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Grammar SOS > Numbers
All numbers less than 10 are spelled out.
- Exceptions: Time is 11 a.m. (don't need to say "morning"); 2-4 a.m. (there's a space after the "4" AND 2 to 4 a.m. is preferred)
- Other "time" notes: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (here, "to" is required bec. of the a.m. and p.m. difference; that's why making "to" a habit helps avoid errors)
Spell out first through ninth; after that: 10th, 15th, 50th, etc.
Dates:
- April 3, 2000
- in the 1920s
- Feb. 6, 1998
If you start a sentence with a number, it should be spelled out. Hyphenate between parts, if necessary:
- Twenty-one people protested the changes.
- Exception: Years.
- 1976 was a great year for flag sales.
Spell out casual uses:
- A thousand times a day, we pace this hall.
- He left a quarter hour ago.
Use commas when numbers have four digits or more, unless they are years:
- In 1996, We had 6,325 attendants who spent $10,382 on sodas.
Percent is spelled out, not "%". When used, the number is a numeral, not spelled out:
- The project is 8 percent over budget.
- The club has met about 70 percent of its goal.
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