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grammar - How to write numbers in words


How do we translate 1210 into words:


1) one thousand, two hundred, and ten


2) one thousand, two hundred and ten


or without the commas


3) one thousand two hundred and ten


4) one thousand two hundred, and ten ?



Answer



In the UK, we always put the "and" in after the hundreds in plain numbers. Commas appear to be put after every "power of 1000" term ("thousand", "million", "billion" and so on); I'm not sure whether that's a requirement or just a good idea. However, not even the most knee-jerk believer in Oxford Commas would put a comma after the hundreds. So it is:



One thousand, two hundred and ten.



In the US, they seem to always leave the "and" out, but use commas in the same way:



One thousand, two hundred ten.



There is another alternative, though. With a number like this between one and two thousand, in the UK at least we might still talk about it hundreds:



Twelve hundred and ten.



This is very much dependent on context and personal preference, but it does happen so you shouldn't be surprised by it.


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