Numbers, Numerals

In text, spell out whole numbers below 10; use figures for 10 and above.

Right: They had three sons and two daughters.
Right: They had a fleet of 10 station wagons and two buses.
Right: They built four four-room houses, 10 three-room houses and 12 10-room houses.


Ages are an exception to these guidelines: Always use figures to indicate the age of a person, except at the beginning of a sentence. Ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as a substitute for a noun should use a hyphen.

Right: A 5-year-old boy ... The girl is 2 years old. The 31-year-old researcher ...
Right: Two-year-olds are not noted for their patience.
Wrong: 2-year-olds are not noted for their patience.
Right: The professor, a woman in her 50s, recounted the changes brought about by the Title IX legislation passed in 1972.


When referring to decades, use numerals in full words or abbreviate the numerals, inserting an apostrophe before the two-digit number to indicate numerals that have been omitted.

Right: the 1920s, the Roaring '20s
Right: the '50s, '60s and '70s
Wrong: the 50's, 60's and 70's
Right: She enjoyed '70s music.
Right: In the mid-1960s, she took up jogging; before she knew it, she was running in marathons.


When large numbers must be spelled out, use a hyphen to connect a word ending in "y" to another word; do not use commas between other separate words that are part of one number.

Right: twenty; thirty; twenty-one; thirty-one; one hundred forty-three; one thousand one hundred fifty-five


Spell out numerals occurring at the beginning of a sentence or recast the sentence. There is one exception — a numeral that identifies a calendar year may be used to begin a sentence.

Right: Last year, 993 first-year students entered the college.
Wrong: 993 first-year students entered the college last year.
Right: 1999 was a very good year for job seekers.


Spell out casual expressions using numbers.

Right: A thousand times no!
Right: Thanks a million.


For ordinal numbers (first, second etc.), spell out first through ninth when they indicate sequence in time or location. Starting with 10th, use figures.

Right: first base, the Fifth Amendment
Right: He was 11th in line.


Use 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. when the sequence has been assigned in forming names. Principal examples are geographic, military and political designations.

Right: 1st Ward, 7th Fleet, 1st Sgt.


Numbers in dates
Always use Arabic figures, without "st," "nd," "rd" or "th." (When referring to things connected with the events of Sept. 11, 2001, however, it is permissible to use Sept. 11th.)

Right: Oct. 16
Wrong: Oct. 16th


When using two years to show a period of time, separate the numbers with an "en" dash (a punctuation mark that is longer than a hyphen, but not as long as an "em" dash — see PUNCTUATION later for more details). Do not repeat the century and do not insert an apostrophe. (Exceptions include the 1999–2000 academic year, because it spanned two centuries, and anything else spanning centuries, e.g. 1985–2002.)

Right: the 2000–01 academic year
Wrong: the 2000–2001 academic year
Wrong: the 2000–'01 academic year


In a sentence, use the word "to," not a hyphen or en dash.

Right: She worked here from 1998 to 2000.
Wrong: She worked here from 1998-2000.
Right: American culture changed greatly between 1950 and 1960.


Numbers in class years
When identifying current students or alumni by their class years, the two-digit year is preceded by an apostrophe. Do not insert a comma before the year.

Right: John Smith '87, Jane Doe '00
Wrong: John Smith, '87, Jane Doe, '00


Identify alumni who have changed their names since birth, through marriage or otherwise, as follows: first name / birth name / present last name / class year. Do not set off birth names with parentheses.

Right: Jane Doe Smith '70
Wrong: Jane (Doe) Smith '70


Identify alumni couples who share a last name as follows: first partner's first name / birth name (if different) / and class year followed by second partner's first name / birth name / the couple's present last name / and second partner's class year.

Right: John '47 and Jane Doe Smith '45
Wrong: John and Jane Doe Smith '47, '45
Right: John Smith '90 and Jane Doe Smith-Doe '90


Typesetting note: Most word processing programs will automatically insert the apostrophe curling the wrong way (e.g. '01). You may have to force the apostrophe to curl the correct way (e.g. '01) with these keystrokes: Option + Shift + ] in the Macintosh OS: Control + ' (strike twice) on PCs.

Telephone numbers
In text, local telephone numbers are written with hyphens: 646-2222.

Printed communications going off the campus should list the entire telephone number, including area code:
507-646-2222.

In informal communications, campus extension numbers are preceded by the lowercase abbreviation "x." For example, x2222. Please note that the "x" is not followed by a space.

Times
Use figures except for noon and midnight. A figure alone without zeroes is sufficient for the top of the hour. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes. Do not put a 12 before noon and midnight. Do not omit the periods in a.m. and p.m.

Right: 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m., midnight
Wrong: 2:00 p.m., 5pm