The Editor’s Manual
Free learning resource on English grammar, punctuation, usage, and style.
Use an en dash to show a range. You can also use the word “to” or the paired expressions “from-to” and “between-and.” A hyphen is used instead of an en dash in some styles.
Use commas before and after the year in the American date format (May 1, 2021) but not in British (1 May 2021). No comma is needed when only the month and year are specified (May 2021).
American date format is month-day-year (May 1, 2021); British is day-month-year (1 May 2021). Use commas between day and year in American English; no commas are needed in dates in British English.
To show the exact date, spell out the month, and write the day and year in numerals (May 1, 2021, or 1 May 2021). Don’t place a comma between month and year (May 2021). Spell out the day when it stands alone.
Write years in numerals. Say the year in two parts: the first two and then the second two digits. In words, write the year as it would be pronounced.
Centuries are written in either numerals or words (“the 1800s,” “the 19th century,” or “the nineteenth century”). No apostrophe is necessary before the “s” in “1800s.”
Decades may be written in numerals or words (“the 1990s” or “the nineties”), though numerals are preferred in formal texts. In informal usage, an apostrophe may be used to abbreviate the name of a decade.
Simply use the words “noon” and “midnight” instead of a.m. and p.m. On the 24-hour clock, both 00:00 and 24:00 indicate midnight. In informal usage, “12 o’clock” can be either noon or midnight.
The term “o’clock” indicates the hour and is a contraction of the phrase “of the clock.” Use either numerals or words (ten o’clock or 10 o’clock). “A quarter to,” “a quarter past,” and “half past” show times 15 or 30 minutes before or after the hour.
On the 24-hour clock, the day is divided into 24 hours designated by the numerals 00 for the first hour and 23 for the last hour. Both hours and minutes are always shown. A colon acts as separator between hours and minutes (16:45 for 4:45 p.m.).