Proper Use of Numbers and

Idioms

Darshan Modh, Dana Jackson, Emery Gallia,

Ty Jackson
 Two Most Influential Styles:

● The Associated Press Stylebook suggests that you should spell out the numbers
zero through nine and use numerals for anything greater than nine.

● The Chicago Manual of Style suggests you to spell out the numbers zero through
one hundred and use numerals for any number above one hundred. The
exception is that any whole number that is used in combination with hundred,
thousand, million, etc… should be spelled out as well.
 Which is Correct?

● Using the Associated Press Stylebook method:

- Jen bought a ( two, 2 ) pack of cookies.

- David just added ( five, 5 ) thousand dollars into his savings account.

- Bobby donated ( one hundred, 100 ) dollars to charity.

● Using the Chicago Manual of Style method:

- Bella only needed to read ( fifty- five, 55 ) more pages of her book.

- ( Two hundred, 200 ) people showed up to the event last week.

- Lucy saved a total of ( ten, 10 ) dollars on her purchase. ten

 Rules that Apply to Both Methods:

● Rule 1: Numbers at the beginning of a sentence must be spelled out.

- Exception: The only exception to this rule is that the Associated Press Stylebook suggests that years should not
be spelled out.

- Examples: “Twelve students did not turn their assignment in on time.”, “1929 was a hard year for most.”

● Rule 2: Put a hyphen between all compound numbers ranging from twenty- one through ninety- nine. Also put a
hyphen between all written out fractions.

- Examples: “Forty-nine people signed the petition.”, “We were able to recover two-thirds of the lost data.”

● Rule 3a: When there is four or more digits being used, make sure to enter commas. To do this correctly, count
three spaces to the left for every comma. Make sure not to include decimal points when counting.

- Examples: “ 2,800 people”, “$45,000”

 Rules that Apply to Both Methods Continued:

● Rule 3b: It is not recommended to use a dollar sign or decimal point when using values less than a dollar.

- Wrong: He had only $0.75.

- Correct: He had only seventy-five cents. OR He had only 75 cents.

● Rule 3c: The word “dollars” does not need to be added when there is a dollar sign present.

- Example: “I now have $2,000 in my savings account.”

● Rule 4: Use “noon” and “midnight” rather than 12:00 PM and 12:00 AM.

- Example: “The report is due tonight at midnight.”

 Rules that Apply to Both Methods Continued:

● Rule 5: When writing out numbers larger than 999, do not use commas.

- Example: “Twelve hundred sixty-seven dollars and fifty-four cents.”

● Rule 6: Know how to use figures to express dates.

- Examples: “The 10th of January, 2001”, “January 10, 2001”

● Rule 7: When discussing decades in numeral form, put an apostrophe before the number and no apostrophe
between the number and the s.

- Example: “The roaring ‘20s was a period of economic prosperity.”

● Rule 8: Mixed fractions are expressed in numbers unless they are at the beginning of a sentence.

- Example: “ We expect a wage increase of 5 ½ percent.”, “ Five and one-half percent was the wage increase that we
were expecting.”
What is the Definition of an Idiom?

● According to the Webster Dictionary, they define idiom as

idiom noun
id·​i·​om | \ ˈi-dē-

Definition of idiom

: an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either

grammatically (such as no, it wasn't me) or in having a meaning that cannot be
derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (such as ride herd on for
"supervise")
 Now The Definition in English

● An idiom is pretty much figurative language. Idioms are words that are
unusual and imagenitive used in sentences. Words that together, have a
different meaning to the overall meaning of a sentence.
● You’re probably familiar with these even though you don't exactly know
what they are.
● Here's an example:

-“He had cold feet.” - He didn’t have enough confidence

Distinguishing Between Idioms and Phrases

● A quick Merriam Webster definition on a phrase

1. a characteristic manner or style of expression : diction
2. a brief expression

● Now examples of phrases

-“He helped to build the roof”

-“The young man threw a bone to the dog”

Pick Whether it is an Idiom or a Phrase

“She spilt the beans.”

“Log onto the computer.”

“Hang that picture on the wall for me”

“He lost his marbles”

Now remember once again, when a sentence is an idiom, the words themselves, do not
resemble what an actual sentence means. It’s when the words come together is what brings
meaning to a sentence
Idioms Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrvnp1dpIpg
Kahoot

https://play.kahoot.it/v2/lobby?quizId=ec00a9bb-47a3-46db-a40e-1a9f583d3689
Sources:

● https://www.grammarbook.com/numbers/numbers.asp
● https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiom?src=search-dict-hed