Anyway, as journalism students and writers of any ilk can tell you, AP Style has a passel of rules about numbers, some rational and some not so much. I started wondering why the AP Stylistas listed the rules for using what some might call “numbers” under the headline “numerals.” Ask.com, my go-to-source for rational and irrational information, described the difference this way:
“A
number is an idea or a concept in the mind that answers the question “How many?”
Though this concept “in the mind” was getting too cerebral
for me already, I bravely trudged on:
“A number is not viewable or tangible,
whereas a numeral is a name or symbol that represents a number. A numeral,
unlike a number, can be written down and seen and physically manipulated.”
Okeydokey, then. Glad we cleared that up. Here’s a
quick overview of the numeral/number rules that seem to give clients and others
in my world the most trouble:
·
Spell out numbers from one to nine, but use
figures for 10 and above
·
Always use figures for ages: The boy is
8 years old. Use hyphens if you use an age as an adjective before a noun: A
5-year-old boy.
·
When you use a numeral as a plural, don’t
add an apostrophe (as if it is a possessive). So it should be: The woman is in
her 50s (not her 50’s). The crash happened in the 1930s (not 1930’s).
·
Use figures for percent, and note that
it’s not per cent (two words). 1 percent, 50 percent off, 2.5 percent, 14 to 15
percent (not 14-15 percent).
*The spell-checker is freaking out about okeydokey,
but that’s what Merriam-Webster says, so I’m going with it anyway. Take that,
you spell-checking robatoid! So, has anybody got any talk-back or sass-mouth for me
about how to write with numbers/numerals?
So why are there a number of Arabic numerals in my Times Roman font? Shouldn't they be all Roman numerals?
ReplyDeleteThanks for these primers, Malia. (I didn't know about ages being restricted to numerals!)
You mentioned a 5-year-old. What about a 5-day work week? Or is it five-day workweek? (Who am I kidding? When was the last week you only worked five days?)
ReplyDeleteHere's an AP Style example that seems relevant. It's "3-week-old war," but "three-week war." So that seems to be saying that it would be "a five-day workweek." (workweek is one word according to Merriam-Webster). Thanks for your great observations, questions and always entertaining commentary:)
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