Numbers in the thousands are expressed in figures with a comma and can never be a combination of figures and words. …sent 45,000… …received 133,000 of them… …offered 50,000 for it… Whether the number is said “fifteen hundred” or “one thousand five hundred,” the comma is inserted. …sent 1,500… …received 3,400… …offered 2,100… Happy punctuating! Margie
The Hyphen for an Incomplete Number
Formal English rules say that an incomplete number should be written out in words. …I think you said you made four or five hundred dollars. Combined with the consistency rule, this presents some issues in a reporting transcript. When there are other numbers in the same sentence or area of the transcript, it is simply not practical to write everything …
Words in the Middle of the Year
When a year is interrupted by a word or two, the English rule says to write out the number in words. That is always the fallback position. However, as always in reporting, numbers written in words do not always serve us well. Let’s perhaps consider a new way to do it. …during 19-, maybe, -98… …after 19-, probably, -63… I …
Sequential References
A sequential reference is a number that is part of a series of numbers, which usually follows the word that designates what the number is referring to. We consider a number to be “sequential” when it is in a series. If you live in Apartment 5, there is an assumption that there are Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4. This …
“A Million” or “One Million” and Others
There is a recurring question about these kinds of numbers. What if it is “…sent a hundred dollars to him” or “…paid ten and a half” or “…a little over a million”? The answer is that these are technically not really numbers — “a million” and “a half” and “a hundred.” And English rules say that these should be written …
Consistency for Numbers
Great seeing so many “old” familiar faces at DRA. Wow. It has been a few years. Glad to see you thriving in this wonderful field. There was a recent discussion on numbers and their form within a sentence. Overriding all the rules for numbers is the rule for consistency: If there are numbers that measure the same thing or the …
Thoughts on the Word “O’clock”
We have differing opinions about the word o’clock and theĀ :00. Some of us were taught that o’clock should be transcribed as “:00” by those wonderful, hard-working teachers of our youth [always have to put in a plug for teachers]. Others of us go by the verbatim mantra: If a word was said, I transcribe it. The problem is compounded by …
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