[U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual]
[Chapter 12 - Numerals]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 181]]



 
                              12. NUMERALS

             (See also ``Tabular Work'' and ``Leaderwork'')

  12.1. Most rules for the use of numerals are based on the 
general principle that the reader comprehends numerals more 
readily than numerical word expressions, particularly in 
technical, scientific, or statistical matter. However, for 
special reasons, numbers are spelled out in certain instances, 
except in FIC & punc. and Fol. Lit. matter.

  12.2. The following rules cover the most common conditions 
that require a choice between the use of numerals and words. 
Some of them, however, are based on typographic appearance 
rather than on the general principle stated above.

  12.3. Arabic numerals are preferable to Roman numerals.

                      NUMBERS EXPRESSED IN FIGURES

  12.4. A figure is used for a single number of 10 or more with 
the exception of the first word of the sentence. (See also 
rules 12.9 and 12.23.)

50 ballots
10 guns
24 horses
nearly 13 buckets
about 40 men
10 times as large

Numbers and numbers in series

  12.5. When 2 or more numbers appear in a sentence and 1 of 
them is 10 or larger, figures are used for each number. (See 
supporting rule 12.6.)

      Each of 15 major commodities (9 metal and 6 nonmetal) was 
        in supply.

  but Each of nine major commodities (five metal and four 
        nonmetal) was in supply.

      Petroleum came from 16 fields, of which 8 were discovered 
        in 1956.

  but Petroleum came from nine fields, of which eight were 
        discovered in 1956.

      That man has 3 suits, 2 pairs of shoes, and 12 pairs of 
        socks.

  but That man has three suits, two pairs of shoes, and four 
        hats.

      Of the 13 engine producers, 6 were farm equipment 
        manufacturers, 6 were principally engaged in the 
        production of other types of machinery, and 1 was not 
        classified in the machinery industry.

  but Only nine of these were among the large manufacturing 
        companies, and only three were among the largest 
        concerns.

      There were three 6-room houses, five 4-room houses, and 
        three 2-room cottages, and they were built by 20 
        carpenters. (See rule 12.21.)
      There were three six-room houses, five four-room houses, 
        and three two-room cottages, and they were built by 
        nine carpenters.

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  but If two columns of sums of money add or subtract one into 
        the other and one carries points and ciphers, the other 
        should also carry points and ciphers.

      At the hearing, only one Senator and one Congressman 
        testified.
      There are four or five things which can be done.
  12.6. A unit of measurement, time, or money (as defined in 
rule 12.9), which is always expressed in figures, does not 
affect the use of figures for other numerical expressions 
within a sentence.

      Each of the five girls earned 75 cents an hour.
      Each of the 15 girls earned 75 cents an hour.
      A team of four men ran the 1-mile relay in 3 minutes 20 
        seconds.
      This usually requires from two to five washes and a total 
        time of 2 to 4 hours.
      This usually requires 9 to 12 washes and a total time of 
        2 to 4 hours.
      The contractor, one engineer, and one surveyor inspected 
        the 1-mile road.

  but There were two six-room houses, three four-room houses, 
        and four two-room cottages, and they were built by nine 
        workers in thirty 5-day weeks. (See rule 12.21.)

  12.7. Figures are used for serial numbers.

Bulletin 725
Document 71
pages 352-357
lines 5 and 6
paragraph 1
chapter 2
290 U.S. 325
Genesis 39:20
202-512-0724 (telephone number)
the year 2001
1721-1727 St. Clair Avenue/
  
but Letters Patent No. 2,189,463

  12.8. A colon preceding figures does not affect their use.
      The result was as follows: 12 voted yea, 4 dissented.
      The result was as follows: nine voted yea, seven 
        dissented.

Measurement and time

  12.9. Units of measurement and time, actual or implied, are 
expressed in figures.

  a. Age:
      6 years old
      52 years 10 months 6 days
      a 3-year-old
      at the age of 3 (years implied)

  b. Clock time (see also Time):
      4:30 p.m.; half past 4
      10 o'clock or 10 p.m. (not 10 o'clock p.m.; 2 p.m. in the 
        afternoon; 10:00 p.m.)
      12 a.m. (noon); 12:15 p.m. (15 minutes past noon)
      12 p.m. (midnight); 12:25 a.m. (25 minutes past midnight)
      4h30m or 4.5h, in 
        scientific work, if so written in copy
      0025, 2359 (astronomical and military time)
      08:31:04 (stopwatch reading)

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  c. Dates:
      June 1985 (not June, 1985); June 29, 1985 (not June 29th, 
        1985)
      March 6 to April 15, 1990 (not March 6, 1990, to April 
        15, 1990)
      May, June, and July 1965 (but June and July 1965)
      15 April 1951; 15-17 April 1951 (military)
      4th of July (but Fourth of July, meaning the holiday)
      the 1st [day] of the month (but the last of April or the 
        first [part] of May, not referring to specific days)
      in the year 2000 (not 2,000)

  In referring to a fiscal year, consecutive years, or a 
continuous period of 2 years or more, when contracted, the 
forms 1900-11, 1906-38, 1931-32, 1801-2, 1875-79 are used (but 
upon change of century, 1895-1914 and to avoid multiple ciphers 
together, 2000-2001). For two or more separate years not 
representing a continuous period, a comma is used instead of a 
dash (1875, 1879); if the word from precedes the year or the 
word inclusive follows it, the second year is not shortened and 
the word to is used in lieu of the dash (from 1933 to 1936; 
1935 to 1936, inclusive).

  In dates, A.D. precedes the year (A.D. 937); B.C. follows the 
year (254 B.C.).

  d. Decimals: In text a cipher should be supplied before a 
decimal point if there is no whole unit, and ciphers should be 
omitted after a decimal point unless they indicate exact 
measurement.
0.25 inch; 1.25 inches
silver 0.900 fine
specific gravity 0.9547
gauge height 10.0 feet

but .30 caliber (meaning 0.30 inch,
  bore of small arms); 30 calibers (length)

  e. Use spaces to separate groups of three digits in a decimal 
fraction. (See rule 12.27.)

      0.123 456 789; but 0.1234

  f. Degrees, etc. (spaces omitted):

longitude 77 deg.04'06" E.
35 deg.30'; 35 deg.30' N.
a polariscopic test of 85 deg.
an angle of 57 deg.
strike N. 16 deg. E.
dip 47 deg. W. or 47 deg. N. 31 deg. W.
25.5' (preferred) also 25'.5

but
two degrees of justice; 12
  degrees of freedom
32d degree Mason
150 million degrees Fahrenheit
30 Fahrenheit degrees
  
  g. Game scores:

1 up (golf)
3 to 2 (baseball)
7 to 6 (football), etc.
2 all (tie)

  h. Market quotations:

4\1/2\ percent bonds
Treasury bonds sell at 95
Metropolitan Railroad, 109
Dow Jones average of 10500.76
gold is 109
wheat at 2.30
sugar, .03; not 0.03

  i. Mathematical expressions:

multiplied by 3
divided by 6
a factor of 2
square root of 4

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  j. Measurements:
7 meters
about 10 yards
8 by 12 inches
8- by 12-inch page
2 feet by 1 foot 8 inches by
  1 foot 3 inches
2 by 4 (lumber) (not 2 x 4 or 2 x 4)
1\1/2\ miles
6 acres
9 bushels
1 gallon
3 ems
20/20 (vision)
30/30 (rifle)
12-gauge shotgun
2,500 horsepower
15 cubic yards
6-pounder
80 foot-pounds
10s (for yarns and threads)
f/2.5 (lens aperture)

but
tenpenny nail
fourfold
three-ply
five votes
six bales
two dozen
one gross
zero miles
seven-story building

  k. Money:

$3.65; $0.75; 75 cents; 0.5 cent
$3 (not $3.00) per 200 pounds
75 cents apiece
Rs32,25,644 (Indian rupees)
2.5 francs or fr2.5
65 yen
P265
but 
two pennies
three quarters
one half
six bits, etc.
  
  
  l. Percentage:

      12 percent; 25.5 percent; 0.5 percent (or one-half of 1 
        percent)
      thirty-four one hundredths of 1 percent
      3.65 bonds; 3.65s; 5-20 bonds; 5-20s; 4\1/2\s; 3s
      50-50 (colloquial expression)
      5 percentage points
      a 1,100-percent increase, or an 1100-percent increase

  m. Proportion:

1 to 4
1-3-5
1:62,500

  n. Time (see also Clock time):

6 hours 8 minutes 20 seconds
10 years 3 months 29 days
7 minutes
8 days
4 weeks
1 month
3 fiscal years; third fiscal year
1 calendar year
millennium
but
four centuries
three decades
three quarters (9 months)
statistics of any one year
in a year or two
four afternoons
one-half hour
the eleventh hour

  o. Unit modifiers:

5-day week
8-year-old wine
8-hour day
10-foot pole
 \1/2\-inch pipe
5-foot-wide entrance
10-million-peso loan
a 5-percent increase
20th-century progress
  
but 
two-story house
five-member board
$20 million airfield

  p. Vitamins:

      B12, B, A1, etc.

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Ordinal numbers

  12.10. Except as indicated in rules 12.11 and 12.19, and also 
for day preceding month, figures are used in text and footnotes 
to text for serial ordinal numbers beginning with 10th. In 
tables, leaderwork, footnotes to tables and leaderwork, and in 
sidenotes, figures are used at all times. Military units are 
expressed in figures at all times when not the beginning of a 
sentence, except Corps. (For ordinals in addresses, see rule 
12.13.)

29th of May, but May 29
First Congress; 102d Congress
ninth century; 20th century
Second Congressional District;
  20th Congressional District
seventh region; 17th region
eighth parallel; 38th parallel
fifth ward; 12th ward
ninth birthday; 66th birthday
first grade; 11th grade
1st Army
1st Cavalry Division
323d Fighter Wing
12th Regiment
9th Naval District
7th Fleet
7th Air Force
7th Task Force
  
but
XII Corps (Army usage)
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Seventeenth Decennial Census
  (title)

  12.11. When ordinals appear in juxtaposition and one of them 
is 10th or more, figures are used for such ordinal numbers.

      This legislation was passed in the 1st session of the 
        102d Congress.
      He served in the 9th and 10th Congresses.
      From the 1st to the 92d Congress.
      He represented the 1st, 4th, and 13th wards.
      We read the 8th and 12th chapters.
  but The district comprised the first and second precincts.
      He represented the first, third, and fourth regions.
      The report was the sixth in a series of 14.

  12.12. Ordinals and numerals appearing in a sentence are 
treated according to the separate rules dealing with ordinals 
and numerals standing alone or in a group. (See rules 12.4, 
12.5, and 12.24.)

      The fourth group contained three items.
      The fourth group contained 12 items.
      The 8th and 10th groups contained three and four items, 
        respectively.
      The eighth and ninth groups contained 9 and 12 items, 
        respectively.

  12.13. Beginning with 10th, figures are used in text matter 
for numbered streets, avenues, etc. However, figures are used 
at all times and street, avenue, etc. are abbreviated in 
sidenotes, tables, leaderwork, and footnotes to tables and 
leaderwork.

      First Street NW.; also in parentheses: (Fifth Street) 
        (13th Street); 810 West 12th Street; North First 
        Street; 1021 121st Street; 2031 18th Street North; 711 
        Fifth Avenue; 518 10th Avenue; 51-35 61st Avenue

Punctuation

  12.14. The comma is used in a number containing four or more 
digits, except in serial numbers, common and decimal fractions, 
astronomical and military time, and kilocycles and meters of 
not more than four figures pertaining to radio.

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Chemical formulas

  12.15. In chemical formulas full-sized figures are used 
before the symbol or group of symbols to which they relate, and 
inferior figures are used after the symbol.

6PbS(Ag,Cu)2S2As2S3
   O4


                        NUMBERS SPELLED OUT

  12.16. Spell out numerals at the beginning of a sentence or 
head. Rephrase a sentence or head to avoid beginning with 
figures. (See rule 12.25 for related numbers.)

      Five years ago * * *; not 5 years ago * * *
      Five hundred and fifty men hired * * *; not 550 men hired 
        * * *
      ``Five-Year Plan Announced''; not ``5-Year Plan 
        Announced'' (head)
      The year 1965 seems far off * * *; not 1965 seems far off 
        * * *
      Workers numbering 207,843 * * *; not 207,843 Workers * * 
        *
      Benefits of $69,603,566 * * *; not $69,603,566 worth of 
        benefits * * *

                 1958 report change to the 1958 report

          $3,000 budgeted change to the sum of $3,000 budgeted

          4 million jobless change to jobless number 4 million

  12.17. In testimony, hearings, transcripts, and question and 
answer matter, figures are used immediately following Q. and A. 
or name of interrogator or witness for years (e.g., 1999), sums 
of money, decimals, street numbers, and for numerical 
expressions beginning with 101.

        Mr. Birch, Junior. 1977 was a good year.
        Mr. Bell. $1 per share was the return. Two dollars in 
        1956 was the

      alltime high. Nineteen hundred and seventy-eight may be 
        another 

      story.
        Colonel Davis. 92 cents.
        Mr. Smith. 12.8 people.
        Mr. Jones. 1240 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
        20004.
        Mr. Smith. Ninety-eight persons.
        Q. 101 years? But Q. One hundred years?
        A. 200 years.
        Mr. Smith. Ten-year average would be how much?

  12.18. A spelled-out number should not be repeated in 
figures, except in legal documents. In such instances use these 
forms:

      five (5) dollars, not five dollars (5)
      ten dollars ($10), not ten ($10) dollars

  12.19. Numbers appearing as part of proper names, used in a 
hypothetical or inexact sense, or mentioned in connection with 
serious and dignified subjects such as Executive orders, legal 
proclamations, and in formal writing are spelled out.

      Three Rivers, PA, Fifteenmile Creek, etc.
      the Thirteen Original States
      in the year nineteen hundred and eighty-four
      the One Hundred and Sixth Congress
      millions for defense but not one cent for tribute

[[Page 187]]

threescore years and ten
Ten Commandments
Air Force One (Presidential plane)
back to square one
behind the eight ball
our policy since day one

  12.20. If spelled out, numbers larger than 1,000 should be 
set in the following form:

      two thousand and twenty
      one thousand eight hundred and fifty
      one hundred and fifty-two thousand three hundred and five
      eighteen hundred and fifty (serial number)

  12.21. Numbers of less than 100 preceding a compound modifier 
containing a figure are spelled out.

two \3/4\-inch boards
twelve 6-inch guns
two 5-percent discounts

but
120 8-inch boards
three four-room houses

  12.22. Indefinite expressions are spelled out.
the seventies; the early seventies;

  but the early 1870s or 1970s
in his eighties, not his '80's nor 80's
between two and three hundred horses (better between 200 and 300 
  horses)
twelvefold; thirteenfold; fortyfold; hundredfold; twentyfold to 
  thirtyfold
midthirties (age, years, money)
a thousand and one reasons

but
1 to 3 million
mid-1971; mid-1970s
40-odd people; nine-odd people
40-plus people
100-odd people
3\1/2\-fold; 250-fold; 2.5-fold; 41-fold

  Words such as nearly, about, around, approximately, etc., do 
not reflect indefinite expressions.

      The bass weighed about 6 pounds.
      She was nearly 8 years old.

  12.23. Except as indicated in rules 12.5 and 12.9, a number 
less than 10 is spelled out within a sentence.

six horses
five wells
eight times as large
but
3\1/2\ cans
2\1/2\ times or 2.5 times

  12.24. For typographic appearance and easy grasp of large 
numbers beginning with million, the word million or billion is 
used.

  The following are guides to treatment of figures as submitted 
in copy. If copy reads--

      $12,000,000, change to $12 million
      2,750,000,000 dollars, change to $2,750 million
      2.7 million dollars, change to $2.7 million
      2\3/8\ million dollars, change to $2\3/8\ million
      two and one-half million dollars, change to $2\1/2\ 
        million
      a hundred cows, change to 100 cows
      a thousand dollars, change to $1,000
      a million and a half, change to 1\1/2\ million
      two thousand million dollars, change to $2,000 million
      less than a million dollars, change to less than $1 
        million
  but $2,700,000, do not convert to $2.7 million
  also $10 to $20 million; 10 or 20 million; between 10 and 20 
        million
      4 millions of assets
      amounting to 4 millions

[[Page 188]]

      $1,270,000
      $1,270,200,000
      $2\3/4\ billion; $2.75 billion; $2,750 million
      $500,000 to $1 million
      300,000; not 300 thousand
      $\1/2\ billion to $1\1/4\ billion (note full figure with 
        second fraction); $1\1/4\ to $1\1/2\ billion
      three-quarters of a billion dollars
      5 or 10 billion dollars' worth

  12.25. Related numbers appearing at the beginning of a 
sentence, separated by no more than three words, are treated 
alike.

      Fifty or sixty more miles away is snowclad Mount Everest.
      Sixty and, quite often, seventy listeners responded.
  but Fifty or, in some instances, almost 60 applications were 
        filed.

Fractions

  12.26. Mixed fractions are always expressed in figures. 
Fractions standing alone, however, or if followed by of a or of 
an, are generally spelled out. (See also rule 12.28.)

three-fourths of an inch; not \3/4\ inch nor \3/4\ of an inch
one-half inch
one-half of a farm; not \1/2\ of a farm
one-fourth inch
seven-tenths of 1 percent
three-quarters of an inch
half an inch
a quarter of an inch
one-tenth portion
one-hundredth
two one-hundredths
one-thousandth
five one-thousandths
thirty-five one-thousandths
  
but
 \1/2\ to 1\3/4\ pages
 \1/2\-inch pipe
 \1/2\-inch-diameter pipe
 3\1/2\ cans
 2\1/2\ times

  12.27. Fractions (\1/4\, \1/2\, \3/4\, \3/8\, \5/8\, \7/8\, 
\1/2954\) or full-sized figures with the shilling mark (1/4, 1/
2954) may be used only when either is specifically requested. A 
comma should not be used in any part of a built-up fraction of 
four or more digits or in decimals. (See rule 12.9e.)

  12.28. Fractions are used in a unit modifier.

      \1/2\-inch pipe; not one-half-inch pipe      \1/4\-mile 
        run      \7/8\-point rise

[[Page 189]]

Roman numerals

  12.29. A repeated letter repeats its value; a letter placed 
after one of greater value adds to it; a letter placed before 
one of greater value subtracts from it; a dashline over a 
letter denotes multiplied by 1,000.

                                                                        NUMERALS
 
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I.................................        1      XXIX................       29      LXXV................       75      DC..................         600
II................................        2      XXX.................       30      LXXIX...............       79      DCC.................         700
III...............................        3      XXXV................       35      LXXX................       80      DCCC................         800
IV................................        4      XXXIX...............       39      LXXXV...............       85      CM..................         900
V.................................        5      XL..................       40      LXXXIX..............       89      M...................       1,000
VI................................        6      XLV.................       45      XC..................       90      MD..................       1,500
VII...............................        7      XLIX................       49      XCV.................       95      MM..................       2,000
VIII..............................        8      L...................       50      IC..................       99      MMM.................       3,000
IX................................        9      LV..................       55      C...................      100      MMMM or MV..........       4,000
X.................................       10      LIX.................       59      CL..................      150      V...................       5,000
XV................................       15      LX..................       60      CC..................      200      M...................   1,000,000
XIX...............................       19      LXV.................       65      CCC.................      300
XX................................       20      LXIX................       69      CD..................      400
XXV...............................       25      LXX.................       70      D...................      500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                      DATES
 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MDC.............................      1600     MCMXX..............      1920     MCMLXX............      1970
MDCC............................      1700     MCMXXX.............      1930     MCMLXXX...........      1980
MDCCC...........................      1800     MCMXL..............      1940     MCMXC.............      1990
MCM or MDCCCC...................      1900     MCML...............      1950     MM................      2000
MCMX............................      1910     MCMLX..............      1960     MMX...............      2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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                               NOTES