Page 62 - Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking

■ He has zero chances at winning the race, but he won’t stop trying.
■ For more than 100 years, my family has made the best olive oil in

Italy.
■ The team gave me a jersey with the number 19 on it.

■ Twenty-three pairs of shoes were left near the door.

If you have a series of numbers, they should all be in the same style, even if
some are below and some are above 10.

■ Bad: My siblings are eight, 10, and 12 years old.
■ Good: My siblings are eight, ten, and twelve years old.

In literary writing, it can be less distracting to the reader to see all numbers
as words, and it’s often better to use general rather than specific numbers. There

is something about the exactness of numbers that can destroy the mood of an
emotional bit of writing.

■ Good: I scooted over a few inches on the bench until we could hold
hands.

■ Not Good: I scooted over four inches on the bench until we could
hold hands.

■ Even Less Good: I scooted over 4 inches on the bench until we
could hold hands.

In the United States, bank checks are still popular. These checks usually have

the numbers written out two ways: once in numerals and once in words. This

makes sure banks know exactly how much money to move from the check
writer’s account to the check recipient’s account. For the sake of readability, it is
best to separate each grouping of numbers with commas and to use “and” for the

cents.

■ ■ $601 = six hundred one dollars $1,515,657 = one million, five hundred

■ fifteen thousand, six hundred fifty-seven dollars $2999.04 = two