Numbers, dates and times
Consistency within your page or document is the most important thing to remember.
General rules
In body text, whole numbers from zero to ten are spelt out in words:
zero, one, two, three, four
Numbers greater than ten can be presented as figures or spelt out in words (if they can be written in two words or less), but be consistent!
11 or eleven, two hundred or 200, eighty-one or 81
Larger or more complex numbers should be written as figures:
3.14; 1001; 36,278
And really large numbers can use a combination of words and figures:
12 million, "one million dollars", 6 billion or 8 trillion, 11m, 12bn
Hyphenating
If spelling them out, hyphenate numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine. Don't hyphenate the rest: write ‘two hundred', not ‘two-hundred'.
Do say: twenty-one; three hundred
Don't say: three-hundred
Exceptions
As with all rules, there are exceptions! Here are the most common.
Tables and information boxes
In tables and information boxes, numerical information should be presented as figures. The table/information box format is more suited to data, as opposed to long written-out body text, and figures will help you make better use of space. However, if you're ever writing full sentences within a table, general rules apply!
For example:
| Venue | Event | Ages | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fit City Clarendon | Swimming | All ages | Please note: the changing rooms shut five minutes before the centre is due to close. |
| Fit City Ordsall | Mother and baby toddler group | 2 to 5 | For parents and carers of toddlers aged between two and five years. |
| Salford Lads Club | Circuit training | 8 to 14 | How fit are you? Think you can do six laps of the hall followed by ten sit-ups and ten star-jumps? |
Comparable quantities
Be consistent within your presentation:
Do say: All children aged 8 to 16 took part in the basketball event; He ate five sausage rolls, eleven pizzas, and twenty-one cream cakes.
Don't say: All children aged eight to 16 took part in the basketball event; He ate five sausage rolls, 11 pizzas and 21 cream cakes.
Incomparable quantities
Do say: Thirteen 80-page volumes or 13 eighty-page volumes
Don't say: 13 80-page volumes or thirteen eighty-page volumes
Dates
Don't spell out dates. Dates should be written as dd month yyyy. For example, 15 January 2011 (do not write 23rd, 4th etc). When refering to a day or month, do not abbreviate.
Do say: Sunday 30 January or 30 January 1978
Don't say: Sun 30th January or 30 Jan 77
Times
Don't spell out times, and follow these guidelines:
- Times should be written using ‘am' or ‘pm' (do not use the 24-hour clock)
- Separate times using a full stop, not a colon: 10.00am, not 10:00am
- Make sure on-the-hour times have zeros: 11.00am, not 11am
- Make sure you use am or pm on both times in the range: 10.00am to 11.00am, not 10 to 11am
- Noon can be written as 12.00pm, 12 noon, or 12.00 noon (but be consistent)
- Midnight is 12.00am. Midday is 12.00pm
Do say: 10.00am to 11.00am; 11.00am to 12.00 noon; 8.00pm to 11.00pm
Don't say: 07:00 to 19:00; 10 to 11am; 8pm to 11pm
Ranges and spans
To assist those people using screenreaders, use the word ‘to' in your ranges, rather than a hyphen:
Do say: aged 11 to 16; 26 February to 3 March; 10.00am to 11.00am
Don't say: aged 11-16; 26 Feb-3 March; 10am-11am
Amounts and measurements
You can use ‘m' or ‘bn' for sums of money, quantities or inanimate objects, but use ‘million' or ‘billion' for living things.
Do say: 5bn tonnes of rubbish; one million birds; £10m
Don't say: 1m birds
Don't spell out numbers used next to symbols indicating a measure (e.g. mm, cm, m, km). Use figures even if it's a small integer:
Do say: three million; £3m; 6mm of rain fell
Don't say: three m; six mm
This page was last updated on 4 February 2011
