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September 5, 2000
NUMBERS VS. FIGURES
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Numbers should be spelled out if they can be written in one or two words:
one hundred (NOT 100)
twenty-four (NOT 24)
sixteen (NOT 16)
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Numbers expressed in three words or more should be written with figures:
206 (NOT two hundred and six)
87-1/2 (NOT eighty-seven and a half)
Some documentation styles use words for numbers between one and ten while figures represent numbers 11 and higher.
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Numbers at the beginning of a sentence are always written out, or the sentence must be rewritten so the number appears later in the sentence:
WRONG:
68 people attended the wedding.
CORRECT:
Sixty-eight people attended the wedding.
-or-
The wedding was attended by 68 people.
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Figures should be used in the following categories:
Dates:
September 1, 2000
Do not use ordinal numbers (those expressing a sequence) in dates:
WRONG:
September 1st, 2000
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Times:
6 a.m. (use figures with a.m. or p.m.)
6:00 p.m.
-but-
six o'clock (spell out numbers used with "o'clock")
six hours or six minutes (spell out references to specific blocks of time)
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Money:
$24.95 (use dollar symbol with a specific amount of money)
$3 million (combine symbol with words for amounts over $1 million)
Rounded dollar or cents amounts may be stated in words:
twelve dollars
forty cents
Reserve the cents symbol for use in technical writing, such as charts or graphs.
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When using more than one number in a sentence or document, be consistent.
WRONG:
Joan bought 2 loaves of bread and three candy bars.
CORRECT:
Joan bought two loaves of bread and three candy bars.
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SPELLING OR WRITING TIP
When proofreading (or "proofing") your writing, try a variety of techniques:
1. Read the text backward, word by word.
2. Read the text aloud, including punctuation marks.
3. Have someone read the text aloud while you follow and mark a second copy.
4. Proofread once, marking with a blue pen. Proof it again, using a different color of pen to catch additional errors.
5. Look up dictionary spellings of words you're not sure of.
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NEW WORD OF THE WEEK:
GUS-TA-TO-RY: related to, associated with, or being the sense of taste.
Herman's Russian aunt has strong gustatory preferences.
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YOUR GRAMMAR AND WRITING QUESTIONS
QUESTION: Do you say "What are the affects of aging?" or "What are the effects of aging?"
GRAMMARCHECK: Your second example is correct:
"What are the effects of aging?"
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QUESTION: Where does the comma go when using parentheses?
French Vanilla (my favorite) Amaretto, and Orange Cappuccino are three popular choices.
Does the comma go after Vanilla, inside the parentheses--after favorite, or outside the parentheses?
Keep up the great work.
Debi
P.S. Is the dash proper in the above question?
GRAMMARCHECK: In your example of items in a series, parenthetical information following one of the items should be considered part of that item and the comma should follow it:
French Vanilla (my favorite), Amaretto, and Orange Cappuccino are three popular choices.
Dashes are used to highlight information informally, so the dash as used above is unneeded. Your sentence could be written like this:
Does the comma go after "Vanilla," inside the parentheses after "favorite," or outside the parentheses?
[Now excuse us while we take a coffee break--yum!]
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QUESTION: Is it improper grammar to say "we have forgot" instead of "we have forgotten"? I think it's wrong but it sure sounds cool.
Thanks so much for your help on such a simple question.
Keith
GRAMMARCHECK: You've put your finger (or in this case, tongue) on it, as we often speak this way as slang (although it is incorrect grammar to do so). The proper conjugation is "we have forgotten." And you're welcome!
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QUESTION: With regard to last week's example of the plural for "Jones" on the door knocker (Joneses or Jones'), here is my question:
If Jones' can be used as plural of Jones, how would one convert this to possessive case? The Jones's dog? Should the plural possessive not differ from the singular possessive, i.e., John Jones's dog?
I think that "Joneses" must be the correct plural of "Jones," with "Joneses'" as the plural possessive.
I just subscribed to Grammarcheck recently and I find it useful and thought-provoking. Thank you. Brian
GRAMMARCHECK: Wow, we're dizzy with all those apostrophes and plural endings! We apologize if the rules sound confusing--we just cite 'em; we don't write 'em!
As mentioned last week, we prefer "Joneses" for a door plate. If a doorplate were to be posted on the dog house (to indicate the home of the Jones' dog), the plate would read like this:
"Home of the Jones' Dog"
To add to the confusion, keep in mind that Mr. Jones refers to a single person, but the Jones family refers to several family members. However, the family may be considered a collective noun and thus function as a single entity, depending on context--all of which you should keep in mind when calculating plural and possessive endings!
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QUESTION: When writing a sentence such as the following, how is Mr. Smith supposed to be recognized as the client's attorney? Is the following correct, and why?
"We went to Mr. Smith's, the client's attorney, office."
GRAMMARCHECK: To make this sentence easier on the reader (which is always the writer's aim), rewrite it for clarity:
We went to the office of Mr. Smith, the client's attorney.
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QUESTION: Which of the following is correct?
He is 3 years old.
He is three years old.
-or-
She is 16 years old.
She is sixteen years old.
I've heard that ten, eleven, and up are spelled out, but also that there are different opinions. Thank you. Rachel
GRAMMARCHECK: Please see today's feature article. Numbers that can be expressed in one or two words generally are written out as words:
John has three buckets of planting soil in his garage.
However, style guides differ, as you suggest. Follow guidelines for a particular style if it is part of your job or writing assignment.
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QUESTION: In your examples for concrete and abstract nouns, aren't "strong" and "wholesome" adjectives? Would not the noun forms be "strength" and "wholesomeness"? In your example, "Fred is very strong," could you not say "very strong Fred" (or substitute man for Fred? I believe that strong is an adjective modifying the subject of the sentence (Fred), is it not?
GRAMMARCHECK: Right you are! In our example, "Fred is very strong," we didn't mean to imply that "strong" is a noun, but since the example was given under the auspice of "Abstract and Concrete Nouns," your interpretation is logical.
As for "wholesome," we should have called our list "words" rather than simply "nouns," as many types of words can be abstract or concrete, and not just nouns.
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QUESTION: In a recent issue, your example strikes me as awkward:
One thing is certain, however; the number of clubs already in existence draw heavily from the school's limited funds.
This sentence reads much more naturally--to me--if you drop "the number of." Then the problem doesn't arise.
Eric
GRAMMARCHECK: Your suggestion makes sense, but we were responding to an example submitted by a reader. Writers should always look for ways to omit unnecessary words and phrases. Good job!
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QUESTION: The following example appeared in a recent issue:
"The student said 'I don't understand punctuation,'" reiterated the teacher.
There should be a comma after "said."
GRAMMARCHECK: We started to add a comma after "said" when we printed that question, but upon reflection, changed our minds when it seemed apparent that this comma--used to slow the reader's concentration to absorb the fact of an imminent quotation--was unnecessary, since the teacher was restating the fact; his or her voice probably wouldn't have slowed to reflect the comma introducing a quote.
We could not find a rule for this type of quote; how about the rest of you readers?
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