height

[Mr. X]

Hello,

How do you describe a person's height: They looked at that 6 ft. 3 in. boxer who was fighting his opponent.

How do you write 6 ft. 3 in.? Are there gaps or dots or hyphens? Some other way?

Mr. X

 

[Rover_KE]

I would write 6ft 3in boxer.

Rover

 

[bhaisahab]

Alternatively you could write "a 6' 3" boxer".

 

[Mr. X]

How do I write this: The boxer was six foot three. Is it the same way? The boxer was 6' 3".

 

[bhaisahab]

How do I write this: The boxer was six foot three. Is it the same way? The boxer was 6' 3".

Yes, it means the same.

 

[Mr. X]

Yes, it means the same.

What I mean is, when we write it at the end, can we simply say the boxer was six foot three? Or, must we add ft and in, as we normally do when we write it before the subject?

 

[emsr2d2]

What I mean is, when we write it at the end, can we simply say the boxer was six foot three? Or, must we add ft and in, as we normally do when we write it before the subject?

It doesn't really matter what order the words come in, in your sentence. You simply need to choose whether to say "six foot three", "6ft 3in" or " 6' 3" "

Personally, I favour the second choice. I don't like the use of words as numbers when talking about height and the third choice can be easy to misunderstand/mistype, and is especially confusing when enclosed inside quotation marks.

 

[SoothingDave]

What I mean is, when we write it at the end, can we simply say the boxer was six foot three? Or, must we add ft and in, as we normally do when we write it before the subject?

It is not necessary to specify the units at all if it is understood by the intended audience. For example, when a sports story involves American football players, saying "He is 6-3" would be sufficient.

If there is any risk of confusion about the units, then use them.