Grammar-Quizzes › Noun Phrases › Modifiers to Nouns › Number-Modifiers
Number-Noun Modifiers
Combine a number and a noun to form a modifier
Number vs. Number-Noun Modifiers
| NUMBER MODIFIER |
|---|
A number, a determiner, tells us how many items are in the set. In this sense, it is a modifier. When the number is two or above, the noun takes the plural form. |
| NUMBER |
The ladder has five steps. |
The program has a step. (determiner) |
The book has two hundred pages |
Bruce's workout lasted five minutes. |
Bruce worked ten days. |
Bruce is thirty years old. Bruce is thirty-two years old. |
| NUMBER + NOUN MODIFIER |
|---|
A number and a noun may combine to quantify a characteristic of a noun. The number-noun modifier is placed before the "head" (main) noun. The noun takes singular form (unless the noun exists as plural form only). |
| MODIFIER |
It is a five-step ladder. |
It is a one-step program. |
It was a two-hundred-page book. |
It was a five-minute workout. |
It was a ten-day job. |
Bruce is a thirty-year-old man. Bruce is a thirty-two-year-old man. |
numbers — numeral determinatives
cardinal numbers — one, two, three, four…
ordinal numbers — first, second, third, fourth…
(Swan 386.5) (Chicago Manual 7.85)
Hyphenating numbers Use a hyphen to link numbers twenty-one to ninety-nine.
Spelling out numbers See below.
Hyphens
Linking Modifiers
Number–Noun vs. Number Modifier
| NUMBER-NOUN |
|---|
A hyphen is used when a word in a series modifies the following word, and together the linked words modify the noun. The numbers below are modifiers. |
| NUMBER (MODIFIER) |
I have six-step ladders.  |
| NUMBER–NOUN (MEASUREMENT) |
I saw four-foot cactuses (cacti).  |
| NUMBER |
|---|
No hyphen is used when each word modifies the following word in a series of modifiers. The numbers below are determiners specifying quantity. |
| NUMBER (DETERMINER |
I have six¹ stepladders.  |
| DETERMINER NOUN–ADJ |
I saw four foot-high² cactuses (or cacti).  |
stepladder (N) — a word form that combines step + ladder
¹A number is a determiner that specifies quantity (e.g., one, two). In contrast, a modifier tells us how many. (e.g., one ladder, two ladders).
²See Modifiers to Adj (tall, high, wide, long, deep, old, etc.)
Related page Irreg Plural Nouns (cactus, cacti)
Word Numbers
Arabic vs. Spelled-out Numbers
Numbers in symbols, addresses, math, brand names, and more
| ARABIC NUMBERS |
|---|
Use numbers when writing a paper that calls for frequent use of numbers – scientific, statistical, findings. (technical context) |
| LARGE NUMBERS |
There were 99 children in the study about brand names. (scientific context) (AP – 172 Spell out numbers below 10; MLA – depends on context) |
| NUBERICAL FINDINGS – STATISTIC OR SCIENTIFIC DATA |
There were 10 children in the study about brand names. (scientific context)
|
| AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SENTENCE |
In the group, 10 children preferred the McDonald's hamburger. (word order re-arranged) *10 children preferred the McDonald's hamburger. |
| WITH ABBREVIATIONS, DECIMALS & SYMBOLS |
Over 90% of the children chose the well-known brand. (scientific context) |
| IN DATES |
The project began in 2008. *2008 marked the beginning of the project.
|
| IN ADDRESSES |
She lives at 300 Hillsdale Avenue. |
| IN RELATED NUMERICAL EXPRESSIONS |
*The group consisted of 55 boys and four girls. |
| VERY LARGE NUMBERS |
Lucky Hamburgers sold 1.3 billion hamburgers last year. (combine numerals and words)
|
| IN THE NAMES OF ORGANIZATIONS AND PRODUCTS |
Century 21 Theaters |
| SPELLED NUMBERS |
|---|
Spell out small numbers and numbers in nontechnical contexts (when few numbers will be mentioned). Avoid using Arabic numerals at the beginning of a sentence. |
| SMALL NUMBERS |
There were ninety-nine children in the study about brand names. (literary context) (CMOS – 9.3 Spell out whole numbers one through one hundred; MLA – depends on context).) |
| IN A PAPER MENTIONING FEW NUMBERS – NONTECHNICAL |
Little Women is a story about four girls. (literature) |
| AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SENTENCE |
Ten children preferred the McDonald's hamburger. |
| WITH ABBREVIATIONS, DECIMALS & SYMBOLS |
I would estimate that ninety per cent of them were green. |
| IN DATES |
Two thousand eight marked the beginning of the project. (at the beginning of the sentence) |
| IN ADDRESSES |
Three hundred ten Hillsdale Avenue is a new retirement community. (when the address is the building's name, or is used at the beginning of the sentence.) |
| IN RELATED NUMERICAL EXPRESSIONS |
The group consisted of fifty-five boys and four girls. (Express related numbers in the same style within a sentence or paragraph.) |
| VERY LARGE NUMBERS |
Lucky Hamburgers sold 1.3 billion hamburgers last year. (combine numerals and words)
|
| IN THE NAMES OF ORGANIZATIONS AND PRODUCTS |
After Eight candy |
*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
*He lifted a 300 pounds weight.
|
*It was nine pounds baby. |
*There are twelve millions people in my city. |
* It was a 9 pound baby. |
*It was built ninety nine years ago. |
That seventy years old man can run a marathon race. |
She is seventy-years old.
|
| SOLUTION |
|---|
He lifted a 300-pound weight. / He lifted a three-hundred-pound weight. |
It was a nine-pound baby (Use the singular noun from as the modifier.) |
There are twelve-million people in my city. |
It
was a nine-pound baby |
It was built ninety-nine years ago. |
That seventy-year old / seventy-year-old man can run… Hyphenate (link) the modifiers to the head (main) noun. |
She is seventy years old. No hyphen is used if the number is not a modifier to a noun. |
*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
See Modifiers to Adj (tall, high, wide, long, deep, old, etc.)
Grammar Notes (Advanced)
Hyphen guidelines in style manuals
Style Manual Comments
| ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLEBOOK (AP) |
Spell out numbers below 10, use figures for 10 and above. Spell out a numeral at the beginning of a sentence (unless it identifies a calendar year). If necessary, rephrase the sentence. (172) |
| AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) |
"Use numbers to express (a.) numbers 10 and above; (b) numbers in the abstract of a paper or in a graphical display within a paper; (c) numbers that immediately precede a unit of measurement; (d) numbers that represent statistical or mathematical functions, fractional or decimal quantities, percentages, ratios, and percentiles and quartiles.; (e) numbers that represent time, dates, ages, scores and points on a scale, exact sums of money, and numerals as numerals (ex. in approx. expressions); (f) numbers that denote a specific place in a numbered series… ( 4.31) |
| CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE |
"In general, in nontechnical contexts, spell out whole numbers one through one hundred, round numbers and any number beginning a sentence. For other numbers, numerals are used. "Consistency must sometimes give way to readability." (9.3) |
| GREGG REFERENCE MANUAL |
"Spell out numbers 1 to 10; use figures for numbers above 10.... Use figures— even for numbers 1 through 10 (as in this sentence) — when they have technical significance or need to stand out for quick comprehension… Use the same style to express related numbers above and below 10. If any of the numbers are above 10, put them all in figures. (401-6) |
| MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION (MLA) |
Recommends using numbers in scientific or statistical papers, but spelled-out numbers when writing about literature or other subjects with infrequent use of numbers. nbsp;(3.5.2) |
| NEW ST MARTIN'S HANDBOOK |
"If a number can be written as one or two words, spel it out." (416) "Numbers that cannot be written in one or two words should be expressed in figures." (417) "If one of several numberes of the same kind in the same sentence needs to be expressed in figures, all the numbers should be expressed that way." |
Works Cited
- The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. Edited by Thomas Kent, et al., 51st ed., AP, 2016.
- The Chicago Manual of Style. 16th ed., U of Chicago P, 2010.
- The Gregg Reference Manual. Edited by William A. Sabin, 11th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2011.
- "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." Purdue OWL, Edited by Tony Russel et al., Purdue U, 15 Aug. 2016, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01.
- MLA Handbook. 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.
- The New St. Martin's Handbook. By Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert J. Connors, 3rd ed., Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed., American Psychological Association, 2009.
- Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
Style Manual Abbreviations (used in this website)
- AP (Associated Press), APA (American Psychological Association), CMOS (Chicago Manual of Style), GREGG (Gregg Reference Manual), MLA (MLA Handbook)
Practice 1
Modifying with numbers
Choose the correct word form for the number.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" or the "check 1-20" button.
Practice 2
An Oil for Almost Everything!
Read for Errors
WD-40 is the trademark name of an oil spray designed to repel water and prevent corrosion. In nineteen fifty-three, it was developed by Norm Larsen, founder of the Rocket Chemical Company, San Diego, California. WD-40 stands for "Water Displacement – 40th Attempt". WD-40's formula is a trade secret, but it is believed to be: 50% mineral spirits; 25% liquefied petroleum gas; 10 per cent mineral oil, and 9 per cent inert ingredients. Almost every household keeps a can of this product with a 101 uses. The company went public in 1973. Its NASDAQ stock is valued at over $320 million.
In recent years the WD-40 company has acquired several household-products companies, adding such brand names as 3-In-One Oil, Lava, Spot Shot, X-14, Carpet Fresh, and 2000 Flushes to its roster. The product has some whacky uses as well: (1) attracting fish to bait, (2) preventing squirrels from climbing poles, (3) removing chewing gum from surfaces, (4) removing a ring stuck on a finger, (5) preventing dead insects from sticking to a car, (6) freeing a tongue stuck to frozen metal in winter, (7) repelling dogs and flies from garbage cans.
stands for (V) – represents, is a shorter or another name for
attempt (N)– a try
repel (V) – the opposite of attract, resist, keep off our out
corrosion (N) – rust, the red or orange coating that forms on the surface of iron when exposed to air and moisture
attempt (N) – a try or effort
liquid (Adj) – in the form of a liquid (water, milk, etc.) instead of a gas or solid
liquefied (Adj) – a substance (solid) that has been changed to a liquid
inert (Adj) – having little or no ability to react
NASDAQ – an electronics tock exchange ; "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations"
roster (N) – list of acquired-company names within the parent company
whacky (Adj) – crazy and unexpected
Decide if a spelled number (letters) or an Arabic number should be used.
- Select "correct" or "incorrect.
- Read the feedback on your response.