Writing Dates and Times
Rule: The following examples apply when using dates:
The meeting is scheduled for June 30.
The meeting is scheduled for the 30th of June.
We have had tricks played on us on April 1.
The 1st of April puts some people on edge.
Rule: When expressing decades, you may spell them out and lowercase them.
Example: During the eighties and nineties, the American economy grew.
Rule: Whether you express decades using incomplete or complete numerals, do not use an apostrophe between the year and the s. When using an incomplete numeral, use an apostrophe to replace the first two numbers.
Correct:
During the ’80s, the world’s economy grew.
During the 1980s, the world’s economy grew.
Incorrect:
During the ’80′s, the world’s economy grew.
During the 1980′s, the world’s economy grew.
Rule: Spell out the time of day in text even with half and quarter hours. With o’clock, the number is always spelled out.
Example: She gets up at four thirty before the baby wakes up.
Example: The baby wakes up at five o’clock in the morning.
Rule: Use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized.
Example: Her flight leaves at 6:22 a.m.
Example: Please arrive by 12:30 p.m. sharp.
Rule: Use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 p.m. or 12:00 a.m.
Note: You may use AM and PM rather than a.m. and p.m.
Quiz: Correct or Incorrect?
1. The last outbreak of smallpox occurred in the late 1970’s.
2. Can you get here by 12:00 midnight?
3. Please deliver the package by August 1st, 2009.
Answers:
1. 1970s
2. midnight (leave out 12:00)
3. August 1, 2009
Posted on Sunday, August 24th, 2008, at 11:24 pm
324 Responses to “Writing Dates and Times”
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I’m confused at the use of “th” in the dates on this website (e.g. “This entry was posted on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 …”
Shouldn’t it be “This entry was posted on Sunday, August 24, 2008?”
If the “th” is correct, please explain why. Thanks
Peggy, you are absolutely right that the “th” is incorrectly used in this blog software. Maybe we can start a letter-writing campaign to WordPress.
Thanks for the useful resource. It would be great if the Word Editor such as Microsoft Word could make corrections when mistakes are made in writing dates and times.
Sandy, I agree with you that Microsoft Word should correct dates with its AutoCorrect feature. It does, however, insert dates correctly when using date fields. Both Word and Excel’s “long date” format will look look like this: Monday, September 14, 2009.
In Word 2007, click on the Insert tab, then click Date & Time (right-hand side, Text group). In Excel 2007 on the Home tab, click the Number Format drop-down arrow and select Long Date.
I am a computer applications instructor and I always mention this to my adult students.
How do you write time? he was late 4 minutes and 30 seconds or 4:30 minutes?
If you write 4:30, you are indicating a particular time, not a duration of time. Since you are writing about minutes and seconds (two different categories), follow my rule that says this: If you have numbers in different categories, use numerals for one category and spell out the other.
Example: All 30 history students attended the four plays. (Students are represented with figures; plays are represented with words.)
Your Example: He was four minutes and 30 seconds late.
In most circumstances, you would actually write this: He was 4 1/2 minutes late.
I asked for five pencils, not 50.
Should it be 5:00 AM or just 5 AM?
According to the AP Style Manual, either 5:00 a.m. or 5 a.m. would be correct. Even mixing the two is fine. (See below) Note, however, that the standard is a.m. and p.m., not AM and PM.
AP Style Manual: Q. Can you please tell me how time should be written. Is 9 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. corrrect? Or, should it appear as 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM. Thank you!
A. AP style is 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 2007-05-13 (Source: Ask the Editor, Dates, time periods)
What is the correct way to write the following:
The trade was executed at 3:00 p.m., PT, on Wednesday, June 30th.
The best way to write this: The trade was executed on Wednesday, June 30, at 3:00 p.m., PST (or PDT). Note that the day and date appear before the time. Also, I replaced PT with PST or PDT, the more standard abbreviations. Finally, I eliminated the “th” from “June 30.”
would “The morning of July 31, 1901″
be correct, or ….July 31st,1901 ?
This is still confusing for me.
Do not add “st” or “th” to dates that include the year. Even dates that do not include the year do not need pronunciation help. Example: Her birthday is on August 28, which falls on a Saturday this year.
Thanks for your anwer, but now I have another question (or two): is the following correct?
Working 9 to 5, five days a week, (no AM, PM?)
Also, 48 hour strike, the first 72 hours, 24 hour day? Should the numbers be spelled? If not, should the number and hour or hours hyphonated?
With “working 9 to 5,” you don’t need “AM/PM” because it is an expression and the “AM/PM” is understood. If, however, you say, “He needs to be at work by 10,” you would want to clarify morning vs. evening.
Hyphenation answers: 48-hour strike Explanation: Hyphenate compound adjectives (48-hour) in front of a noun (strike).
the first 72 hours Explanation: Do not hyphenate onto a noun (hours).
24-hour day Explanation: Hyphenate compound adjectives (24-hour) in front of a noun (day).
Numbers greater than nine (or ten) do not need to be spelled out.
Thanks, you were a great help!
Does it matter that the year of the date falls on to the second line in a paragraph? For example:
“…the next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 21,
2010.”
Place the entire date, excluding the day of the week, on one line: “…the next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 21, 2010.”
Hi,
I am troubled by this question from my daughter,
Is “The first telephone directory was issued February 21, 1878, by the New Haven Telephone Company.” fine enough or the word “on” is required before the date?
Thank you for your help,
Use “on” with a complete date: The first telephone directory was issued on February 21, 1878…
If you daughter is writing a journalism article, the word “on” is omitted before dates, as specified by the “Associated Press Stylebook,” which is the bible of journalism writing.
Yes, newspapers are always looking to save space where they can. For other formal writing, such as a report for school, I still recommend including “on.”
What about the use of dates as adjectives? I’ve seen conflicting guidance on whether a comma should follow a date when it’s used as a adjective: the July 2, 2010, meeting or the July 2, 2010 meeting.
the July 2, 2010, meeting
Always use commas.
I want to make sure that I understand this correctly…
A full month-day-year date always requires commas before and after the year (that is, unless the date appears at the end of a sentence: e.g., “She will attend the meeting on October 15, 2012.”). This is always the case regardless of how the date is being used. For instance, even if the date is being used as an adjective, commas are still required to be placed before and after the year. As such:
Incorrect: “I need a copy of your April 17, 2012 presentation
on the new company policies.”
Correct: “I need a copy of your April 17, 2012, presentation
on the new company policies.”
Did I get it right? I’ve been struggling with this particular comma rule for some time now, and I’d really appreciate it if you could let me know if I finally understand it. Thank you.
Yes, our Comma rule 5a states, “Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year and after the year.” The Chicago Manual of Style does acknowledge that when dates are used as adjectives, the construction is awkward and is best avoided. A better wording of your sentence might be “I need a copy of your presentation of April 17, 2012, on the new company policies.”
What is the correct way to express yearly quarters? Is using roman numerals correct? For example IQ2010, IIQ2010, or is the correct way to use numbers 1Q2010? Do you need to express the year completely or would IQ10 work?
This is a style question. I am not sure of the best answer. I looked up your question in The Chicago Manual of Style but couldn’t find the answer after approximately 30 minutes of searching. Let me know what you find out!
I am confused about punctuating dates in sentences. Should a comma be placed before “as of September 30, 2010″ in the following sentence?
Example: We recomputed totals to determine whether the general ledger trial balance was in balance as of September 30, 2010.
And one more question…Should commas be placed after the word “period” and after “June 30, 2010″ in the following sentence?
Example: For purchases and sales of investments during the period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010 we traced purchases and sales to posting in their respective bank accounts.
What is the general rule of thumb for comma placement of dates within sentences? It seems the rules have changed since I’ve been in school!
With a complete date, place a comma before and after the year.
…during the period July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010, we traced….
You do not need a comma in front of expressions such as “as of.”
In several places, particularly around October 2010, you state that when writing a date inside a sentence (with material following it), there should be a comma after the year: “The meeting is scheduled for July 4, 2012, at the Veteran’s Hall.”
Why is this considered correct. One wouldn’t put a comma if ONLY the year was included … or would one??? “The meeting is scheduled for 2012 at the Hall.” This wouldn’t look correct with a comma after the year.
It seems to me that the only reason we put a comma after the day part of a date is for clarity when we write the date in the English way. But other Europeans write it as “30 May 2012″. In that case, is there a comma after the year??? That would seem incorrect to me.
It seems to me that a date (whether whole or partial) is like any other word: “May 30, 2012″. We don’t put commas after other words — it seems wrong to write: “I went to the basketball game, at the Veteran’s Hall.”
A comma, after all, is punctuation. Why should we punctuate something that is continuous?
Charles
The Chicago Manual of Style (6.45) says, “In the month-day-year style of dates, commas must be used to set off the year. In the day-month-year system—useful in material that requires many full dates (and standard in British English)—no commas are needed. Where month and year only are given, or a specific day (such as a holiday) with a year, neither system uses a comma.” We do not always understand the exact reasons for all of the punctuation rules, we just do our best to try to adhere to them.
Hi Jane,
I have a question when to make hour or day plural.
Is the following correct:
“Join for 24 hours, 30 days or a year.”
How about:
“There are three membership options: 24-hour, 30-day or annual.”
Two other examples:
“Is there a security deposit taken when I become a 24-hour member?”
“Will my unlocking code work for 24 hours?”
Thanks very much for your help.
Wouldn’t 24 hours simply indicate that the place never closes rather than the length of the membership? The other options are fine.
I know it is correct to put a comma after the year when writing a date like January 1, 2001, in a sentence. There is a variation that I have not found addressed online or in the Chicago Manual of Style. Does a comma follow the day numeral in a sentence? For example: “The drawing will be held on Sunday, December 19, in the auditorium.”
Without the year following, no comma is necessary after the date.
Example: The drawing will be held on Sunday, December 19 in the auditorium.
However, because you are following the date with a prepositional phrase, you may use the comma after the date.
What if the sentence were: “There will be a meeting on Sunday, December 19 if you’d like to attend.” Would there be a comma after December 19?
Our Rule 5b of Commas states, “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma.” Since the year is omitted, leave out the comma.
What about if I was writing a period, for example:
We will be there at the conference from the 15th – 19th of November, 2010.
How would you write this?
Thanks
The Chicago Manual of Style‘s rule (6.78) says, “For the sake of parallel construction, the word to, never the en dash, should be used if the word from precedes the first element in such a pair; similarly, and, never the en dash, should be used if between precedes the first element.” Therefore, “We will be there at the conference from the 15th to the 19th of November, 2010″ is correct. However, if the sentence is reworded to remove the word from preceding the date, it could be written as “We will be there at the conference November 15–19, 2010.”
This is in response to a question about whether it’s okay to write that a meeting is held “from the 15th – 17th of August” (or something to that effect — as I’m typing this, the message I’m replying to isn’t showing up). You said the punctuation was fine as is. The phrasing isn’t, though. If you say “from” you need to follow it with “to,” not with a dash or hyphen. So in this case they’d need to say “from the 15th to the 17th of August.” If they don’t want to use that many words, they need to rephrase it and say that the meeting will be “held August 15-17.” (Ideally they’d use an en-dash rather than a hyphen.)
Thank you for reminding us about Chicago Manual of Style‘s rule (6.78) which says, “For the sake of parallel construction, the word to, never the en dash, should be used if the word from precedes the first element in such a pair; similarly, and, never the en dash, should be used if between precedes the first element.” It was a challenge finding it, but we corrected our error from December 2, 2010.
Will you please tell me the proper way to punctuate this:
The clerk was suspended on Monday, January 2, 2011, and Tuesday, January 03, 2011.
The clerk was suspended on Monday, January 2, 2011, and Tuesday, January 3, 2011.
To make sure that your numbering is consistent, drop the “0″ in the second date.
Another thought… could you write it as:
The clerk was suspended on Monday, 01/02/11, and Tuesday, 01/03/11.
The Chicago Manual of Style (9.36) suggests, “For practical reasons, all-numeral styles of writing dates (5/10/99, etc.) should not be used in formal writing (except with certain dates that may be known that way: e.g., 9/11, for September 11, 2001).”
In regards to date, time, and location:
Sentence structure:
The meeting will be held on Saturday, December 14, at 7 p.m., at the Longmont Campus.
Should a comma be after the date and after the time?
I would recommend adding the year to your sentence, as well as stating the time as “7:00 p.m.” rather than “7 p.m.”
The meeting will be held on Saturday, December 14, 2011, at 7:00 p.m., at the Longmont Campus.
How would you handle time on a split line?
For example, is the below correct?
“John was hoping to be able to purchase a ticket for the 10:00
AM train to Portland.”
I would recommend not splitting the time at the end of a line.
“John was hoping to be able to purchase a ticket for the
10:00 A.M. train to Portland.”
Sheould there be a comma after the year when stating a specific date, year and time of day?
With a complete date, place a comma before and after the year.
The conference will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2012, at 1:00 P.M.
There’s nothing so embarrassing as submitting a question containing a typo to a grammer site! (See my previous submission.)
I hope you do not embarrass easily because your last comment also contains a typo: grammar (not grammer)!
Hi.
We have a meeting on June 30.
How do we pronounce ’30′ here? I’ve read that is pronounced differently (like June thirtieth, even if it’s 30).
Is it correct?
Thanks!
Even though it is written June 30, it is acceptable to pronounce it June 30th.
Hi, I would find out how would we phrase a sentence with 2 dates eg lessons will be held from 10 Jul 2011 to 20 Jul 2011 or lessons will be held on 10 Jul 2011 to 20 Jul 2011.
The correct usage in US format would be:
Lessons will be held from July10-20, 2011 OR
Lessons will be held from July 10 through July 20, 2011.
The correct usage in European format would be:
Lessons will be held from 10 Jul 2011 to 20 Jul 2011.
If I were to write
” The 1st of April…” should it be a smaller st or a standard type st ?
Standard type is fine. Some word processing programs will automatically change this to a smaller font and make it a superscript as well.
Hi,
I scanned but did not see this issue.
Which of these formats is proper?
March 2010 or March, 2010 – as in “… and matures in March, 2010.”
Thanks
When only the month and year are given, a comma is not used.
“Matures in March 2010″ would be the correct usage.
For a presentation document that is to specify the month and year alone, how is that written? Some say: June, 2011. I say June 2011. What is the rule?
You are correct. It should be written “June 2011.” According to the Chicago Manual of Style (6.45), “Where month and year only are given, or a specific day (such as a holiday) with a year, neither system uses a comma.”
I am always confused when using both a date and a time in a sentence. Some of the above cleared that up, but I am still confused about using a time range.
The church picnic will be on July 18th at 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Am I close or do I have a way to go? I really would prefer not to have to use a year because it seems a little useless since these reminders usually go out in emails a couple days before the event.
Yes, you are very close! All you have to do is change the word at to from.
The church picnic will be held on July 18 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Hi, I am writing a critique of a tutorial which is on video. When referring to parts of the video in minutes and seconds should I write at 4:30 or 4’30″? Or is there a better way of expressing this?
Thanks.
The best way to express “four minutes, thirty seconds” would be 00:04:30. It is important to use eight numerals to indicate hours:minutes:seconds when referring to time in video.
I am writing a sentence which reads, “I rode in one of your taxis from
La Guardia Airport to the Marriott Marquis Hotel for a 2:00 p.m. appointment.”
Is the time written correctly?
Yes, it is written correctly. You could also write 2:00 PM or 2:00 P.M.
Is this sentence correct:
“Please join us in the conference room tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., for birthday cake.”
Thanks.
The comma is not necessary.
Hi,
When referring to a date such as September 25th, 2011 and the th is superscript, should the comma after the th be superscript also? Thank you.
No, the comma would not be superscript. Also, as shown in Rule 8 of Writing Numbers, the date should be referred to as either September 25, 2011, or as the 25th of September, 2011.
is this correct?
The task in the scanner lasted 20 min. 50 sec. (I am not sure whether to write minutes, mins. I am also not sure if I need to connect 20 min. 50 sec. with a word, such as, and.
AP Stylebook recommends spelling out hours, minutes, and seconds. You would not need a word to connect the minutes and seconds. Therefore, “The task in the scanner lasted 20 minutes 50 seconds.”
Is this sentence correct? I am not sure if I need to put a comma when i make a comparison.
On the contrary, accuracy was significantly lower in the R condition(,?) than in the NR condition
Table 1 and Figure 4 present regions that where active for each of the two experimental conditions, as compared to the empty trials.
I cannot find a solution to this grammar problem anywhere. Thank you.
There is no particular rule about commas when making comparisons; it’s more according to the flow of the sentence. There is no need for a comma after the word condition in the first sentence or the word conditions in the second sentence. Also in the second sentence, you probably wanted the word were rather than where.
Hello, I’m still learning English now, I have some questions.
1. how to write 7.15 AM in letters, is it a quarter pass seven or a quarter past seven?
2. How to mention 14.00 in letters. is it Two PM or Fourteen O’clock?
Maybe it sounds silly but it is confusing me. Thanks a lot.
According to Rule 12 of Writing Numbers, “Normally, spell out the time of day in text even with half and quarter hours. With o’clock, the number is always spelled out.”
Rule 13 says, “Use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized or when using A.M. or P.M.”
Therefore, 7:15 A.M. would be correct. (“A quarter past seven in the morning” could be used for informal writing.) For your second example, you could write either 2:00 P.M. or two o’clock in the afternoon.
Hi,
I have a question on a date range. I want to write “… through September 08 – September 24.” I don’t want to write ‘September’ twice. Which is correct (if any): “September 08-24″ or “September 08 – 24″?
The first seems, to me, that it can be confused with August 24 (08-24) as some people write dates this way. I would personally prefer the latter, but would like to know the correct way.
Thank you!
Regarding my above comment, I wanted to add another option, for possible clarification.
“September 08th – 24th”
“September 08th-24th”
“September 8th-24th”
I don’t like leaving off the “0″ before a single digit date, but if there is no “rule” about it, then I suppose it doesn’t matter (please specify).
Also, please comment on the hyphen placement and spacing, as well as possibly abbreviating the month (“Sep 08th – 24th”).
Thank you!
According to the section on Dashes in my book and on the GrammarBook.com website, an en dash, roughly the width of an n, is a little longer than a hyphen. It is used for periods of time when you might otherwise use the word to. Most authorities recommend using no spaces before or after en or em dashes. To form an en dash with most PCs, type the first number or word, then hold down the ALT key while typing 0150 on the numerical pad on the right side of your keyboard. Then type the second number or word.
According to the Chicago Manual of Style, “When specific dates are expressed, cardinal numbers are used.” Therefore, a “0″ before a single digit date would not be used, nor would you use “th.”
Regarding abbreviations, AP Stylebook says, ” When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out when using alone, or with a year alone.”
September 8—24 or Sept. 8—24 would be correct.
Jane: We have a situation here at work and it has been a constant problem with someone who “knows it all.” She said that a comma should always go after a date that goes ex: January 1, 2011. So, could you tell me if the following have the correct punctuation:
1. At the August 20, 2011 Board meeting, we decided to vote for a new design.
2. The Commission approved the April 6, 2011 Meeting Minutes.
3. Authorize execution of the agreement between the District, the City, and Disposal Services, Inc., for the contract period of July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012, for the cost of not to exceed the annual amount of $35,629.20.
4. The March 14, 2005 issue of Business Week is going to have a cover story on our CEO.
I’m not sure if that person at work “knows it all” or not, but she does know the rule that applies in this situation. According to Rule 5a under the “Commas” section, “Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year and after the year.” Therefore, there should be commas after the years in each of your four sentences.
I read Comma rule 5a, and it doesn’t discuss when the date is used as an adjective. In all of the examples, the year (according to me) should not have a comma since one never puts a comma between an adjective and the noun it modifies: a young boy is not: a young,boy. Why do it after the year…I disagree. 5a doesn’t specify date as adjective. Can you find out more specifics on this situation? Thank you, Rochelle
The Chicago Manual of Style says, “Dates are often used as descriptive adjectives, more often today than in years past. If a month-year or month-day date is used as an adjective, no hyphen or comma is needed {October 31 festivities} {December 2003 financial statement}. If a full month-day-year date is used, then a comma is considered necessary both before and after the year {the May 18, 2002, commencement ceremonies}. ” They do, however, acknowledge that the construction is awkward and is best avoided. Therefore, Carmen could rewrite these sentences as follows:
At the Board meeting on August 20, 2011, we decided to vote for a new design.
The Commission approved the meeting minutes of April 6, 2011.
The Business Week issue of March 14, 2005, is going to have a cover story on our CEO.
This sentence is correct as written (except for a couple minor edits to the final phrase for readability):
Authorize execution of the agreement between the District, the City, and Disposal Services, Inc., for the contract period of July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012, for a cost not to exceed an annual amount of $35,629.20.
In the sentence below, can the date be written as with or without the year?
The next one is Friday, May 17.
As long as the year is clearly understood, you may write the date that way with or without the year.
Hi:) i wanted to ask that when do we use “the” before the date??
You would use the word “the” before an ordinal number when referring to a date, such as in the following examples:
The bill is due on the 15th of every month.
She was born on the 29th of July.
I am producing a marketing leaflet and would like to advertise that the service is available “24 hours per day, 7 days per week”. I have been told by the person approving the leaflet that the number seven needs to be spelled out. I understand that commonly numbers under 10 are spelled, but given that it’s within a sentence and is a commonly used term, it doesn’t seem right to me!
Grammatically, “24 hours per day, seven days per week” is correct. In the English Rules “Writing Numbers” section of this website, Rule 1 says, “Spell out single-digit whole numbers. Use numerals for numbers greater than nine.”
Rule 2 advises, “Be consistent within a category. For example, if you choose numerals because one of the numbers is greater than nine, use numerals for all numbers in that category. If you choose to spell out numbers because one of the numbers is a single digit, spell out all numbers in that category. If you have numbers in different categories, use numerals for one category and spell out the other.”
Since “24″ refers to hours and “7″ refers to days, “24 hours per day, seven days per week” is correct. I suspect that the reason this does not seem right to you is because of the frequent use of the phrase “24/7″ written that way in informal English.
When writing a date should the month/day/ year ever be separated from each other on to the next line?
Ex.
We went on vacation June
30, 2011.
or
We went on vacation June 30,
2011.
Personally, I don’t particularly like the look of dates carried over to the next line. However, I have not found any definitive resources that address this situation. The Chicago Manual of Style has an extensive section on word division but does not address dates at all. The only website I found that addresses this is businesswriting.com which notes, “Do not separate parts of dates, proper names, or addresses.”
Another comma question …
Which of the following is correct?
Join us Tuesday, October 11 at 2 PM.
or
Join us Tuesday, October 11, at 2 PM.
I understand using PM is not preferred to p.m. (lowercase previously was my preference).
Rule 5b in the “Commas” section of the English Rules on our website states, “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma.” Since the year is missing from your date, you do not need a comma after the date. You do need a comma after Tuesday. I would recommend the use of complete numerals when exact times are being emphasized.
Join us Tuesday, October 11 at 2:00 PM. (I recommend using a.m. and p.m. but AM and PM may also be used.)
A colleague is insisting that it is correct to document in a legal record the time of 12:14 AM. This time of course is really fourteen minutes past midnight, if you don’t document time in a 24 hour method them how would you document the time 14 minutes past midnight? Thank you.
Fourteen minutes past midnight is 12:14 AM.
how would i write out a period of time e.g 4 hours and 43 mins.. in short form..
AP Stylebook recommends spelling out time sequences: 4 hours, 43 minutes.
Could we add time zones? What is the proper way to punctuate the following?
1) We are open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. P.S.T.
2) We are open Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. P.S.T.
3) Same as 1) using “9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.”
4) Same as 2) using “9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.”
5) Should I consider using “Monday through Friday” instead of “Monday – Friday?”
6) We are available Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. P.S.T. to serve you.
This is for a business web page, but would it be different in other contexts?
Time zones, where needed, are usually given in parentheses and do not use periods. The en dash is most often used with numbers and signifies up to and including (or through). Also, Chicago Manual of Style states, “For the sake of parallel construction, the word to, never the en dash, should be used if the word from precedes the first element in such a pair.” A.M. and P.M., AM and PM, and a.m. and p.m., are all acceptable but I am selecting AM and PM for simplicity. For a business web page or any other context, all of the following are grammatically correct :
We are open seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (PST).
We are open Monday—Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (PST).
We are open seven days a week, 9:00 AM—5:00 PM (PST).
We are open Monday—Friday, 9:00 AM—5:00 PM (PST).
We are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (PST).
We are available Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM—5:00 PM (PST) to serve you.
Is it proper to say “5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.” or “5:00-7:00 p.m.”?
An en dash, roughly the width of an n, is a little longer than a hyphen. It is used to signify up to and including (or through). Most authorities recommend using no spaces before or after en dash. To form an en dash with most PCs, type the first number or word, then hold down the ALT key while typing 0150 on the numerical pad on the right side of your keyboard. Then type the second number or word.
Either 5:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m. or 5:00—7:00 p.m. are correct.
My question is do you treat an abbrevited year the same as you would as if it was written out?
Her deposition was taken sometime in March ’06.
Is there a comma between March and ’06? (March, ’06) I cannot add “of” after in as I’m transcribing part of a hearing so I cannot add or subtract any words. I have to work with what they say but I do add punctuation.
Rule 5b in the “Commas” section of the English Rules on our website states, “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma.” This would also apply to an abbreviated year. The Chicago Manual of Style does not recommend the use of the abbreviated year except in informal contexts.
Her deposition was taken some time in March ’06. (informal)
Her deposition was taken some time in March 2006.
Is it grammatically correct to write 2012 as ’012?
You may follow the guidance in Rule 10 of the “Writing Numbers” section on our website. In addition, The Chicago Manual of Style says, “In informal contexts, the first two digits of a particular year are often replaced by an apostrophe (not an opening single quotation mark).” Therefore, it is acceptable to write ’12 in an informal context.
When using a date to reference a report, is is always necessary to put a comma between the month and the year for example:
Report of Dogs, December 2012
or
Report of Dogs, December, 2012
When only the month and year are given, a comma is not used.
Do you require a comma when writing the date with ‘st’ or ‘nd’?
Please respond by April 21st 2012
or
Please respond by April 21st, 2012
You may infer from our Rule 8 of Writing Numbers that you should not add the st when writing dates in that format. More specifically, The Chicago Manual of Style states, “When specific dates are expressed, cardinal numbers are used although these may be pronounced as ordinals. Therefore, when you write a specific date, do not add st or th.”
Please respond by April 21, 2012. Alternatively, you may write: Please respond by the 21st of April, 2012.
How do you write 10:30 on an invitation? Is it:
A) “Ten Thirty”
or
B) “Ten-Thirty”
“Ten thirty” is correct.
Do you use a comma after a date when the year is not used? For example: You are invited to attend Parent Night on February 9, to learn more about North Carolina’s new high school program, Career and College Promise.
Rule 5b in the “Commas” section of Grammarbook.com states, “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma.”
I’ve noticed that you advise people that it is AP Style to write full hours like this: 3:00 p.m. Actually, that has never been AP Style. It is AP Style to use only the number for whole hours, i.e. 3 p.m., and 3:15 p.m. for the hour and exact minutes. Thanks. I’m a former AP journalist.
Thank you for your clarification. The AP Stylebook does recommend using only the number for whole hours. It is The Chicago Manual of Style that recommends using zeros for even hours when exact times are emphasized, e.g., “The train leaves at 5:00 p.m.”
How do you write the following dates correctly on an invoice for dates work performed?
1/1/12 – 1/17/12 or 1/1 – 1/17.
also:
1/1/12 & 1/2/12 or 1/1 & 1/2.
I recommend that the year be included on an invoice.
1/1/12—1/17/12
1/1/12 & 1/2/12
WHICH IS CORRECT: ONE AND A HALF YEAR OR ONE YEAR AND A HALF?
Rule 4 of the Writing Numbers section of our website tells us that One and one-half years is preferred in formal writing, especially if starting a sentence. If not the beginning of a sentence, “I have worked at my job for 1 1/2 years” is acceptable.
Writing Dates on Invitations?
Saturday, May 1st
7-10pm
123 Main Street
Washington, DC
Kindly reply by April 20th
is the above correct or do we delete the st and th?
As shown in Rule 8 of “Writing Numbers,” the dates should be referred to as either May 1 and April 20, or as the 1st of May and the 20th of April.
Which is correct? Failure to appear AT the above date and time may result….
or
Failure to appear ON the above date and time may result….
ON seems to work for the word “date” , but AT seems to work for the word time.
Since the word date appears first, I recommend using on.
Failure to appear on the above date and time may result…
Which is correct?
9:00 o’clock a.m.
or just 9:00 a.m.
Aren’t they saying the same thing? One is more formal than the other?
Is the first one redundant?
Yes, the first one is redundant. Rule 13 in our “Writing Numbers” section states, ” Use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized or when using a.m. or p.m.”
If the spoken word is I got home at 6. What is the proper written terms?
or I got home at 6 o’clock. What is the proper written terms?
You could write I got home at six o’clock. However, if you want to clarify whether it is 6:00 a.m. or 6:00 p.m., use numerals. I got home at 6:00 p.m.
Hello,
When we hire an employee who has pre-scheduled vacations, we incorporate those dates into their offer letter. Could you please clarify the correct way to write the dates?
Here is an example that was provided to me:
“As we discussed, you are approved for time off with-out pay for the following dates for prescheduled vacations July 4, – 8, 2012, and August 15, – 17, 2012.”
Thank you!
You do not need to use an extra comma before the en dash. There should be a colon after the word vacations. Also, the word without is not hyphenated. Since this is a formal document, you may wish to use previously scheduled instead of prescheduled.
As we discussed, you are approved for time off without pay for the following dates for previously scheduled vacations: July 4—8, 2012, and August 15—17, 2012.
Which of these two sentences is correct?
June 30, 2012, is the date the paper is due.
June 30, 2012 is the date the paper is due.
Rule 5a of the “Commas” section of our website says, “Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year and after the year.” Therefore your first sentence is correct. However, I will suggest that a more direct sentence could be, “The paper is due June 30, 2012.”
Is it ever correct to use the abbreviation “hrs” to indicate a time, for instance, on an agenda:
“09.00 – 10.00 hrs – minutes of previous meeting”?
If one is taking minutes for a meeting, the correct format for your example would be 9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. There would be no reason to use the word hours unless you were speaking about a time frame such as “The meeting lasted two hours.” However, if you are in the military, you would express the time as 0900–1000 or 0900–1000 hrs. Adding the abbreviation hrs would be optional for clarity.
Hi.
When saying such a sentace … “At 19:51 on 24th September 2012″, should you or can you use the word hrs after the time?
Somebody has peer reviewed a report that I have written and have made a suggestion for me to add this… although I think it is because he used to use it in the forces!
Thanks
Phil
The Chicago Manual of Style says, “In the twenty-four-hour system of expressing time (used in Europe and in the military), four digits always appear, often with no punctuation between hours and minutes.
1200 = noon
2400 or 0000 = midnight
0001 = 12:01 a.m.
1438 = 2:38 p.m.
At 1500 hours (or 1500h) we started off on our mission.
General quarters sounded at 0415.”
I interpret this to mean that use of the word hours is optional, however, you may want to consult a European style manual.
Hi,
I asked the question above about time zones (11/4/11). Thanks for your answer! This is a follow-up.
I subsequently decided to use the words “Pacific Time” in parentheses similarly to the way you use “PST” in your answer. (I dropped the “S” because my business hours vary between between PST and PDT along with everyone else’s.)
Then I looked at the Chicago Manual of Style and discovered that while “Pacific” is treated as a proper name and capitalized, both “standard” and “time” are not. So it would be “Pacific standard time” and, for example, EST would be “eastern standard time.” One would presumably put these in parentheses.
So I gather that one would write:
We are open seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Pacific standard time).
My question is whether this is correct? I have never noticed another case in which the Chicago Manual of Style seems to be so at odds with common usage. Even the American Heritage Dictionary entry for Eastern Standard Time has all three words capitalized and mentions that it is “also called Eastern Time.”
Thanks!
Mike
AP Stylebook seems to agree with you. Their rule says, “Capitalize the full name of the time in force within a particular zone: Eastern Standard Time, Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time, etc.” In the end it is up to you to decide which style manual to follow and then be consistent. It may be easier to stick with the abbreviation.
If you were to leave out the day (Saturday) in the following example, would you still need to include a comma after the year?
The conference will be held on Saturday, February 4, 2012, at 1:00 P.M.
The deadline to submit a proposal is February 4, 2012 at 1:00 P.M.
Even though Rule 5b in the “Commas” section of our website says, “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma,” the day of the week is not considered part of the actual date (month, day, year), therefore, you still need to include the comma.
The deadline to submit a proposal is February 4, 2012, at 1:00 P.M.
Hi,
Just wondering which of these is correct;
Join us on Monday the 17th of March…
or
Join us on Monday 17th March…
Thanks.
Since there is a natural tendency to pause slightly after the word Monday when your sentence is spoken, I recommend “Join us on Monday, the 17th of March.” However, since there is no hard and fast rule on this, “Join us on Monday the 17th of March” also is acceptable. Even better would be rephrasing the sentence to “Join us on Monday, March 17.”
In addressing the year for e.g. Year 2000 at the end of a sentence, “…the company was established in 2000″. Should it be “…established in the year 2000″? or just “in 2000″?
It is clearer for the reader if you write “established in the year 2000,” but “established in 2000″ is acceptable.
Ok, thank you…
How about the use of the word “the” in dates, specifically when spoken?
I hear people say “March the 31st.”
“March the 31st” is common and acceptable in spoken English. In the context of a written sentence, however, I recommend either “The meeting will be held on the 31st of March” or “The meeting will be held on March 31,” as per Rule 8 of Writing Numbers.
is it correct?
An allegation that you abandoned your duties during a rostered shift at your place of work London on 7th April 2012.
also what should be the order of following in a sentence
at (place) on (date) at (time)
Your example is not a complete sentence. Also, th is not used with a complete date.
The sentence could be: There is an allegation (or, An allegation has been lodged) that you abandoned your duties during a rostered shift at your place of work in London on April 7, 2012. (In many locations outside the United States the date may be expressed as 7 April, 2012.)
There are no particular rules regarding the order of place, date, time in a sentence other than what flows most logically.
If the rule states that dates should be 29th of June or June 29, why is that just about everyone, even in the media, writes June 29th and sometimes they even write it June 29th, 2012. Have the rules changed?
No, the rules have not changed. Not everyone (including the media) is as conscientious as you are when it comes to proper grammar.
I was always taught the correct way to write a date was: December 7, 1941. Not December 7th, 1941 or November 3rd, 2012.
So why do people now add the “th” or “rd” after the day in the date?
And also people who are not aware uh-uh is a word in the dictionary. As a person who was a court reporter with Los Angeles Superior Court for over 20 years and who now does scoping for court reporters, I constantly see uh-uh spelled as huh-uh or ungh-uh, which looks like the sound of some root-eating animal snorting.
Perhaps all the people who grew up learning to read and write by spelling things as they sounded, which method has long fallen out of favor. And many people are just lazy and would rather die than look up a word in a dictionary or even to Google something to learn how a word is spelled.
You are correct about the proper way to write the date. People are likely writing th and rd (along with nd, st) because they are not differentiating between spoken and proper written English. It would be nice if the availability of internet search engines as well as dictionaries on the internet resulted in better spelling by everyone.
Please help! What is the correct way to write the following month/year when a specific date is not provided?
Is it April, 2012 or April 2012?
If only the month and year are shown, do not separate with a comma.
In business writing, is it proper to reference the date of a report as, 1/12/09, or should it be spelled out?
Spell the date out in formal writing.
Can’t believe I have a third question about time zones! And I can’t believe the length and complexity of this thread! Thanks so much, Jane!
How would you write the following: Our week begins at 12:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) Monday and ends at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) Sunday. Weekly invoices must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) Monday. Invoice amounts will be available by 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) Wednesday each week.
If you were writing this for people in different time zones, I wonder:
1) Where would you put the parenthetical time zone references?
2) Do I have to keep repeating “(Pacific Time)?”
3) Where could I put “(Pacific Time)” to have the smallest number of repetitions?
Thanks again!
P.S. If you can do something with the “weekly” and “each week,” that would be great too!
The time zones are essential information, therefore I recommend not placing them in parentheses. You could repeat them or, alternatively, word it this way:
All times referred to are Pacific Time. (Alternatively: All times referred to are Pacific Standard Time or Pacific Daylight Time, as appropriate.) Our week begins at 12:00 a.m. each Monday and ends at 11:59 p.m. each Sunday. Weekly invoices must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. each Monday. Invoice amounts will be available by 11:59 p.m. each Wednesday.
I am having a lot of confusion with comma’s in dates. Can you please properly punctuate the following:
1. As of December 31, 2011 and 2010 the balance was zero.
(do you use a comma after 2011 or 2010 or not at all?)
2. As of December 31, 2011 or 2010 the District did not have any investments.
3. As of December 31, 2011 and 2010 $0 of the funds balance was exposed to risk.
Thank You
Your sentences are confusing as written. Normally, as of is used in place of on, at, or from in relation to a single specific date, not several dates. Since you are dealing with financial matters, you would be better off rewriting the sentences such that there can be no confusion. Our rules 5a and 5b in the “Commas” section state, “Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year and after the year,” and “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma,” respectively. Some potential revisions, depending on your exact meaning, could be:
“The balance was zero on both December 31, 2010, and December 31, 2011.” Perhaps this could also be written as “The balance was zero on December 31 of both 2010 and 2011.”
“The District did not have any investments on either December 31, 2010, or December 31, 2011.” OR “The District did not have any investments on December 31 of either 2010 or 2011.”
“None of the fund’s balance was exposed to risk in 2010 or 2011.”
Unfortunately, due to state regulations, we have to write them as stated and different towns have it written different ways so I was just trying to get some clarification, hence the reason for my confusion. Thank you for your input.
Here’s situation that I come across regularly. It may come up regarding a series of events spanning multiple months, for instance “March 4, 11, 18 and 25, and April 1, 8 and 15, 2012.”
It looks somewhat odd with when it is something such as “March 18 and 25, and April 1.”
Would that be the proper way to punctuate the dates?
There is no one perfect way to do this; you have choices. Here are possibilities using our Rule 1 for Commas, Rule 4 for Semicolons, or just different wording.
March 4, 11, 18, and 25; April 1, 8, and 15, 2012 OR
Each Sunday from March 4 through April 15, 2012. OR
Though cumbersome, grammatically correct: March 4, March 11, March 18, March 25, April 1, April 8, and April 15, 2012
March 18, 25, and April 1 is probably fine since there are only three items in the series. OR
Each Sunday, March 18 through April 1. OR
March 18, March 25, and April 1
Oh, and I might add the construction: “March 31, April 7, 14 and 21.” Or should it be: “March 31 and April 7, 14 and 21″?
March 31; April 7, 14, and 21 OR
March 31, April 7, April 14, and April 21 OR
Each Saturday from March 31 through April 21
Great! Thanks for the help.
Do you put a comma after the month in a sentence like this: …since the 2nd of September 2011.
Yes, you do need to put a comma after the month.
Hi,
I need some help, please. Some examples (commas in time setences):
a) “Three hours, five minutes, thirty-five seconds ago, I went…”
b) “Comment posted 3 hours, 4 minutes, 35 seconds ago.”
c) “That game lasted three hours, four minutes, (and) 35 seconds” or “That game lasted three hours five minutes 35 seconds” or “That game lasted 3 hours 5 minutes 35 seconds”
d) “Remaining time to close: 3 hours, 4 minutes, 35 seconds”
Are all this examples correct or acceptable?
Thank you very much,
Manuel
AP Stylebook recommends spelling out time sequences and using commas. They do not address the use of and directly. Their one example of time sequences is “Spell out: 50 hours, 23 minutes, 14 seconds.” It is up to the writer as there is no rule against using and. It seems like and would be best used in examples a and c, which sound more like conversational sentences. Examples b and d sound like something that would be posted on a website rather than used in spoken English.
Three hours, five minutes, and thirty-five seconds ago I went…
Comment posted three hours, four minutes, thirty-five seconds ago.
That game lasted three hours, four minutes, and thirty-five seconds.
Remaining time to close: three hours, four minutes, thirty-five seconds
5 days a week;
5 day a week;
5 day week;
which one is correct?
You need to use a plural noun, therefore, 5 days a week is correct.
Or you could use five-day week. In both cases since the number is under ten, it needs to be spelled out.
Your comments are valid. I had to provide a response without knowing the full context. I did not suggest five-day week (or 5-day week) as I assumed this phrase was part of a larger whole that would have been consistent with the first two phrases offered, such as “Joe goes to work five days a week.” Also, if there are no other mentions of days in this context, then the number should be written out as five. However, if this is followed by another phrase, such as “Joe goes to work 5 days a week, 260 days a year,” consistency would allow us to either write both numbers out or as numerals.
If the spoken word is “I work 9 to 5 or sometimes 2 to 10″. Which way should it be written?
I work nine to five or sometimes two to ten? OR
I work 9:00 to 5:00 or sometimes 2:00 to 10:00?
I was always taught that 2:00 would imply that o’clock was spoken when the time was given. I don’t know which it should be.
You are correct that “2:00″ would imply that o’clock is spoken. Times of day in even, half, and quarter hours are usually spelled out in text. I work nine to five or sometimes two to ten. Since it is a common expression, “9 to 5″ is often written in numerals.
I apologize if you have answered this question already. Is a comma required between a plural day of the week and the dates? Example: Sundays May 20 – June 17, 2012 Thank you.
There is no particular rule covering this construction, but it is easier to read with a comma: Sundays, May 20–June 17, 2012. Note that most authorities recommend not using spaces before or after the en dash. However, your phrase might be more clear rewritten as:
Sundays, from May 20 through June 17, 2012.
My question concerns dates as written on formal invitations. Today is Friday, May 11, 2012. I understand the part about writing it in words as Friday, May eleventh. My question is why is the year written as two thousand and twelve? What is wrong with two thousand twelve? We are taught in math that adding the word “and” between numbers indicates a decimal.
In British English, the year is pronounced two thousand and twelve rather than the American English form two thousand twelve. Americans often consider British English more formal, therefore you will often see British spellings appear in invitations, especially wedding invitations. It is up to the bride and groom to choose the exact wording they prefer.
Hi,
I wanted to know if this was written correctly.
“Per our conversion, I wanted to check the availability of these dates for vacation: Aug 20-23.”
Thank you,
Joel
Abbreviations are not recommended in formal writing. Also, instead of a hyphen, use an en dash. An en dash, roughly the width of an n, is a little longer than a hyphen. It is used for periods of time when you might otherwise use to. To form an en dash with most PCs, type the first number or word, then hold down the ALT key while typing 0150 on the numerical pad on the right side of your keyboard. Then type the second number or word.
Per our conversion, I wanted to check the availability of these dates for vacation: August 20–23.
We have all of these grammar rules for dates and times, and yet, on the top of each comment, there is incorrect comma usage. For example, the post before mine appears, “May 9, 2012 at 5:25 am.” It should appear with a comma between the year and word at. It would be correct to have “May 9, 2012, at 5:25 am.” Unfourtunately, this is probably a programming issue, but it really should be fixed. Since you are talking about grammar and punctuation, this basic punctuation rule being broke downgrades your credibility in my mind.
We are employing a widely-used, commercially available blog software called WordPress. It functions admirably, but does contain the flaw you mention which we also do not like. We will mention it to them again; perhaps they will eventually correct it.
Cindy,
“…rule being broke…” downgrades your credibility.
Hi Jane!
Is this correct for a formal wedding invite?
The wording:
The honour of you presence is requested at the marriage of xxxxx.
Friday the twenty-eighth day of September, two thousand twelve. Three Thirty in the afternoon.
where xxxx
Six O’clock Cocktails, location xxxxx
Seven O’clock, dinner and dancing
Black Tie Optional
Wedding invitations are more of an art than an exercise in formal writing. If you will have the invitations professionally printed, they will have recommendations for you. If you are printing them yourself, you might want to search wedding websites. Decisions about whether you write numbers out or use numerals, whether you capitalize or use lowercase, etc. are mostly up to your own sense of esthetics.
Hi,
is midnight 12:00 pm or 0:00 am
is noon 12:00 am or 0:00 pm
Thanks for your help.
Regards,
HP
Rule 14 of Writing Numbers says, “Use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 P.M. and 12:00 A.M.”
Rule 14 is understood, but if I have to define such a rule for a table with times, would I write 12:00 PM for noon and 12:00 AM for midnight? or would it be 0:00 PM for noon and O:00 AM for midnight. Thanks again for you answer.
Kind regards, HP
Digital clocks use 12:00 PM for noon and 12:00 AM for midnight. Since PM and AM stand for post meridiem and ante meridiem, Latin for after noon and before noon respectively, I advise writing noon and midnight or 12 noon and 12 midnight.
In spoken English, is it acceptable/correct to say “May 1″ (as per rules in writing dates) or should I be saying “May 1st?”
It is correct to say “May first” even though it should be written May 1.
What is correct?
Between May 24th ,2011 till July 10th, 2011
or
Between May 24th ,2011 to July 10th, 2011
Rule 8 of Writing Numbers says, “The following examples apply when using dates:
The meeting is scheduled for June 30.
The meeting is scheduled for the 30th of June.
We have had tricks played on us on April 1.
The 1st of April puts some people on edge.”
You could either write between May 24 and July 10, 2011 or between the 24th of May and the 10th of July, 2011.
Hi Jane,
How to write this wedding invitation (not in form of sentence)?
Holy matrimony:
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 02:00 pm
Bethel Church
Jl. Kemuning 42
Which is correct way to write pm:
PM
P.M.
pm
p.m.
And how about using the coma after year (before time)? Is it needed? Thanks for your help
The Chicago Manual of Style recommends lowercase a.m. and p.m., though these sometimes appear in small capitals, with or without periods (i.e. 2:00 P.M.). In formal writing, a comma follows the year. However, wedding invitations sometimes have their own sets of rules and they are not always the same as formal writing.
In a short story, which would be correct?
“The phone rang at 2:00 in the morning.” or “The phone rang at 2 in the morning.”
Thanks for your help!
Rule 12 of Writing Numbers says, “Normally, spell out the time of day in text even with half and quarter hours. With o’clock, the number is always spelled out.” Either of the following sentences are fine:
The phone rang at two in the morning. OR The phone rang at two o’clock in the morning.
Hello,
Please settle an argument between co-workers in the Security field. Would the following sentence be grammtically correct:
“On Friday, June 15, 2012, I, Security Officer John Doe responded to the South parking garage for reports of a noise complaint.”
You are missing one comma in your sentence. The phrase Security Officer John Doe is considered an appositive. The definition of an appositive is “a word or word group that defines or further identifies the noun or noun phrase preceding it.” The rule in our Commas with Appositives blog says, “When the noun preceding the appositive provides sufficient identification on its own, use commas around the appositive.” Also, if South Parking Garage is the actual name of the parking garage, it should be capitalized.
On Friday, June 15, 2012, I, Security Officer John Doe, responded to the South Parking Garage for reports of a noise complaint.
On a poster for the promotion of a concert, how would one correctly list the dates of the event for two consecutive Wednesdays?
1. Wednesday, August 15 and 22
2. Wednesdays, August 15 and 22
I have no rules covering this nor have I been able to find any authoritative source covering this particular situation. If the option of “Wednesday, August 15 and Wednesday, August 22″ take up too much space on the poster, I think you can use whatever sounds best to you.
Hi,
Is the word “at” required in the following example?;
“What time are you breaking for lunch at?”
It is frequently omitted during conversation but I’m unsure whether it is required in written form…
The preposition at in this sentence is unnecessary in speaking as well as writing.
“What time are you breaking for lunch?” is correct.
Do we have a specific word or phrase in English to express a period that is more than 10 years and less than 20 years?
I am not aware of any such word.
When the time 5:07 PM is read, should we say five seven, five and seven, or five o seven?
Certainly, seven after five or seven minutes after five could be said, but is the “o” correct? It sounds so awkward to read numbers and introduce a letter or word in the middle, despite common use.
You could pronounce the time “five o seven.” It is common in spoken English to say “o” rather than “zero.”
Hello Jane,
How do you write two consecutive days with same year?
Example: When was John born? I think he was born on Jan. 1 or 2, 1984.
Your sentence is correct, although in formal writing I recommend writing out the word January rather than using an abbreviation.
I think he was born on January 1 or 2, 1984.
I was wondering how you phrase the sentence, when asking a question regarding working hours?
Is it: ‘How many days a week do you work?’
or ‘How many days do you work a week?’
Then there is also ‘How many days do you work in a week?’
Are they all correct?
It might be better not to split the phrase days a week, but they are all grammatically correct.
Some people may not know but when saying your birthday would you say, ” I’m having my birthday on Auguest 12,2008 or, ” I’m having my birthday on Auguest 12th 2008.
As indicated in our blog Writing Dates and Times, the following examples apply when using dates:
The meeting is scheduled for June 30.
The meeting is scheduled for the 30th of June.
We have had tricks played on us on April 1.
The 1st of April puts some people on edge.
Therefore, “I am having my birthday on August 12, 2008″ OR “I am having my birthday on the 12th of August, 2008″ are correct. Note that there is no e in August.
Is this Correct?
Saturday, August 4th at 6 o’clock
Please advise… Thank you!
As indicated in our blog Writing Dates and Times, the following examples apply when using dates:
The meeting is scheduled for June 30.
The meeting is scheduled for the 30th of June.
We have had tricks played on us on April 1.
The 1st of April puts some people on edge.
The time should be spelled out in formal writing and the date is often spelled out, especially on invitations.
Saturday, the fourth of August at six o’clock OR
Saturday, August 4 at six o’clock
How about for 24/7? How do I write it for formal language?
You’re right, the phrase 24/7 is considered informal. There are probably numerous ways you could write it formally, e.g., “They are open all day every day,” or “They are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
How do you write the time. I have always wondered.
I’ve noticed that there are two ways; but what one is correct?
6.30 p.m. OR 6:30 p.m.
A colon is used to indicate time of day.
6:30 p.m. OR
6:30 P.M.
please let me know usage about “on time” & “in time”
The definition of on time is “according to schedule.” The phrase in time means “early enough; before a deadline.” Examples:
His flight from Miami was on time.
She wants the meeting to start on time.
We got to the game in time to see the first pitch.
The paramedics arrived in time to save his life.
In time also refers to the proper tempo in music and can also mean “eventually.” Examples:
The band marched in time to the music.
In time she grew to love her new home.
Help –
I have recently joined a group of people in my job and we write three daily reports that are read by federal officials at very high levels.
One person insists on writing the date and time like this: August 7th,at 7:08 AM.
He goes as far as to include the comma if any of us remove it and we all know it is not required in this dated format.
I want to use: August 7 at 7:08 AM. So far the Chicago Style of Manual and other resources do not insist on a preferred style, is there a resource I can use ti at least stop adding “th”?
The Chicago Manual of Style does have a preferred style. Their rule (9.32) says, “When specific dates are expressed, cardinal numbers are used, although these may be pronounced as ordinals.” The cardinal August 7 is preferred in written form rather than the ordinal August 7th.
In addition, Rule 8 of our “Commas” rules states:
The following examples apply when using dates:
The meeting is scheduled for June 30.
The meeting is scheduled for the 30th of June.
We have had tricks played on us on April 1.
The 1st of April puts some people on edge.
Which is correct?
May 2012 or May, 2012
Our Commas rule 5b states, “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma.” Therefore, May 2012 is correct.
Hi: I am sending invitations and cannot remember how to write dates and time.
“The service starts at nine forty-five in the morning”
“Saturday, the twenty-fourth of November”
Are these correct?
Thank you for your assistance.
You have written the time and date correctly. As I’ve noted before, invitations sometimes have their own sets of rules and styles and are not always the same as formal writing. You have some creative leeway as to whether you write numbers out or use numerals and how you use punctuation in a formal invitation.
Hello
If someone states:
Be back by 8 o’clock.
does this mean we can arrive anytime before 8:01, even if it’s 30 seconds past 8 o’clock? If you want someone to arrive promptly before or at 8:00, should it read 8 o’clock sharp. This is for game instructions and specific time does matter.
Thanks
Rule 13 of Writing Numbers says, “Use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized or when using A.M. or P.M.” Since exact time does matter, it should read “Be back no later than 8:00 (A.M. or P.M.) sharp.”
In most European countries they have a very simple way to
write dates and numbers. For example “5″ written like this
is the fifth number and is always pronounced five.
The number five followed by a dot “5.” means fifth and is always pronounced “fifth”. If you look up sports results on the web, say from Italy or a Scandinavian country you will see: 1. Lance Strongarm, pronounced “first”
2. Reece Bjarne “second”
3. Rasmus Chicken “Third”
The same goes for dates, always 1. of November. Pronounced
first of November. It sounded so stupid when the prime
minister of an English speaking country announced: “The
next election will be on one November”. I wonder how many
hundred years it will take before English speaking countries will adapt to this simple way of writing dates.
Thank you for this interesting piece of information. This is certainly not common knowledge within all English speaking countries and populations.
Hi
Do I write:
On the 24th June, the CMC press conference took place.
OR
On June 24, the CMC press conference took place.
OR
The CMC press conference took place on the 24th June/ June 24
This alwasy confuses me and I can never seem to get it right. Thank you for your help.
Lisa
Either 24th of June or June 24 is correct. (Rule 8 of Writing Numbers)
Which of the following is correct or what is your suggestion:
1. Please meet Carlos, Wednesday, September 12, 2012, at 6:15p.m.
or
2. Please meet Carlos on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, at 6:15p.m.
There has been an office debate that the word “on” should be eliminated when writing sentences such as this one.
The answer depends on where the sentence is going to be written. AP Stylebook, which is a guide for journalistic writing, says, “Do not use on before a date or day of the week when its absence would not lead to confusion, except at the beginning of a sentence: The meeting will be held Monday.” Newspapers tend to want to save space by omitting words whenever they can. For formal writing that is not in a newspaper, using on is perfectly acceptable.
Please meet Carlos on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, at 6:15 p.m.
The meeting starts at 12 noon
The meeting starts by 12 noon
Pls which of these is correct? Emphasis on ‘at’ and ‘by’. Thanks
The word at indicates that the meeting will start at a precise time. By could mean any time before noon, but no later than noon. For the purpose of a meeting, an exact start time is recommended. Also, the rule in our Dates and Times blog says, “Use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 p.m. or 12:00 a.m.” Therefore, the number 12 in your sentence is unnecessary.
The meeting starts at noon.
What would be the most correct way to write 1:00, one o’clock or One O’Clock?
Since the time is not a proper noun, do not capitalize. The correct way to write the time is one o’clock.
Today in Athens,on Thursday, the twelfth (12) of May,the year two thousand and eleven (2011), and further context …
is it correct or in my effort to sound formal i wrote it incorrectly?
The Chicago Manual of Style says, “When specific dates are expressed, cardinal numbers are used, although these may be pronounced as ordinals.” Therefore, write Today in Athens on Thursday, May 12, 2011, Dates that are spelled out are more commonly used on formal invitations.
Hi! I’d like to ask if writing four (4) month training is correct?
The rule in our Hyphens with Numbers blog says, “When you’re combining two or more words to form a compound adjective in front of a noun, put hyphens between these words.” Example: I took a four-month training class.
How would I change “two four-hour blocks” to “two 4-hour blocks” in the following?:
The time frame for this action is not critical and the expected duration will be two four-hour blocks of time.
Sorry – I meant to say, “Should I change …” instead of “How would I change …”.
Either two four-hour blocks of time or two 4-hour blocks of time are grammatically correct and, in the context of your sentence, neither should cause the reader any confusion. If you think there could be any misinterpretation, two 4-hour blocks of time may be clearer.
What is the correct way to type the following information ?
Fri. Oct. 4: Ladies Luncheon
There are several different ways to write the information.
Examples:
Friday, October 4 is the date for the Ladies Luncheon.
The Ladies Luncheon will take place on Friday, October 4.
Or, for a simple brief calendar listing:
Fri., Oct. 4: Ladies Luncheon
What is the correct punctuation to be used to type the following in a calendar listing insert for a church bulletin?
Sat. Oct 13: Fall Chicken BBQ
Sat, Oct 13: Fall Chicken BBQ
Calendar listings usually have limited space so they do not always follow the same guidelines as formal written sentences. The Associated Press Stylebook does say, “There’s no ironclad rule to cover all situations. In news story, time, date and place are fine in that order. In a calendar format, the date would likely be the first element.” They also go on to say, “The calendar date is usually sufficient. Including the day may be helpful in some instances.” The most important thing is to be consistent within your calendar. Abbreviations are acceptable but I recommend using standard punctuation as follows:
Sat., Oct. 13: Fall Chicken BBQ OR
Oct. 13: Fall Chicken BBQ
Hi. I was wondering what would be the correct (formal) way you would write a date if you are going to translate it to numerical numbers?
Ex: February 7, 2008
Would it be
2-7-2008 or 7-2-2008
The Chicago Manual of Style’s rule 9.36 states, “For practical reasons, all-numeral styles of writing dates (5/10/99, etc.) should not be used in formal writing (except with certain dates that may be known that way: e.g., 9/11, for September 11, 2001). Whereas in American usage the first numeral refers to the month and the second to the day, in the usage of other English-speaking countries and of most European languages it is the other way around. When quoting letters or other material dated, say, 5/10/03, a writer must first ascertain and then make it clear to readers whether May 10 or October 5 is meant (not to mention 1903 or 2003). In text, therefore, the full date should always be spelled out. In documentation and in tables, if numerous dates occur, months may be abbreviated, and the day-month-year form, requiring no punctuation, may be neater (e.g., 5 Oct 2003).”
When writing two consecutive date ranges in a table, is the dash prior to “to date” in the example below redundant?
2007 – 2009, 2011 – to date
Stylistically I would prefer to use the dashes, as they fit in better with the style of other portions of the table.
As stated in our punctuation rules, “An en dash, roughly the width of an n, is a little longer than a hyphen. It is used for periods of time when you might otherwise use to.” Using the en dash to indicate the word “to” and following it with “to date” is redundant.
2007–2009, 2011–present or 2011–present date
I’m confused and hope you can clarify something for me. Our office produces a newsletter twice a year. In some places time is expressed as 8:00 a.m., in some places as 8:00 am, and still in other places as 8:00am. I’ve tried to explain to the person who produces it that it could be am, a.m., AM, or A.M., but there should always be a space between the time and the a.m. Also, I’ve told him one format should be used consistently throughout a document. Is this correct? I notice in all of your responses above there is a space between the time and the a.m., except in your response to Carlos on September 8, 2012.
Please help!
Your advice to the newsletter writer was correct on all points. The missing space on our response of September 8, 2012 was just a typographical error and has now been fixed.
Please help me settle an argument with my friend. We’re both not native speakers and can’t find the answer anywhere in our textbooks.
She keeps saying x a.m. in the morning, and when I try to correct her (because shouldn’t it be either x in the morning or x a.m. ?), she tells me it’s correct. Is it?
You are correct. Saying both a.m. and in the morning is redundant, which means you are using more words than necessary.
Examples:
7:00 a.m. OR 7:00 in the morning
I have a question. Is this correct:
Since August 21, 1943, at 2 a.m.;
Since a.m. and p.m. are also acceptable, “Since August 21, 1943, at 2:00 a.m.,…” is correct.
Hi – what’s the best way to write the following example when you’re trying to communicate an outage that will span across multiple days at different times.
For example:
“As a result, access to email will be unavailable from 8:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, November 3 until 11:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 4, 2012″
Thanks!
Your communication is correct as written with the addition of a period at the end of the sentence. Also, the words “access to” are probably not necessary.
“As a result, email will be unavailable from 8:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, November 3 until 11:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 4, 2012.”
Good morning~
How do you properly write:
5 to 10 minutes later
I was taught that any number under 10, must be spelled out. It looks strange to write: five to 10 minutes later.
Please advise.. Thank you!
Marianna
Our Rule 1 of Numbers says, “Spell out single-digit whole numbers. Use numerals for numbers greater than nine.” Rule 2 states, “Be consistent within a category. For example, if you choose numerals because one of the numbers is greater than nine, use numerals for all numbers in that category. If you choose to spell out numbers because one of the numbers is a single digit, spell out all numbers in that category.” Therefore, you may either write five to ten minutes later or 5 to 10 minutes later.
Thank you for the answer above. I have another question. If you are writing an official letter, and you have a date format of February 12, 2013, what is the proper rule for not splitting the date onto two lines? For example, if your margin stops at “12,” should you continue the 2013 on the same line? Is it grammatically incorrect to split the date from the year? Should it be kept on the same line? I am unable to find anything in writing that says one way or another is correct. Please advise… thank you!
Marianna
There is nothing grammatically incorrect about splitting a date between two lines; it’s more of a visual concern. I would recommend not splitting the date at the end of a line.
I’ve searched this page but no bones.
When listing out an agenda, should it be:
item one, 9:00am – 9:05am
or
item one, 9:00-9:05am
Either of your methods (including or omitting the first “a.m.”) is acceptable. According to our section on Dashes, “An en dash, roughly the width of an n, is a little longer than a hyphen. It is used to signify up to and including (or through). Most authorities recommend using no spaces before or after an en dash.” There is always a space before a.m. or p.m. Chicago Manual of Style recommends the lowercase form, with periods.
Either 9:00 a.m.–9:05 a.m. or 9:00–9:05 a.m. are correct.
Hi,
If I write -
The wedding has been planned on ,the 7th December 2012.
Is it grammatically incorrect?
I recommend using the word for instead of on.
“The wedding has been planned for the 7th of December, 2012,” or, more directly, “The wedding is planned for December 7, 2012.”
I am stuck on a number expression for an address;
How should the following sentence be written:
“Jim lives at nine 21st Street and works on 6th Avenue”?
House numbers are usually expressed in numerals when writing an address.
Jim lives at 9 21st Street and works on 6th Avenue.
Hi Jane,
Can you you please help me with the correct way of writing out time.
e.g. 5.41 p.m.
Should it be:
five-forty one p.m.
or
five forty-one p.m.
Many thanks!
Our Rule 7 of Hyphens says, “Hyphenate all compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine.” Therefore, write five forty-one p.m.
Hi!
I have a quick question. I was wondering how to best express the following in an official business correspondence:
Option 1: I met Chris on Tuesday afternoon, December 11,2012.
Option 2: I met Chris on Tuesday, December 11,2012, in the afternoon.
Option 3: Is there a more pithy and less clunky way of stating the above?
Thank you so much for your help.
Seth
You could be more specific about the time and the sentence would sound a bit less awkward. Also, be sure to include a space between the comma following the day’s date and before the year. Examples:
I met Chris at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 11, 2012.
I met Chris on Tuesday, December 11, 2012, at 1:00 p.m.
Two quick questions,
When you write a date in a sentence, do you place a comma after the year? (eg. Is it On January 13, 2012, I went to the store? or On January 13, 2012 I went to the store?)
also, if you are referencing several dates, do you write that as January 13, 15, and 19 or January 13, January 15, and January 19?
Many Thanks
Our Rule 5a in Commas says, “Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year and after the year.”
On January 13, 2012, I went to the store.
When referencing several dates I recommend writing January 13, 15, and 19.
Hi Jane,
How to write sentences like below:
on the 3rd and 4th days of December, 2012 (same month)
on the 3rd day of November and 4th day of December, 2012 (same year)
on the 3rd day of November, 2011 and 4th day of December, 2012 (diffrent year)
Thank you
As a general rule, do not add “st” or “th” to dates that include the year. I recommend rewording as follows:
On December 3 and 4, 2012,
On November 3 and December 4, 2012,
On November 3, 2011, and December 4, 2012,
Hi Jane,
Thanks for your reply.
Further question:
On legal document, do I need to add “th” for the date? How to write those sentenses including the year?
Thanks.
Since I am not a legal expert, I recommend that you follow the advice of the Chicago Manual of Style and consult one of their recommended legal stylebooks. Their rule 14.281 states, “Citations in predominantly legal works generally follow one of two guides: (1) The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, published by the Harvard Law Review Association and available online (with a subscription); or (2) the ALWD Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation, prepared and published by the Association of Legal Writing Directors and Darby Dickerson.”
If the day comes first followed by the month then the year, is there a comma after the month? 7 December 2012?
In the day-month-year system no commas are needed.
thanks i was trying to find it on about i-dont-how-many-sites before this and finally found the rule
I am glad you found the rule you were looking for but I suggest rewriting your comment as follows to make it grammatically correct:
Thanks. I don’t know how many sites I tried before this and finally found the rule.
Do I spell out thirty when talking minutes? Or use the numerals? I only talked with him for thirty/30 minutes.
The Chicago Manual of Style says, “For units of time (or any other measure) in nontechnical text, we like to spell out numbers up to a hundred.”
I only talked with him for thirty minutes.
Question on the correct usage of the following within a sentence:
May of 2012,
OR
May, 2012,
OR
May 2012,
Our Rule 5b of Commas says, “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma.” Example:
We adopted our cat in May 2012 from Tree House Humane Society.
‘August 2013′ or ‘August of 2013′
I prefer the first choice, but wanted to be able to defend that to the writer.
I agree with you. The word of is unnecessary.
What is the correct way of writing day and year. Like we should write “I am 27 years old” or “I am 27 year old”.
“It will take 4 days to complete this task” or “It will take 4 day to complete this task”. Somebody told me to use day instead of days, I just want to confirm.
Our Rule 1 of Numbers says, “Spell out single-digit whole numbers. Use numerals for numbers greater than nine.” In the examples you gave, if the number is more than one, use the plural form years or days. If the number is one, use the singular form year or day. Note that if you are using the phrase year old as a compound adjective to describe a noun, use the singular form.
Examples:
I am 27 years old.
Her son is one year old.
She is a 27-year-old.
We bought a 27-year-old house.
It will take four days to complete this task.
It will take one day to complete this task.
I’m confused as to the differences between the following two examples:
1–For units of time (or any other measure) in nontechnical text, we like to spell out numbers up to a hundred. Example: “I only talked with him for thirty minutes.”
2–Our Rule 1 of Numbers says, “Spell out single-digit whole numbers. Use numerals for numbers greater than nine.”
I am 27 years old.
Her son is one year old.
Why is it “27 years old” but “30 minutes”? What is the difference? Also, why does nontechnical not have a hyphen, i.e., non-technical?
Authorities disagree on when to spell out numbers and when to use numerals. While the Chicago Manual of Style differentiates how to write numbers that are units of time or other measurement, our website generally follows the simple rule shown as “2″ in your question. The important thing is to be consistent.
Regarding the word nontechnical, our Rule 1 of Hyphens with Prefixes states, “The current trend is to do away with unnecessary hyphens. Therefore, attach most prefixes and suffixes onto root words without a hyphen.”
How should this sentence be punctuated:
“For further information on application, call the Business Office at 555-541-3225 Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.”?
Our Rule 1 of Commas says, “To avoid confusion, use commas to separate words and word groups with a series of three or more.” Since it is not a proper noun, business office does not need to be capitalized. Also, the initial phrase seems stilted. I recommend rewording as follows:
For further information on the application process, call the business office at 555-541-3225, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Hi, quick and easy question.
Which one is correct?
“Between 6:00 am and 10:00 am PT” or
“Between 6:00 and 10:00 am PT”.
Or are both correct?
Basically, do you have to repeat the “am” when both the beginning and ending of the time window end on the same day, with the same time period label?
Either of your methods (including or omitting the first “a.m.”) is acceptable; however, I recommend including it for clarity. Also, The Chicago Manual of Style prefers the use of periods for a.m. and p.m. and parentheses for time zones.
“between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. (PT)”
Hello,
Is it proper to add a comma after the date if written in the following way? Which way is correct?
March 4, at 4:30 p.m. (with comma)
or,
March 4 at 4:30 p.m. (no comma)
Our Rule 5b of Commas states, “If any part of the date is omitted, leave out the comma.” Therefore, write “March 4 at 4:30 p.m.”
Hi jane!i have a problem with tenses. when asked about your favorite book or the last movie that you saw, what tense should I use. The interviewer said, that was my problem when I applied as a call center agent. thanks in advance.
If you are speaking about a movie that you saw or a book that you read in the past, you should use the past tense. Examples:
I saw a great movie last weekend.
I read (pronounced red) a really interesting book last month.
If a dictator dictates 6/13 and really means June 13, how is this handled? I have always thought you type out June 13 but there are discrepancies in our office.
Our Rule 8 of Writing Numbers says, “The following examples apply when using dates:
Examples:
The meeting is scheduled for June 30.
The meeting is scheduled for the 30th of June.
We have had tricks played on us on April 1.
The 1st of April puts some people on edge.”
In addition, the Chicago Manual of Style’s Rule 9.36 states, “For practical reasons, all-numeral styles of writing dates (5/10/99, etc.) should not be used in formal writing (except with certain dates that may be known that way: e.g., 9/11, for September 11, 2001).” Therefore, in formal writing it should be written June 13.
Would you write “24 hours per day, 7 days per week” or “24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” I prefer the former, but the latter is seen all the time.
The reason you see “24 hours a day, 7 days a week” is because it has become a common expression much like “24/7″ in informal English. In formal English, per is preferred.
Hi thanks for your all clarifications.
1)If someone ask me “what time is it?” Can I say “it is 9 pm ”
2)If I want to write an assay, grammatically can I write ” it is 9 pm.”
3)We use pm/am just for representing opens/ closes hours on the door, meeting period, something like that?
Thanks alot.
If someone asks you the time, you could simply say, “It is nine o’clock.” It would be unnecessary to specify a.m. or p.m., since it would be obvious. Our Rule 12 of Writing Numbers says, “Normally, spell out the time of day in text even with half and quarter hours. With o’clock, the number is always spelled out.” Rule 13 says, “Use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized or when using a.m or p.m..” Therefore, if you are writing an essay you would either write “nine o’clock in the evening” or “9:00 p.m.” if the exact time of day is being emphasized. We use a.m. and p.m. when we need to give an exact time such as schedules, meeting times, invitations, and store hours.
is it correct to write “on Tuesday at 5am” or” at 5am on Tuesday”
Our Rule 13 of Writing Numbers states, “Use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized or when using A.M. or P.M.
Examples:
Monib’s flight leaves at 6:22 A.M.
Please arrive by 12:30 sharp.
She had a 7:00 P.M. deadline.”
Note that the time is written with a colon separating the hour and minutes. Also, there is a space after the time and A.M. or P.M., which may be written in capital letters or lowercase, with or without periods. Therefore, when writing specific times, either of the following is correct:
“on Tuesday at 5:00 A.M.” OR
“at 5:00 A.M. on Tuesday”
Aloha Jane!
Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge about the english language with all of us on your website.
May I please ask for clarification about when it is okay to omit “a.m.” or “p.m.” when writing a time period?
e.g. “The conference will be held from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.” In this case, would “a.m.” be implied and omitted, or should it always be included when writing a time period that spans from morning to afternoon or evening?
e.g. “The meeting will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.” Similar to my first question, would the 1st “p.m.” be implied and therfore, can be omitted, or should time periods always include “a.m.” or “p.m.” for both start and end times, regardless of their implied time span?
Mahalo!
Robyn
If the organizers of the conferences or meetings wish to emphasize starting and stopping at exact times, then I recommend numerals representing the full hours and minutes along with a.m. and p.m., especially if the events include noon or midnight. Also, the Chicago Manual of Style’s Rule 6.78 says, “The principal use of the en dash is to connect numbers and, less often, words. With continuing numbers—such as dates, times, and page numbers—it signifies up to and including (or through). For the sake of parallel construction, the word to, never the en dash, should be used if the word from precedes the first element in such a pair . . .”
The conference will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The meeting will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. OR The meeting will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
(If exact times are not emphasized, then “. . . from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. is acceptable.)
Hi,
I was wondering how you would write a list of times. For example:
01 AM
02 AM
03 AM
04 AM
05 AM
06 AM
07 AM
08 AM
09 AM
10 AM
11 AM
Noon
1 PM
2 PM
3 PM
4 PM
5 PM
6 PM
7 PM
8 PM
9 PM
10 PM
11 PM
Midnight
Our Rule 13 of Writing Numbers states, “Use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized or when using A.M. or P.M.”
Therefore, write:
1:00 AM
2:00 AM…
Noon
1:00 PM…
Is this statement correct? Should on be used?:On Sunday April 19,2013 I attended the meeting.
The word on is correct, however, our Rule 5a of Commas states, “Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year and after the year.” Also, there should be a comma following Sunday and a space before 2013. Therefore, write “On Sunday, April 19, 2013, I attended the meeting.”