[Grammar] 2 years versus two years

[RichardN]

Afternoon all

I am having an argument with a collegue. He insists in alwats using numerics for numbers. i.e. for the past 2 years. I was under the impression you write out two years (up to ten) when referring to non-numeric subjects like years??

Advice much appreciated

Regards

 

[emsr2d2]

Most style guides would agree with you. However, bear in mind that we are also supposed to put one appropriate punctuation mark at the end of every sentence, a rule you have chosen to ignore throughout your post.

Note the correct spelling of "always".

 

[jutfrank]

It really depends on what you're writing. Sometimes, writing a numeral is appropriate, and sometimes not.

 

[bubbha]

If you're writing a letter to a friend, it's OK to use numerals as you described. But in formal writing, it's best to follow the advice of established style guides, which recommend writing small numbers (certainly 1-9, but often also 10 and sometimes up to 20) using words.

 

[jutfrank]

To put it as simply as possible, I'd advise this:

• In most kinds of prose, write out the words fully (large numbers would normally be an exception).
• Use numerals when you are thinking of a number (rather, the concept of 'number').

Here's a simple example:


I lived in Paris for over twenty years.

In the above sentence, it would be very bad style to use a numeral since a) the text is prose (in this case from biographical text), and b) the word two is not being used as a number. The time phrase two years simply describes a time duration.

I would advise using numerals in more formal kinds of prose writing, when the number word is meant as some kind of statistic. An example may be when you are summarising data. Another more obvious example would be in mathematical texts. One main idea here is that numerals stand out more clearly on the page, and so are easier to process. Another key point, of course, is the fact that you can write in two characters (25) what would otherwise take eleven characters (twenty-five). For certain kinds of text, this is very important.

Be aware that style guides are for the most part applicable only to a journalistic prose style.