The general rule is that all numbers ten and below should be spelt and numbers 11 and above should be put in numerals. However, there are certain exceptions to this:
• If numbers recur through the text or are being used for calculations, then numerals should be used.
• If the number is approximate (e.g. ‘around six hundred years ago’) it should be spelled out.
• Very large numbers should generally be expressed without using rows of zeros where possible (e.g. $3.5 million instead of $3,500,000). In contracts, the use of both words and numbers is common in order to increase certainty. For example, ‘THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED EUROS (€3,500)’.
• Percentages may be spelled out (twenty percent) or written as numbers (20%)
• Numbers that begin sentences should be spelled out.
Decimal points
In English writing, the decimal point is represented by a dot (.) and commas are used to break up long numbers. Commas cannot be used to represent a decimal point.
Therefore, the number ten thousand five hundred and fifty-three and three-quarters is written like this in English:
10,553.75
while in most Continental European countries, it is written like this:
10.553,75
When referring to sums of money, the following rules apply:
• When writing numerical sums, the currency sign goes before the sum (e.g. $100). Note that there is no gap between the sign and the figure that follows it.
• When spelling out numbers, the name of the currency is put after the number (e.g. ‘one hundred pounds sterling’).
The percentage sign (%) appears after the number to which it relates, and there is no gap between the sign and the number (e.g. 95%).
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