Generally, AP style forbids starting a sentence with a numeral, recommending either spelling out the number or rephrasing the sentence. Even AP editors agree that the rules are confusing, so you’re not alone! – The actress, 7, is being managed by her mother, 42. Having trouble determining when to spell out or use a figure in reference to “ten years” in a text. adroll_version = "2.0"; Starting a Sentence with a Year Generally, AP style forbids starting a sentence with a numeral, recommending either spelling out the number or rephrasing the sentence. “Generally spell out amounts less than 1 in stories, using hyphens between the words: two-thirds, four-fifths, seven-sixteenths, etc. I know you say, “She walked 3 miles.” But in an article I’m proofreading, it states, “The Deercourt community sprang up about two miles west of Tugalo …” Should I mark it to read, “The Deercourt community sprang up about 2 miles west of Tugalo …”? I am proofing a letter and one sentence says ‘We also offered six six-day virtual sessions.’ The six six-day looks awkward. AP calls for “one-thousandth of an inch.”, I’m currently drafting a press release for a home builder. Acronyms (e.g., NASA, UNESCO) and initialisms (e.g., FBI, BBC) are common in writing. 4 The charity drive collected 33% more donations this year. I have a good one and can’t find an example. When you use a conjunction at the start of a sentence, it makes much more of an impact. Hi Amber- What if you are writing a range of numbers. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. I am curious about units… Two, numbers. The best way to avoid a number at the start of a sentence is to reword the sentence. A local style guide. Yes, when writing in APA style there isn't much restriction on sentence formatting such as starting one with "And" or "But." Joe Smith’s season vaulted him into the top five of the NBA Draft. Now and then we do get such doubts. Whether it’s okay to start a sentence with a year. Still, that’s what AP wants! Hi, I am looking for some clarity on how to write out this expression following the AP style guidelines. Restrictions typically apply more to formatting the title page, reference page, and the heading at the top of the page. Use figures starting with 10th.”. For example, why write out numbers nine and below? Thank you in advance. Getting it right is simple as long as you remember the following two guidelines (see sections 4.14 and 4.30 in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual): 1. Keep it as “six six-day virtual sessions.” AP style has a similar example: “They had four four-room houses.”. – You need to take Interstate 5 for 34 miles before you’ll reach your destination. Or does it also include other measures of years. However, I thought the following might be an exception: April 4th, 2012 brought the death of my cat. Spelling out a large number at the start of a sentence can be awkward. Ex: It took me 11 years to learn to play the piano. Ex: We have been friends for three years. When to use an apostrophe with decades and centuries. I understand that one exception to spelling out numbers one through nine is ages. Communicators (and gamers) should take note that a few terms … Kentucky was ranked No. Now just you relax—a sentence can start with ‘now'. As such, you may want to ignore this rule if you’re writing for a UK audience (or readers in another country where day-month-year dates are standard). Is it: “He completed the mile-long race in six minutes.” OR “He finished the mile-long race in 6 minutes.”? This helps to ensure clarity for the reader about the date in question. Times: 4 p.m. Notice that AP style does not include a colon and two zeroes when referring to an even hour. However, you should use “on” with a date if it’s the first word in a sentence: On 12 July, the new law came into effect. ✓. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. This means when to use a capital letter at the beginning of a word. 9 out of 10, nine out of 10, or nine out of ten? — AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) April 17, 2012. Here’s the relevant section from the fractions entry: Use figures for precise amounts larger than 1, converting to decimals whenever practical. ✗. Freeman” on a specific day, not someone called “Dr. The AP Stylebook. I’m so confused about this. I understand where you are coming from, Jennifer. The same applies to days of the week (i.e., Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun), which should always be written in full elsewhere. – The President of the United States lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. You can read more about that rule here: https://www.bkacontent.com/improve-your-writing-by-avoiding-scare-quotes/. The general rules will apply. adroll_language = "en_US"; This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Should I change one of them to a number. – Approximately 25% of the world’s supply of hazelnuts is used to make Nutella. Now or never. Starting with so. Your organization can choose its own style. Use figures with time. Another tricky part of AP style is when to abbreviate parts in address. It’s appropriate to refer to the company as Costco, but you’ll want t… Also, for 1/5, should it be spelled out as one-fifth or one out of five or left as the numeral? Or would it be 1-quart and 2 quarts? AP editors have an answer for this exact question: “The trip takes three to five days. Use the company’s full name somewhere in the article, especially if the article’s subject matter could affect the company’s business. He scored with two seconds left. – There are 300 billion stars in the Milky Way. Doing so will usually come across as sarcasm. So, I picked it up. Try to avoid using a percentage to start a sentence, otherwise you have to write out the number and “percent.”. I also think it looks odd. Go with “3,000 years.”, I am wondering about using both numeric and written numbers in the same sentence. In this post, we explain: For more information on all the above, read on below. When expressing millions as a unit of measurement in a chart, is it abbreviated as $M or $MM? Where can a person learn the rationale behind the AP style rules? In AP style there are smaller paragraphs of 1-2 sentences; writing is clear and concise; wordiness, long sentences and jargon are used in APA style but not AP style. You want to use “third” if you’re following AP’s guidelines. Or is “three years, seven months and 27 days” correct? According to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Seventh edition), for most MLA style papers, spell out numbers written in one or two words such as \"two\" or \"three hundred.\" If you begin a sentence with a number, spell it out, even if it is a date or other number that uses more than two words. And you should include it to prevent ambiguity. Your second example is correct: “Employers added 16,000 jobs in May.”. AP style editors answered a similar question by saying, “I definitely wouldn’t use quote marks, which are confusing and don’t look like emphasis. A little off-topic, but how would you put “year and a half” in AP style? Freeman Tuesday”: As with setting apart the year with commas, though, omitting the “on” in this context is rarer in British English. ✓, Last Tuesday’s parade drew a crowd of 14,000. Trusted by thousands of leading institutions and businesses. It’s often used by news organizations, magazines, and web publications, but brands often use it to form the basis of their own style guides, too. – The business was sold for $5.7 million last year. Submit a 500-word sample document for free to find out more. What makes them different than numbers 10 and above? Here is a sampling of frequently asked questions, with examples of AP style … Just like when writing about decades and centuries, an apostrophe should not be used with plural numbers. Many businesses and news outlets use the guidelines set out in the Associated Press Stylebook (also known as AP style). Chinese New Year: English Words with Chinese Origins, How to Cite a Blog Post in Chicago Footnote Referencing, Using Articles (A, An, The) Before Acronyms and Initialisms. In other words, when using AP Style numbers writing out July 4 is okay, but stay away from July 4th. Great article! For example, one out of six to seven people will get food poisoning in their life. Why capitalize a person’s title if it’s immediately before a name, but make it lower case if it comes after the name or if the name is set off by commas? – The ‘70s were all about peace, love, and flower power. The first sentence above could be rewritten this way: A crowd of 300 was expected, but only 23 showed up. 2-selling community in Utah better serve residents.”. Would those be spelled out or would figures be used also? However, you don’t need to abbreviate March, April, May, June, or July: January 1, 2014 ✗                Jun. However, you would hyphenate “2-quart baking dish.”. When starting a sentence with a number, you usually want to spell the number out. I think it sounds/looks just awful! The band had five Top 40 hits.”, Do I use “Third” or “3rd” in “Third lowest tuition and fees among four-year colleges.”. In winter, travel time can be 10 days or more.”. The decimal would look a little odd in that case. When starting a sentence with a number, you usually want to spell the number out. The most important aspect of dates in AP style is to use Arabic numerals for dates and years instead of writing them out in full as words: The event was held on the first of June 1987. He was in jail for 4 1/2 years. The new model gets 4 miles more per gallon. 3 Now, AP style uses the percent sign with numerals in formal content. Starting a sentence with a number written in figures is an unpopular style, and most writers try to avoid it. The AP Stylebook recommends setting apart the year in a date with commas. Some style books now allow sentences to start with a year in numeral form. 6, 1982 ✗. SPELL IT OUT (use hyphen when appropriate)-NO apostrophe with THREE or MORE digits: 1980s, '90s, BUT she made four A's and two C's. One, capitalization. Notice how there's no comma after "2012." ✓. Consider the following examples of AP Style numbers, The Chicago White Sox finished second. I much prefer "1,237 replies were received from interested people" then "The number of replies received from interested people was 1,237". ✓, During the 1950’s, there was a post-war baby boom. adroll_currency = "USD"; When abbreviating a decade, AP style requires an apostrophe at the start: The ‘beehive’ hair style was popular throughout the ‘60s. In general, spell out the numbers zero through nine, and use the number for 10 or more. “The resolution passed with 10 ‘yes’ votes to two ‘no’ votes.”, Use the rule that specific number requires, even if that means you’ll be mixing styles. – My pet monster has three heads and five eyes. ✗. (i.e., “My 5-year-old brother is stinky and needs to bathe.”) Is this exception limited to ONLY ages of people? However, if the sentence continues after the year, you also need a comma after the date. Great question, Michael. Thank you! adroll_adv_id = "KRNULS3DQRHXVACWQTZIHM"; Example The year 2012 is one of unusual weather patterns. In general you should spell out numbers one through nine in AP Style. Get the latest news and updates from BKA. The only time an apostrophe is needed is if you are writing a decade and dropping the first half of the figure (‘80s). Doing so also helps search engines find your content. But how should you write dates in AP style? All of the numerals will carry dollar signs except when discussing cents. – Did you know that 10 out of 25 people believe phony statistics? A Ford mustang driven by a woman in her 20's sped South on Pennsylvania Ave., then turned left onto Franklin Rd. But it makes an exception for years, which can go at the start of a sentence: 2009 was a good year for Barack Obama. But if you need a true sentence (requiring a verb) rather than a phrase, how about, August 22, 2012 was the day my life changed forever—the day I met you. Whether to use “On” before a day or date. Sometimes the exceptions to the rules can be quite hard to follow. For example, The conference call will be held Monday. Use figures when discussing dates, but never turn to ordinal numbers. but what about similar usages for time spans such as two-weeks notice or five-year contract or three-year mission? What about “one thousandth of an inch”? Perhaps capital letters: I REALLY loved that movie.”. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Others advise you to flip the sentence so this does not occur. Now is as good a time as any. Be careful when using quotation marks to emphasize words. The car slowed to 7 mph. But the editor is following AP’s rank guidelines: “RANK: He was my No. Bonus: Don’t abbreviate the unit of measurement when using AP Style numbers. The AP Stylebook has about a page and a half dedicated to numbers. Include the year only if it is different from the present year (the year in which the publication or correspondence is dated) and always if the year is different from the present year. Thanks for your question, Jaz. ✓, The Council met on Tuesday to discuss the plan. Hi! Can you simplify the sentence (“One out of seven people”)? Hi, Lisa. Click here if you’d like to freshen up on some more AP Style rules. What’s the reason for the difference if it isn’t referring to 8 o’clock as a time of day? The AP therefore strives to keep its writing style easy to read, concise and free of bias. Avoid Opening a Sentence with a Large Number. Exception: A calendar year can start a sentence off as a numeral. AP style would prefer “June 12.” If you have to go with “the 12th of June,” then definitely use the ordinal. ✓ Spell out numbers used at the beginning of a sentence: “Ten thousand people marched on the capital.” Exception: Never spell out years: “1999 was a terrible year for technology companies.” The Stylebook is available in print form, as a smartphone app, or by subscription for classroom and/or home computers: www.apstylebook.com 2. Is it: “I bought my car four years ago.” OR “I bought my car 4 years ago.”? The club's vice president said his seven-year-old son found a wallet containing $14,000, and that seven people have claimed it. I can’t seem to find anything about this, so I’m assuming it’s the same? Often so is used in a similar way as the last example, as a conjunction, but placed at the start of a sentence; The puppy was cute. AP Style Height and Measurements Examples: – On average, a garden snail moves 50 yards per hour. – Four thousand people gathered to celebrate the boy band’s upcoming album. Pricing begins in the high $200,000s. adroll_pix_id = "MI5A3AMLEVCWLMSS7QK6YA"; In general, you should spell out all numbers one through nine and use figures only for numbers 10 and above. I know we are not to use ordinal numbers with dates, like it’s July 4, not July 4th. Avoid using "last" and "next" Last has several meanings and its use in reference to time can be confusing. but not referring to age, how should the numbers be written out? Ready for another exception? These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The full name is not required if the company name is irrelevant to the story, and you don’t have to use the formal name on first reference. 1 choice. Spell out numbers less than 10 standing alone and in modifiers: I’ll be there in five minutes.”, Therefore, you want to go with your first suggestion: “He completed the mile-long race in six minutes.”. So whether you want to follow this rule may depend on where your audience is based and your chosen dialect. You can also upload a document to get an instant quote. In addition, in AP style, you should not use ordinal numbers in dates: As a default, it also suggests using the US date format since the AP Stylebook is a US English style guide. Unfortunately I can’t tell you why AP’s rules are the way they are; however, I can commiserate with you! Spell out numbers that begin a sentence unless it begins with a year (e.g., Twelve drummers, The 10 lords a-leaping, 2011’s quota for off-season holiday references has been filled). “hospital stays were reduced from 6 or 7 days to about 1.4 days” or “from six to seven days to about one and one-quarter days” or “from six to seven days to about 1 1/4 days”? Could you explain? You don’t usually need to give the day of the week with a date. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Always use figures for numbered addresses. Elsewhere in the story: Which is correct? We will look at three parts of AP style. With this in mind, we’ll note issues below where UK conventions for writing dates would differ from those recommended in the AP Stylebook. Likewise, midnight and noon should be spelled out. The president will be inaugurated Jan. 20.-but-On Dec. 21, … The Associated Press Stylebook, first published in 1977, clarified the news organization's rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation and usage. Mastering AP Style dates, temperatures, measurements, ages, time, percent, money, years, hours, speed and more is doable! For example, “They opened a sarcophagus for the first time in three thousand years.” or “They opened a sarcophagus for the first time in 3,000 years.”? AP editor David Minthorn fields questions of widest interest posed by subscribers to the online AP Stylebook. I agree that the rules are hard to follow, but my example comes straight off AP’s website. This one is stumping me. – Even though it was 43 degrees outside, he went swimming. However, if you do, use a comma to set it off from the rest of the date: In addition, AP style recommends using a day of the week to avoid vague time elements, such as “today,” “tonight,” “tomorrow,” or “yesterday”: The main street was closed Tuesday for a parade. However, if the name of the street is a number, then you should default back to the basics: spell out First through Ninth, and use figures for 10th and anything higher. I was wondering how you are supposed to use commas after full dates in AP style. So how do you know when to spell out numbers in AP style? Hours, minutes and seconds are all units of time, so it’s odd not to use the same style with all of them. However, there is an exception to this exception (things can never be easy, right?). Thank you! “I bought my car four years ago.” The 12 of June? by Amber Morris | Nov 1, 2020 | AP Style Basics | 59 comments. But these words differ completely in meaning (and one... For Chinese New Year 2021 (the Year of the Ox, no less), we thought we’d... Blogs can be a great source of information when researching an essay. Context matters in this case. And then, we come to using so at the start of a sentence. However, you should not use one before the “s” in decades or centuries: The early 1800s were a time of rapid change. I’ve seen mainstream news articles (even from the same outlet) use both in different articles. -If you’re starting a sentence, spell out the number, unless it’s a year. The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law official style guide of the Associated Press, a not-for-profit news agency that’s been around since 1846. You should use figures for 10 or above and whenever preceding a unit of measure or referring to ages of people, animals, events or things. If this is not possible, spell out the number. This is the style guide that professional media use. AP Style holds that you should not use “on” before a date or day of the week when its absence would not lead to confusion, except at the beginning of a sentence. 2. I proof read for a local paper. (Note abbreviation for ‘Number’). Hi, I know that figures are used for ages of people and things (2-year-old boy, 5-year-old car, etc.) Use figures when writing about dimensions—including height and weight. AP editors consider those time spans to be descriptions and suggest the default style on numerals: spell out numbers under 10. IMHO that depends a lot on how clumsy the resulting sentence is. For example, I don’t quite understand why this sentence “a friend in training called me Cabbage Patch, because he thought I looked like one of those dolls. Your email address will not be published. Do you spell it out like I wrote it or do you do 1 out of 6-7? AP style recommends omitting the word “on” before a day or a date: The Council met Tuesday to discuss the plan. @JohnQPublic Yeah, I've seen style guides that suggest re-wording the sentence to avoid putting a number at the front in such cases. This is because the “s” here indicates a plural, not possession. With a 99% content approval rating, we are the best content creation service in the business. Great question, Robert. – 1999 was a good year to party, according to Prince. Sometimes, inserting a short descriptive word before the number is a quick fix. Please advise! 2 Before: One hundred fifty-two wasps live in my garage. Basically when talking about months, years, days, etc. How would AP write this? Hi! AP Style Years, Months, Decades and Dates Examples: – The Renaissance spanned from the 1300s to the 1600s. Examples of Sentences Starting with But: Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynn Truss, p. 7: “But best of all, I think, is the simple advice given by the style book of a national newspaper: that punctuation is ‘a courtesy designed to help readers to understand a story without stumbling. Use figures when referring to money, whether dollars or cents. If you are referring to a percent generically or casually, AP style suggests … Starting a sentence with a number If a numeral falls at the start of a sentence, it is better to recast the sentence so the number is not the first word. ✗. Try to avoid starting a sentence with a number, but if need be, spell it out, unless it’s a calendar year. I've been told to always put a comma after the year, like in the sentence: On April 4th, 2012, I found a cat. You’re definitely not alone! AP gives this example: For AP style would it be three-to-five days or three to five days? If I am talking about a “six-hour cutoff time” or “finishing a marathon in 6 hours,” am I using numerals or spelling them out? A great many style guides address the question of whether or not to separate the month and year with a comma in phrases of the type "January[,] 2018"—and yet, to my surprise, a search of English Language & Usage for the terms "month year comma" yields only one question that seems to focus on precisely this point: Is there always a comma before and after a year in a sentence? Consider Costco Wholesale Corp. as an example. are called ordinal numbers. – Two percent of missing remotes are found outside. adroll_current_page = "other"; Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter! Ex: “We went to the party a year and a half ago.” A more precise phrase would be better in formal writing. Note that you should never use :00 when discussing an even hour. And if you’d like help proofreading documents in AP style, our editors are available 24/7. '” Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J. K. Rowling, p. 3: Or would it be “high $200 thousands.”, Your first example is correct: “Pricing begins in the high $200,000s.”. Simply writing “2 quarts” would be correct in most cases. AP style recommends abbreviating any month more than five letters long when writing a date (i.e.. Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.). Hi, Micks! “Where will Nos. “Aisle” and “isle” sound almost identical. – Remember when a call from a payphone only cost 10 cents? If you are using clichés or well-known expressions, you should usually spell out the number. You’re in luck! Welcome to Ask the Editor, a forum on writing, style and phrasing issues that go beyond the pages of the AP Stylebook. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. If the writer of your example sentence is following AP style, then “10 years later” would be correct. Introductory AP Style Numbers Examples: – Four thousand people gathered to celebrate the boy band’s upcoming album. For instance: Born Jan. 17, 1984, Mr. Albert went on to… ✓. Associated Press style provides guidelines for news writing. The AP editors give a similar sentence as an example: “They had a fleet of 10 station wagons and two buses.”. Required fields are marked *. Go with “top five.”. A copy editor changed my online/print story to read: “So, there’s where the first library will be,” he told the crowd gathered for the groundbreaking. Now, don't get me started on this. or If you refer to a month without an exact date, though, always write it in full: The August holidays were sunny and warm. And if you only mention a month and year, no commas are required: It’s worth noting that these commas are much rarer in UK English. Is it: “He finished his degree in five years.” OR “He finished his degree in 5 years.”? An AP editor weighed in on the following question, and I think it will help you: Is it “He was in jail for four-and-a-half years” or “He was in jail for 4 1/2 years”? Thanks! When talking about length of time in AP style, use a numeral for 10 and above. In other words, your sentence is correct! ✓. Note that when writing about an even amount, you want to drop the period and zeroes that often accompany a dollar amount ($6.00 = NO!). And three, dates. That construction is awkward enough that I’d avoid it. However, there is an exception to this exception (things can never be easy, right?). Now, ten years later its shortened to just “Patch,” uses ten and not a figure. “He finished his degree in five years.”. Previously, AP style used the word percent with numerals. – The Empire State Building is located at 350 Fifth Avenue in New York. ✓, The main street was closed yesterday for a parade. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. In your above example, I’m not understanding why “8 hours,” uses the numeric figure rather than “eight hours.” Later in the examples you provide, you spell out the numbers in “five minutes,” “six minutes,” etc. However, what about if the date is before the month? – My 5-year-old brother is stinky and needs to bathe. This is the full AP style rule on miles: “Use figures in all references: The farm measures 5 miles by 4 miles. Would it be hyphenated? Previously we had to write out “percent.”). In the following, for instance, we include “on” to clarify that we’re referring to “Dr. Would you say: It’s a three- to five-day trip. The exception to this rule is tabular material, where you can use three-letter forms with no periods (i.e., Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). When to include the year. In casual references, “I bought two quarts of milk at the store” is fine to say. Now what? Chicago (9.5) Always spell out numbers that begin a sentence, or reword to avoid unwieldiness. The two-minute warning.” I point out this last rule because I’m not sure of the context for “six-hour cutoff time.”. Use figures and the percent symbol to express percentages. –Always spell out other words such as alley, drive and road. Example 2012 is a year of unusual weather patterns. Knowing the context may change my answer, but “a year and a half” should be fine.