereas any number over ten can be shown as a figure. That convention aside, however, much simply comes down to your own personal preference. Round numbers and approximate amounts can be expressed in either words or figures. For instance:
“Nearly 50, Melanie has been writing professionally for more than 16 years now”
Or
“After two years, Ed Miliband has officially acknowledged his likeness to the cartoon character Wallace who has now featured in fifteen cartoons in The Times.”
Whichever style you choose, try to be consistent within a sentence. For example:
“During the survey, the traffic team counted around 60 lorries, 300 cars and eleven motorbikes” would be wrong as it mixes letters and numbers whereas, “During the survey, the traffic team counted around sixty lorries, three hundred cars and eleven motorbikes” would be correct as it is consistent.
The exception to this is where two or more numbers are next to each other. To avoid the visual confusion this creates, spell out one and express the other in figures. For example, “The estate agent was selling 4 2-bedroom apartments for under £200,000 each” looks very confusing and “The estate agent was selling 4 two-bedroom flats for under £200,000 each” is much clearer. But, personally, in this case I would avoid numbers altogether and write this sentence as, “The estate agent was selling four two-bedroom flats for under £200,000 each.”
Avoid starting a sentence with a number – “200 children went on the school trip” – as this looks ugly. In this case it is better to say, “Two hundred children…” But if spelling a number out would be impractical or unwieldy – if it’s particularly long, for instance – try restructuring the sentence so it does not start with a number at all. “112 days ago the company changed its IT system” could be reworded as “The company changed its IT system 112 days ago.”
When it comes to ages, again either letters or numbers are acceptable as in:
“The sixth form pupils range in age from 16 to 19.”
“A ten-year-old girl caught the bus.”
“Nelson Mandela is in his mid nineties.” (Note this is preferable to “mid 90s”)
So there you have it – as easy as 1, 2, 3. . . Or should that be one, two, three?
Visit the Words etc website again soon for more useful grammar and punctuation tips from your award-winning copywriter!
