YEARS
• We are going to the zoo on Monday, August 20th.
• ABBREVIATED DAYS: Sun., Mon., Tue., Wed., Thu., Fri., and Sat.
• ABBREVIATED MONTHS: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.
• The celebration will be held in February. The events of October 1994 are historic.
Always use digits for years.
• Incorrect: The year is nineteen forty-nine.
• Correct: The year is 1949.
Spell out centuries less than 10, hyphenating them when used as adjectives. A. D. precedes the year, while B. C. follows it.
• He lived during the first century; she lived during the 18th century.
• This 17th-century furniture is beautiful.
• The year is A. D. 2021; 300 B. C. feels like it was yesterday!
Use numerals and omit the apostrophe for decades; if the decade is easily identifiable, an apostrophe may be used to contract the number.
• Incorrect: She lived during the 1960 ' s.
• Correct: She lived during the 1960s.
• Incorrect: Are you sure she didn’ t live during the Roaring 20 ' s?
• Correct: Are you sure she didn’ t live during the Roaring ' 20s?
• Incorrect: The mid-1930 ' s were a difficult time in the U. S..
• Correct: The mid-1930s were a difficult time in the U. S..
Hyphenate and contract the second year to indicate a span of several years.
TIMES
• Incorrect: The events took place from 1992-1993.
• Correct: The events took place from 1992-93.
• Note: In referring to EFSC academic calendar years, the style 2021-2022 is preferred, but if space constraints require, such as a label on a table, it can be shortened to 2021-22.
On the web, AM and PM should be capitalized, with a space between the numerals and the letters. Do not use periods between the letters.
• Incorrect: The club will meet this Thursday at 11:45am.
• Incorrect: The club will meet this Thursday at 11:45 am.
• Incorrect: The club will meet this Thursday at 11:45 a. m..
• Incorrect: The club will meet this Thursday at 11:45AM.
• Incorrect: The club will meet this Thursday at 11:45 A. M..
• Correct: The club will meet this Thursday at 11:45 AM.
In print materials, lowercase letters with periods between them are used:
• The club will meet this Thursday at 11:45 a. m.
• 10:30 a. m. to 1:30 p. m.
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