Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers/Archive 62

message: Can we add an exception to the spell-out-all-numbers-under-10 rule for hyphenated adjectives with numbers?  In other words, include something like this on the project page:
For hyphenated adjectives with numbers, like 2-year contract, 5-story building, use numerals instead of words.  
Someone just reverted my change to "7-vowel system" back to "seven vowel system", and they're right according to this page, but they're wrong according to the Technical Editing course I took. --Dblomgren 16:55, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I would always write "two-year" or "five-story" (well, I'd write "five-storey", but that's a different question). Stephen Turner (Talk) 17:16, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  Could you please also give an opinion on "3-volume", appearing in the Principia Mathematica article? —Gennaro Prota•Talk 22:00, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text:  Again, I'd consider "three-volume" to be good style, although it seems Dblomgren would disagree. Anyone else? Stephen Turner (Talk) 22:40, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Stephen's right, so "seven-vowel system" is the widely accepted way. "Two 9-page letters" is a recommended exception in several major style manuals, but there's no universal rule: it makes sense as an exception. The other exception is for units. And I wonder whether the MoS makes the SI distinction between "3 mm" radius and "3-millimetre" radius? That's a widely accepted distinction in hyphen use between abbreviated and spelt out units, where they're part of a double or triple adjectival form. Tony 06:11, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Yeah, I'd agree with Stephen on that.  Neonumbers 08:35, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm a little confused now. Why is ""two 9-page letters" a recommended exception? Because it employs two consecutive numeral adjectives (two and nine)? So one would say, for instance, "three 7-vowel systems"? Thanks, Gennaro Prota•Talk 09:29, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

text: "five-story", etc. is good style, and the only problem with things like "two nine-page letters" is if you do "2 9-page letters" —Centrx→talk • 08:42, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Personally, I'd write "two nine-page letters", because in my mind, the hyphen is sufficient to resolve any confusion there.  As Tony says, there's no universal rule on that — I guess it could be considered a pedanticism?  (excuse the coinage)  Probably the two number-words in a row, yeah, though personally I don't quite get it either.  Neonumbers 10:18, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Sure, this is fine too; there are cases where it's not, though: "three three-millimetre bullets" might better as "three 3-millimetre bullets". Up to you. Tony 12:00, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I see... maybe (just maybe) I could buy that one... :-) interesting, these things are.  Neonumbers 04:14, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

text: It's understandable where Tony is coming from, his last example is one of the same number twice in a row, which might encourage some people to think of it as a typo, when it's not.  --Stratadrake 13:52, 21 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: "Two letters, each nine pages long". "Two 9-page letters" is to grammar as a rubber patch is to a bicycle tyre. -Ashley Pomeroy 02:03, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  two nine-page letters or two 9-page letters? 

message: Apparently, I could not agree with Epeefleche's opinion about the numbers in numeral/letter form (in this case it is mostly about order numbers. I think). The problem was started in Mike Mussina about this edit. There is a small discussion about this in here, although I felt the need to have more opinions from different people. There is also a change in number style under this page (I had it on watchlist, so I noticed that). Any thoughts about this issue? Replying in either here or on Mussina's talk page are fine, although keeping this discussion in the other talk page might be preferred. Regards, Vic226(chat) 16:50, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Numbers in letters" (for two-word or less) or "Consistency" comes first?