英语数字书写规则

英语数字书写规则

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在汉英笔译和英语写作中，经常会遇到数字；哪些场合用单词表示，哪些场合用阿拉伯数字表示，往往让人难以确定，现行语法书中也极少涉及此类问题。 实际上，以英语为母语的国家，在书写数字时已形成几条约定俗成的规则，现总结如下供读者参考。

一、英美等国的出版社在排版时遵循一条原则，即1至10用单词表示，10以上的数目用阿拉伯数字（也有的以100为界限），这条原则值得我们借鉴。

That table measures ten feet by five.

那个工作台长10英尺，宽5英尺。

The traditional pattern of classroom experience at the college level brings the professor and a group of 20 to 30 students together for a 45-to-50-minute class session two or three times a week.

大学课堂的传统的教学方式是，一个教授和二三十名学生每周见面两三次，每次授课时间45到50分钟。

二. 人数用阿拉伯数字表示显得更简洁明了，但不定数量、近似值用单词表示较恰当。

There are 203817 voters on the electoral rolls.

　　选举名单上有203817个投票人。

Nearly thirty thousand voters took part in this election.

　　近3万个投票人参加了这次选举。

三. 遇到日期、百分比、带单位的特殊数字，通常用阿拉伯数字。

Maximum swivel of table is l20.

工作台的最大旋转角度是120度。

Eg. 3rd March l991或3 March l991；

a discount of 5 percent（5%的折扣）；

purchased 7 yards of carpet（买7码地毯）；

ordered 2 pounds of minced steak（订购2磅肉馅）

如果涉及的数目和单位是不定数，可用单词表示。

about five miles per hour（每小时大约5英里）

at least ten yards away（至少有10码远）

hesitated for a moment or two（犹豫了片刻）

I have warned you a hundred times（我已经警告你多少遍了。）

四. 在科技文章中，数字频繁出现，用阿拉伯数字比用单词陈述更有利。

The new engine has a capacity of 4.3 litres and a power output of 153 kilowatts at 4400 revolutions per minute.

这台新发动机的容积为4.3升，转速为每分钟4400转，时输出功率是153千瓦。

We know that the weight of a cubic foot of air at 0?C and 76cm，pressure is 0.08l pound, or 12 cubic feet of air weigh a pound.

我们知道，1立方英尺的空气在0摄氏度和760毫米汞柱压力下，重量是0.81磅，也就是说12立方英尺空气的重量是1磅。

五. 句首不用阿拉伯数字，句末要尽量避免用阿拉伯数字。

4th July is an important date in American history.

应该写成The fourth of July...

19 couples took part in the ballroom dancing competition.

19对选手参加了交际舞比赛。

应改写成：Nineteen couples took...

60％ profit was a reported．

据报道有60％的利润。

应改写成：Sixty per cent profit…

1345 kilograms force was applied at the center point of the bar.

试验时，在杆的中点加了1345公斤力。

可改成When tested, a force of l345 kg was applied...

六. 遇到分数，可用带连字符的单词表示。

10 Rules for Writing Numbers and Numerals

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How do you express numbers in your writing? When do you use figures (digits) and when do you write out the number in words (letters)? That is, when do you write 9 and when do you write nine?

1. Number versus numeral. First things first, what is the difference between a number and a numeral? A number is an abstract concept while a numeral is a symbol used to express that number. “Three,” “3″ and “III” are all symbols used to express the same number (or the concept of “threeness”). One could say that the difference between a number and its numerals is like the difference between a person and her name.

2. Spell small numbers out. The small numbers, such as whole numbers smaller than ten, should be spelled out. That’s one rule you can count on. If you don’t spell numbers out it will look like you’re sending an instant message, and you want to be more formal than that in your writing.

3. No other standard rule: Experts don’t always agree on other rules. Some experts say that any one-word number should be written out. Two-word numbers should be expressed in figures. That is, they say you should write out twelve or twenty. But not 24.

4. Using the comma. In English, the comma is used as a thousands separator (and the period as a decimal separator), to make large numbers easier to read. So write the size of Alaska as 571,951 square miles instead of 571951 square miles. In Continental Europe the opposite is true, periods are used to separate large numbers and the comma is used for decimals. Finally, the International Systems of Units (SI) recommends that a space should be used to separate groups of three digits, and both the comma and the period should be used only to denote decimals, like £13 200,50 (the comma part is a mess… I know).

5. Don’t start a sentence with a numeral. Make it “Fourscore and seven years ago,” not “4 score and 7 years ago.” That means you might have to rewrite some sentences: “Fans bought 400,000 copies the first day” instead of “400,000 copies were sold the first day.”

6. Centuries and decades should be spelled out. Use the Eighties or nineteenth century.

7. Percentages and recipes. With everyday writing and recipes you can use digits, like “4% of the children” or “Add 2 cups of brown rice.” In formal writing, however, you should spell the percentage out like “12 percent of the players” (or “twelve percent of the players,” depending on your preference as explained in point three).

8. If the number is rounded or estimated, spell it out. Rounded numbers over a million are written as a numeral plus a word. Use “About 400 million people speak Spanish natively,” instead of “About 400,000,000 people speak Spanish natively.” If you’re using the exact number, you’d write it out, of course.

9. Two numbers next to each other. It can be confusing if you write “7 13-year-olds”, so write one of them as a numeral, like “seven 13-year-olds”. Pick the number that has the fewest letters.

10. Ordinal numbers and consistency. Don’t say “He was my 1st true love,” but rather “He was my first true love.” Be consistent within the same sentence. If my teacher has 23 beginning students, she also has 18 advanced students, not eighteen advanced students.