SwimModSponges Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 (edited) a. There are six dolphins with 132 harpoons in them. (smallword+largenumber) b. Only 5 of them have died so far, but at least the four-hundred and seventy-seven people in the Inuit tribe will have enough meat to last the winter. (smallnumber+largeword) c. 189 of them have cancer; 12 of them will be dead within six months. (largenumber+smallnumber) d. It's the same in all three-thousand, five-hundred, and ninety-one igloos across the eight city states of the Inuit nation. (largeword+smallword) which of these sentences is gramatically correct? Edited March 21, 2019 by SwimModSponges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nameraka Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 (edited) It depends on the style guide you're using. MLA and APA, for example, have different rules on this. It isn't really a grammatical issue; it's a style issue. Edited March 21, 2019 by nameraka 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimModSponges Posted March 21, 2019 Author Share Posted March 21, 2019 Them sons a bitches. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue_Alphonse Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 26 minutes ago, nameraka said: It depends on the style guide you're using. MLA and APA, for example, have different rules on this. It isn't really a grammatical issue; it's a style issue. Basically. I've always learned it/done it sort of like the first way (if I am being picky, mind you... not so much just blabbing on a forum or whatever). General rule is if it's one or two-digit numbers, spell it out. Any more, make it numerical. Pretty sure there is a "legit proper way" and my mind is really trying to pinpoint it but I am half tired and it's been too long for me to have to worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskox Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 The only rule I heard from someone I would believe to know is that d is correct. C would be correct if you didn't spell out that one number. Basically it's uniformity you want. If you want to spell them out, spell them all out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnight Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 3 hours ago, SwimModSponges said: a. There are six dolphins with 132 harpoons in them. (smallword+largenumber) b. Only 5 of them have died so far, but at least the four-hundred and seventy-seven people in the Inuit tribe will have enough meat to last the winter. (smallnumber+largeword) c. 189 of them have cancer; 12 of them will be dead within six months. (largenumber+smallnumber) d. It's the same in all three-thousand, five-hundred, and ninety-one igloos across the eight city states of the Inuit nation. (largeword+smallword) which of these sentences is gramatically correct? D is the closest to correct. But it should read three thousand, five hundred, ninety-one. It is mostly a preference issue, but consistency is key. If you use numerals once, you should continue to use them. If you spell out the numbers, all should be spelled out. Never start a sentence with numbers, unless it is in reference to a year, which is acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1pooh4u Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 (edited) I have no idea. When I put numbers in sentences I go for consistency. I didn’t know there was a specific grammatical rule 😬 I guess there are rules for this. None seem to be that consistent https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/how-to-write-numbers Edited March 21, 2019 by 1pooh4u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greeny Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 If a number takes multiple words to say, use digits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpgamer Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Does the sentence look dumb when you spell out the number? If yes, use numerals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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