Ask Fran
October 2010
The Question
When should you use a word instead of a number? -- Jennifer Patterson, Social Marketing Manager, SingleThrow
The Answer
The rule is to use words for numbers one through nine. Starting with 10, use just the number. Ah, but what do you do if a sentence begins with a number or if a sentence contains a mix of numbers below and above 10?
Never begin a sentence with a number. You can either rewrite the sentence or write the words for the number.
Wrong: 75 people attended our event last night.
Correct: Last night, 75 people attended our event.
Correct: Seventy-five people attended our event last night.
How do you write a sentence that contains numbers above and below 10?
Hint: Stick to the rules!
Example: Jennifer loves animals. She has two birds, three dogs, and 12 rabbits.
April 2010
The Question:
I keep receiving e-mails from people with the same grammatical error – “Your going to love this new product” or “Your right when you say that the economy is getting better,” for example. Can you help? See you soon, teach
!
--Ben Waldron, Executive Director of the MODC (Monmouth Ocean Development Council)
Yikes! It’s true a lot of people are sloppy about using “your” and “you’re,” two words that sound the same but have totally different meanings.
The word “your” shows possession. I like YOUR smile. Is that YOUR business card? The word “you’re” is a contraction of two words: you are. YOU’RE (YOU ARE) going to love this new product. I heard YOU’RE (YOU ARE) moving to Guam.
If you cannot say “you are” for the “your” in your sentence, you know you have chosen the wrong word.
I know you’re (you are) not going to mix up these words again! If you do, Ben has your (can’t say “you are”) e-mail!