[U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual]
[Chapter 12 - Numerals]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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 24 horses nearly 13 buckets
10 guns 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.
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 that can be done.
12.6. A unit of measurement, time, or money (as defined in rule
12.9), which is always expressed in fi gures, 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 725 290 U.S. 325
Document 71 Genesis 39:20
pages 352-357 202-512-0724 (telephone number)
lines 5 and 6 the year 2001
paragraph 1 1721-1727 St. Clair Avenue
chapter 2 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 a 3-year-old
52 years 10 months 6 days 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 p.m. (12 noon)
12 a.m. (12 midnight)
4\h\30\m\ or 4.5\h\, in scientific work, if so written in copy
0025, 2359 (astronomical and military time)
08:31:04 (stopwatch reading)
c. Dates:
9/11 (referring to the attack on the United States that
occurred on September 11, 2001)
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.); C.E. and B.C.E. follow the year.
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 but .30 caliber (meaning 0.30
silver 0.900 fine inch,
specific gravity 0.9547 bore of small arms); 30 calibers
gauge height 10.0 feet (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�04'06'' E. but
35�30'; 35�30' N. two degrees of justice; 12
a polariscopic test of 85� degrees of freedom
an angle of 57� 32d degree Mason
strike N. 16� E. 150 million degrees Fahrenheit
dip 47� W. or 47� N. 31� W. 30 Fahrenheit degrees
25.5' (preferred) also 25'.5
g. Game scores:
1 up (golf) 7 to 6 (football), etc.
3 to 2 (baseball) 2 all (tie)
h. Market quotations:
4� percent bonds gold is 109
Treasury bonds sell at 95 wheat at 2.30
Metropolitan Railroad, 109 sugar, .03; not 0.03
Dow Jones average of 10500.76
i. Mathematical expressions:
multiplied by 3 a factor of 2
divided by 6 square root of 4
j. Measurements:
7 meters 3 ems
about 10 yards 20/20 (vision)
8 by 12 inches 30/30 (rifle)
8- by 12-inch page 12-gauge shotgun
2 feet by 1 foot 8 inches 2,500 horsepower
by 1 foot 3 inches 15 cubic yards
2 by 4 (lumber) (not 2 x 4 6-pounder
or 2.4) 80 foot-pounds
1� miles 10s (for yarns and threads)
6 acres �l2.5 (lens aperture)
9 bushels six bales
1 gallon two dozen
but one gross
tenpenny nail
zero miles
fourfold
seven-story building
three-ply
five votes
k. Money:
$3.65; $0.75; 75 cents; but
0.5 cent two pennies
$3 (not $3.00) per three quarters
200 pounds one half
75 cents apiece
six bits, etc.
Rs32,25,644 (Indian rupees)
2.5 francs or fr2.5
65 yen
P265
l. Percentage:
12 percent; 25.5 percent; 50-50 (colloquial expression)
0.5 percent (or one-half 5 percentage points
of 1 percent) a 1,100-percent increase, or
thirty-four one hundredths of an
1 percent 1100-percent increase
3.65 bonds; 3.65s; 5-20 bonds;
5-20s; 4�s; 3s
m. Proportion:
1 to 4 1:62,500
1-3-5
n. Time (see also Clock time):
6 hours 8 minutes 20 seconds but
10 years 3 months 29 days four centuries
7 minutes three decades
8 days three quarters (9 months)
4 weeks statistics of any one year
1 month in a year or two
3 fiscal years;third
fiscal year four afternoons
1 calendar year one-half hour
millennium the eleventh hour
FY 2010 FY10
o. Unit modifiers:
5-day week a 5-percent increase
8-year-old wine 20th-century progress
8-hour day
10-foot pole but
�-inch pipe two-story house
5-foot-wide entrance five-member board
10-million-peso loan $20 million airfield
p. Vitamins:
B\12\, B\T\, A\1\, etc.
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 eighth parallel; 38th parallel
First Congress; 102d Congress fifth ward; 12th ward
ninth century; 21st century ninth birthday; 66th birthday
Second Congressional District; first grade; 11th grade
20th Congressional District 1st Army
seventh region; 17th region 1st Cavalry Division
323d Fighter Wing
12th Regiment but
9th Naval District XII Corps (Army usage)
7th Fleet Court of Appeals for the
Tenth Circuit
7th Air Force
7th Task Force 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.
Their children were in 1st, 2d, 3d, and 10th grades.
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, fi gures 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.
Chemical formulas
12.15. In chemical formulas full-sized fi gures are used before the
symbol or group of symbols to which they relate, and inferior
figures are used after the symbol.
6PbS(Ag,Cu)\2\S2As\2\S\3\O\4\
Numbers spelled out
12.16. Spell out numbers 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 fi fty men hired * * *; not 550 men hired * * *
``Five-Year Plan Announced''; not ``5-Year Plan Announced''
(head)
The year 2065 seems far off * * *; not 2065 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 verbatim 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., 2008), sums
of money, decimals, street numbers, and for numerical
expressions beginning with 101.
Mr. Birch, Junior. 2008 was a good year.
Mr. Bell. $1 per share was the return. Two dollars in 1956 was
the alltime
high. Two thousand ten 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 three score years and ten
Creek, etc. Ten Commandments
the Thirteen Original States Air Force One (Presidential
in the year two thousand eight plane)
the One Hundred Tenth Congress back to square one
millions for defense but not one behind the eight ball
cent for tribute our policy since day one
12.20. If spelled out, whole numbers should be set in the following
form:
two thousand twenty
one thousand eight hundred fifty
one hundred fifty-two thousand three hundred five
eighteen hundred fifty (serial number)
When spelled out, any number containing a fraction or piece of
a whole should use the word ``and'' when stating the fraction or
piece:
sixty-two dollars and four cents
ninety-nine and three-tenths degrees
thirty-three and seventy-five one-hundredths shares
12.21. Numbers below 100 preceding a compound modifier
containing a figure are spelled out.
two 3/4-inch boards but
twelve 6-inch guns 120 8-inch boards
two 5-percent discounts three four-room houses
12.22. Indefinite expressions are spelled out.
the seventies; the early midthirties (age, years,
seventies; money)
but the early 1870s or 1970s a thousand and one reasons
in his eighties, not his '80's
nor '80's but
between two and three
hundred 1 to 3 million
horses (better between 200 mid-1971; mid-1970s
and 300 horses) 40-odd people; nine-odd
people
twelvefold; thirteenfold;
fortyfold; 40-plus people
hundredfold; twentyfold 100-odd people
to thirtyfold 3�-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 but
five wells 3� cans
eight times as large 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� million
a hundred cows, change to 100 cows
a thousand dollars, change to $1,000
a million and a half, change to 1� 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 million of assets
amounting to 4 million
$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
$� billion to $1� billion (note full figure with
second fraction); $1� 1to $1� 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 two one-hundredths
inch nor 3/4 of an inch one-thousandth
one-half inch five one-thousandths
one-half of a farm; not � of a farm thirty-five one-
thousandths
one-fourth inch but
seven-tenths of 1 percent � to 1 3/4
pages
three-quarters of an inch �-inch pipe
half an inch �-inch-diameter
pipe
a quarter of an inch 3� cans
one-tenth portion 2� times
one-hundredth
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 specifi cally 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.
�-inch pipe; not �-mile run 7/8-point rise
one-half-inch pipe
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.
[GRAPHIC OMITTED IN TIFF FORMAT(S)]