Numbers in Text
General rules
- Spell out numbers under 10 (unless the same object appears in a sentence with an object 10 or over—see #2)
e.g. She bought five apples.
2. Treat numbers the same way in the same sentence—either as words, or figures. Numbers applicable to the same category should be consistent throughout a paragraph. If the largest number contains two or more digits, use figures for all.
e.g. We ordered 4 hamburgers, 7 tacos, and 11 bottles of soda pop.
3. Don’t use figures at the start of a sentence.
e.g. Nineteen letters came on Thursday, but only twelve on Friday.
4. Use commas between every group of three digits in figures of one thousand or more.
e.g. 56,790
The exceptions to this rule are page numbers, addresses, year numbers of four digits and mathematical problems.
5. Statistical, technical, or scientific information may be written in numerals.
6. Statistical data may use the symbol “%” but in other situations use the word “percent.”
e.g. Less than 1% of Japanese know the Lord.
e.g. It is unknown what percentage of tracts was actually read by recipients.
7. Decimal fractions should be written in numerals.
e.g. They served in Sendai for 3.5 years.
8. In the case of two adjacent numbers, spell out one of them for clarity.
e.g. Twenty 12th grade students were involved.
9. Use a period/full stop without parentheses after numbers or letters in a vertical listing.
10. In spans of numbers (usually page numbers) two digits are always given.
e.g. pp. 131-36, pp. 16-18.
11. Numbers within a paragraph are enclosed within double parentheses, or just an end parenthesis after the number. No period in either case.
e.g. There are three main areas of concern for new missionaries: (1) language, (2) location of service, (3) cultural adaptation.
12. Punctuating number words. Hyphens are used in numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine. Fractions (e.g. two-thirds) will also use hyphens (even though British style writing is less inclined to do so)
Currency
- Follow general number rules for currency, regards using numerals or spelling out.
e.g. Five dollars, $44.50
2. Substitute the words million and billion for zeros but spell out round numbers in thousands.
e.g. $6 million, 10 thousand dollars
3. Currencies of the world. Specify which currency you are using. Check here for accuracy:http://www.xe.com/symbols.php
e.g. JPY (Japanese yen//A$/), EUR (European Euro/€).
4. One billion equals one thousand million (some places it used to be one million million). But it is safer to spell it out rather than assume.
Dates and times
- Write out the month to avoid confusion due to several different ways of writing dates across the world.
e.g. 30 September 2012 or September 30, 2012
2. Usually the full year is given (1980s).
3. When indicated a span of years, an en dash connects the numbers. In four-digit dates, the last two digits are repeated except within the first decade of the century. When dates span the turn of a century all four digits should be repeated.
e.g. 2013–14, 2001–2, 1998–2004.
4. A slash or solidus is used to indicate a period that doesn’t coincide exactly with one calendar year
e.g. 2010/11
5. For denoting morning or evening: AM/PM or a.m./p.m. should be used. Note: British English often uses “am/pm” with no punctuation, but for this publication periods will be used.
6. Never use st, nd, rd, or th after figures in dates.
7. Within one article use a consistent form for dates. One of the following is suitable:
October 14, 1999
Japan Times, 12 October 2000.
The third of June 1956.
June 9 (never June 9th).
8. Spell out times within text, however you may use digits to express an exact time.
Our youth group meets at eight-thirty.
The train departs at 7:36.
9. 30 minutes past the hour is written “half past”.
7:30 = half past seven
10. 15 minutes before the hour or after the hour is written “quarter to” or “quarter past”.
11. American English uses a colon between hour and minutes. British English uses a full stop.
7:30 p.m. (AmE), 7.30 p.m. (BrE)
Street names and addresses
In most cases numbers in addresses are written in digits.
2-1 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda Ku, Tokyo 101-0062