Re: Numbers more than 10

Subject: Re: Numbers more than 10
From: Andy Cheyne <A -dot- Cheyne -at- ISODE -dot- COM>
Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 09:19:39 +0100

At the risk of reawakening a thread which had been put to bed...

Numbers greater than ten should be written as numerals. There are exceptions,
though, three of the most important being:

- When the number appears at the beginning of the sentence (and the verbal
representation of the number is "simple" - normally, you wouldn't spell out
3643).

- When the number is not precise: "a majority in the committee of about fifty".

- In enumerations which juxtapose two numbers: "twenty-six 40-gallon
containers" or "26 forty-gallon containers" (depending on taste and the actual
numbers involved), but not "26 40-gallon containers".

Andy Cheyne
A -dot- Cheyne -at- isode -dot- com

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