Using Numbers in Writing
The Chicago Manual of Style recommends spelling out the numbers zero through one hundred and using
figures thereafter—except for whole numbers used in combination with hundred, thousand, hundred
thousand, million, billion, and beyond (e.g., two hundred; twenty-eight thousand; three hundred thousand;
one million).
This is a complex topic, with many exceptions, and there is no consistency among blogs, books, newspapers,
and magazines. This sheet will confine itself to rules that most media seem to agree on.
1. START OF A SENTENCE Spell out all numbers beginning a sentence.
Examples: Twenty-three hundred sixty-one victims were hospitalized.
Nineteen fifty-six was quite a year.
*Some sources may look like this as well: 1956 was quite a year.
2. HYPHENATATION Compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine.
Examples:
Forty-three people were injured in the train wreck.
Twenty-seven of them were hospitalized.
2b. Fractions that are written out.
Examples:
We recovered about two-thirds of the stolen cash.
One-half is slightly less than five-eighths.
However, do not hyphenate terms like a third or a half.
3. DOLLARS + CENTS It is not necessary to use a decimal point or a dollar sign
when writing out sums of less than a dollar.
Not Advised: He had only $0.60.
Better: He had only sixty cents. OR He had only 60 cents.
*Choose the word "dollars" or the $.
Don’t write: I have $1,250 dollars in my checking account.
Correct: I have $1,250 in my checking account.
4. TIME For clarity, use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 PM and 12:00 AM.
NOTE- AM and PM can also be written A.M. and P.M., a.m. and p.m., and am and pm.
Examples:
8 AM
3:09 P.M.
11:20 p.m.
*Using numerals for the time of day has become widely accepted.
Examples: The flight leaves at 6:22 a.m. Please arrive by 5:30 sharp.
However, some writers prefer to spell out the time, particularly when using o'clock:
Examples: She takes the four thirty-five train.
The baby wakes up at five o'clock in the morning.
5. FRACTIONS Mixed fractions are often expressed in figures unless they begin a
sentence.
In the sentence: We expect a 5 1/2 percent wage increase.
At the start of the sentence: Five and one-half percent was the expected wage
increase.
6. DECIMALS Write decimals using figures. As a courtesy to readers, many writers
put a zero in front of the decimal point.
Examples: The plant grew 0.79 inches last year. Their plant grew only 0.07 inches this
year.
7. LARGE NUMBERS Use the simplest way to express large numbers.
Example: twenty-three hundred (simpler than two thousand three hundred=2300)
Large round numbers are often spelled out, but be consistent within a sentence and
paragraph.
Don’t write: You can earn from one million dollars to 5 million dollars.
Also don’t write: You can earn from $1 million to five million dollars.
**Use this: You can earn from one million to five million dollars.
Keep it consistent in the sentence and paragraph:
8. USE COMMAS With figures of four or more digits, use the number but use commas.
Count three spaces to the left to place the first comma. Continue placing commas after
every three digits.
Examples:
1,054 people
$2,417,592.21
9. DATES The following examples are typical when using figures to express dates.
Examples:
the 30th of June, 1934
June 30, 1934 (no -th necessary)
10. DECADES When expressing decades using figures, it is simpler to put an
apostrophe before the incomplete numeral and no apostrophe between the number and
the s.
Example: During the '80s and '90s, the Latin American economy grew.
Example: During the 80's and 90's, the Latin American economy grew.
Choose one place for the apostrophe.
**You may also express decades in complete numerals.
Example: During the 1980s and 1990s, the U.S. economy grew.