Writing Lessons & Advice: Writing Numbers
Happy New Year!
At the start or end of a year, we often like to take stock of our goals, accomplishments, or other accruements during our previous trek around the sun. For me, my cat has no obvious fleas after I've diligently groomed and treated him throughout the year! I lost--and kept off--around fifteen pounds on a weight loss program I started in 2023! In March 2025, my Lessons & Advice blog will be two years old. This post will be the fifty-sixth to run as of this publishing, and in April 2025, I’ll be married for three years.
We also might consider new aims of improvement, expansion, or progress as we look to a fresh calendar. In this new year, my husband and I are certainly hoping for continued physical wellness, growth in our relationship, professional changes that go in a good direction, and the time and resources to make more home renovations. (A one-hundredth post by the end of the year could be a possibility too if I have enough topics to work with! I’m always open to suggestions!)
All that to say how numbers are very much part of our communication. Our New Year's resolutions and reflections often focus on aspects of time, value, and quantity, which are best conveyed in numeric expressions and measurements. We want to increase, maybe multiply, the good things in our lives and decrease the bad things in our control within a span of several months. In other contexts, numbers can make strong arguments; denote status and order; and have symbolic, cultural, or spiritual meaning. More still, language has merged with numbers to suit our various turns of expression. This list compiles several common language/number associations and other terms that may be helpful or interesting:
Number- an abstract value expressing a quantity or amount. Numbers encompass “types” like whole numbers, prime numbers, natural numbers, complex numbers, and so forth. Those who are more familiar with or inclined to mathematics may recognize these.
Numeral- the concrete version of a number; the figure or symbol that denotes a number; think Roman numerals or binary numeral system. They are what we read and recognize as numbers, either naturally or with some study.
Digits- the term for the numerals 0 through 9; also known as figures. Digits/figures may stand alone or be combined to express larger numbers; digit is also another word for fingers or toes and there is a connection between the body parts and numbers/numerals!
Cardinal numbers- numbers used to count and perhaps what most people think of when thinking of numbers.
Ordinal numbers- numbers that note rank, importance, or sequence, like first, 1st, second, 2nd, third, 3rd, etc. Think ordinal=order
Nominal numbers- numbers used as labels that don’t imply value, like the numbers on sports jerseys.
How come these are important to know
To a point, writing numbers has Standard English rules to follow. Perhaps one of the most obvious connections relates to subject-verb agreement: the verb takes either a singular or plural form depending on whether the subject is singular or plural, barring a few exceptions discussed in another lesson. Some other rules for number-writing will include:
Don’t start a sentence with a numeral/figure; spell out the number instead. (example: One thing stands in the way. Not 1 thing stands in the way.)
In English-speaking regions, commas “separate” larger numbers by the thousands (examples: 1,234 or 123,456,789)
Spell out centuries and decades
Hyphenate compound numbers, just like with compound words
Check out the sources and other writing/learning material for more! Additionally, certain formats or styles, like MLA or APA, may have specific parameters for incorporating numbers. Understanding the terms (and usage) may also be helpful in scientific or mathematical fields too.
Hope this inspires a resolution to improve your number-writing (and general writing) techniques!
If there’s a topic you want me to cover in the future, you’re welcome to reach out to me on the web chat features or socials!
Sources/further reading
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