I’m not sure which term to use. This podcast was written by Bonnie Trenga, author of The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, who blogs at sentencesleuth.blogspot.com, and I'm Mignon Fogarty, the author of the paperback book Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. We prefer using a space between the time and a.m. or p.m. Is the comma after the year, January 1, 2018 below, correct or not? Grammatically preferred would be midnight and 12:05 am (or a.m., AM, A.M.), but for the purposes of a quilt you may take liberties: twelve midnight, 12 am, 12:00 am for the first one. We have had tricks played on us on April 1. 4. The department will hold a nonstop, 24-hour competition to design a robot. OR Or should I use the standard “12:00 a.m.” and “12:05 a.m.”? For example, see you at five vs. see you at 5:25. Lutz, G. and Stevenson, D. Grammar Desk Reference. On a tombstone the date is shown Dec 14 with the date beneath and April 23 with the date beneath. “Thank you for your inquiry on the 30th of June in which you requested information about our range of products.” There is no rule regarding this situation, but we would recommend keeping 2018 intact for readability purposes if it must wrap to the next line. Her flight leaves at 5:00 a.m. OR Her flight leaves at 5:00 in the morning. Is there a better way to phrase the time? We recommend The 22nd day of March 2017 will be the first day of spring. Finally, you can also post questions on Facebook or Twitter. Example: The baby wakes up at 5 o’clock in the morning. Surely, no one could assume you mean 1918. If you are confident you won’t be misunderstood, you may use just one a.m. or p.m. in a time range. The market is open from 9 am to 9 pm. She welcomes her 11th grandchild home. 6. The market is open from 9 am to 9 p.m. 6. So feel free to start a sentence with an “as” phrase, but just be careful that you put the person that the “as” phrase refers to right after the job name. Since your example is more like a sign and is not a complete sentence, it might be acceptable to use spaces for business or marketing purposes. As the post states, “Some use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized.” Therefore, we recommend writing “At 8:00 AM sharp, all my guests were at the table” or “At 8:00 am sharp, all my guests were at the table.”, Is the following correct: Yes, “at five o’clock” is fine. You might have heard a previous episode on misplaced modifiers, which goes into more detail. Like me, you probably want to keep your grammar straight. Although we are unable to see the rest of the sentence, a comma seems appropriate here. When I was young, I used to think that money was the most important thing in life. Writing numbers is a minefield. A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else. Thanks for the article. The ‘s is never used anywhere else in the English language to denote plurality. OR Which is correct? Thank you in advance. Note: You may use AM and PM, A.M. and P.M., am and pm, or a.m. and p.m. I am seeing this a lot and it looks wrong to me, but you give it as an acceptable form above. We can only suggest: “… submit [responses] by 1 PM on April 29, 2020.”. I just came across, it was the ’18-19 school year. Traffic will be detoured on Saturday, April 22, from 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. 1. During the ’80s, the world’s economy grew. Talking about the collective years that make up the eighties, 1980s does not need an apostrophe because it is plural, not possessive. The construct is required (one could argue) because there is no way to indicate a plural number with digits alone, so you must use the letter “s.” And because you are using digits to replace dropped letters, the apostrophe represent the fact the we’ve used a shortcut (like dropping the “o”) and is appropriate. During the 1980s, the world’s economy grew. 2. Sign up to receive the FREE weekly GrammarBook.com E-Newsletter. Can you shed some light? 3. Perhaps a way to relieve donmorberg’s and Angelo S.’s cognitive dissonance related to the use of an apostrophe when talking about dates (e.g. I was always taught to think of it in the sense that the 70’s “owned” all the years from 1970 to 1979. That’s pretty creative thinking. I’ve been writing this my whole life and not once was I corrected, is it a grave offense or is it okay? Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006, p. 103. I have been having trouble finding the correct way to express a duration of time. Example: Her flight leaves at 6:22 a.m. We prefer ’18-’19 school year. The writing might take the form of marking up a text or making notes about it (194)." B. The Associated Press Stylebook, The Chicago Manual of Style, and some of the other leading style guides include a space between the numerals and the abbreviation. Is a comma needed after the 14 and the 23 since the year is not on the same line? Incorrect example: We will be visiting on August 31, 2017, from 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. OR 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. I often come across similar sentences, but I still can’t find any grammar rule explaining that (one of the reasons I actually visited this website but, again, didn’t find the answer). It is quite confusing to me. Most of the time, though, the “as” phrase will be at the beginning of the sentence. The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/as-like-at-beginning.aspx, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. I’m going to the gym for a 4:30 is acceptable in an informal, most likely spoken, context. Our Rule 9 of Commas says, “Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year, and—what most people forget!—always put one after the year, also.” Therefore, your comma is correct. Please deliver the package by August 1st. Please deliver the package by August 1. or MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 7:00-9:30 PM instead of MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 7:00 PM-9:30 PM. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition. 2. 5. Your email address will not be published. Therefore, the following is grammatically correct: 4. Cowards may die many times before their death. If necessary, use the "Search" box on the right side of the page to find a post closely related to your question or comment.Your email address will not be published. Copyright © 2020 Macmillan Holdings, LLC. 6th of April 2018, 6th of April, 2018 (See Rule 9 of Writing Numbers.). Rule: There are differing policies for expressing decades using numerals. Can you get here by 12:00 midnight? Rule: As you will see in the following examples, there are a number of options for expressing date and time ranges. Something that annoys me has to do with how some people speak of a range of items (including dates, times, and other measures), combining the two forms “between this and that” and “from this to that.”, These people will say, “It should arrive between Monday to Friday,” or, “The cost will be between five dollars to seven dollars.”, I believe that is incorrect, and that the correct forms are, “It should arrive between Monday and Friday,” and, “The cost will be between five dollars and seven dollars.”, I rarely hear the form, “From this and that,” but I often hear “Between this to that.”, We agree with you. A clearer expression would be: During the night of August 13-14, 1956, four UFOs were sighted. The Chicago Manual of Style says, “Time zones, where needed, are usually given in parentheses—for example, 4:45 p.m. (CST).”. We do agree with you; we don’t like it either. Today, Bonnie Trenga helps us understand modifiers that come at the beginning of a sentence. However, using two apostrophes (the ’80’s) is awkward and is not recommended. Example (using an en dash in accordance with The Chicago Manual of Style. When you are speaking (and in casual writing), it is fine to say “April 1st.” In formal writing, we recommend April 1, the 1st of April, or the first of April. Grammar is not my strength. The en dash indicates up to and including, or through): or MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 7:00-9:30 PM instead of MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 7:00 PM-9:30 PM. I think 2018 but a coworker disagrees. However, we do acknowledge that there is a wide variation in how different books, newspapers, magazines, advertisers, etc. However, my co-worker believes this is correct: “The department will hold a non-stop 24 hours competition to design a robot.” That’s just awkward. For the second sentence we recommend An inaugural symposium was held August 13-14, 1981, at the fledgling WNHRC. An apostrophe is inserted when something is removed (the o from don’t, the un from ’til) or in a possessive. Thanks for your great article on dates and times. I have a dilemma- I am embroidering birth info onto quilt squares, and need to know the correct spellings for 12:00 AM as well as 12:05 AM. Your December 18, 2018 letter, was received in my office…. For the year spans, is 2012-15 correct? I know the rule says always after the year, but it seems awkward when date used as a reference. So when you see a sentence that starts with an “as,” “like,” or “unlike,” pay a little extra attention to what comes next. For example, the first sentence might be preferred on a sign or in advertising, and the second example might be preferred in a formal context. The day-month-year format requires no punctuation. Correct: It has to say 4th of July and not July 4th. Please see our reply of April 28, 2017, to @donmorberg. Many 9’s are hidden in this image. The rules in this post apply to writing formal prose. Or should it be 2012-2015. There are no specific rules that apply to this kind of specialized usage. The decision depends on how and where the sentence is to be used. Such as in a single letter: You should mind your p’s and q’s. Thoughts? 5. Would “Twelve o’clock a.m.” and “Twelve o’ five a.m.” be acceptable? There are no hard-and-fast rules governing this area. Scheduling is available Monday through Thursday from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. I seem to remember an apostrophe being used to create certain plurals. Today, Bonnie Trenga helps us understand modifiers that come at the beginning of a sentence.. Today, I plan to talk about two kinds of troublesome modifiers that begin a sentence. Why should be used here? I was hoping for clarification on time zone punctuation as part of a date and time. “5:00 a.m. in the morning” is redundant. “Like”—and its opposite, “unlike”—often begin a sentence but lead to a misplaced modifier in the same manner as the word “as.” Take this faulty sentence: “Like most of you, the reason I study grammar is that it’s fascinating.” Here, “the reason” is not like most of you; “I” am like most of you, and “I” should go right after the “like” phrase. You may or may not be happy to hear that “the correct way” may consist of numerous acceptable options, including one and a half hours, 1 1/2 hours, one hour and thirty minutes, 1 hour and 30 minutes, 1.5 hours, 90 minutes, etc. Thank you. Do you have anything on time zones? Rule: The following examples apply when using dates: The meeting is scheduled for June 30. Can i say: I thought you were going to LSU for 2PM? As the post states, “There are a number of options for expressing date and time ranges.” Both examples are acceptable with added periods at the end of the sentences. On the night of August 13-14, 1956, four UFOs were sighted. When writing out a date and time, which would be correct: March 26, 2018, at 10:14 a.m. or March 26, 2018 at 10:14 a.m.? If you choose to use the all-numeral format for a date in informal writing, it is up to you to determine whether the century to which you’re referring is sufficiently clear. Since its inception in July 2015, 222 low-income fathers have graduated from Dedicated Dads. Do you repeat the year if a range of dates occurs in the same year? Quotation Marks. The last entry using “During the 1980’s” is incorrect. The following would be grammatically correct: For clarity, we prefer that practice ourselves. It would be incorrect to say, “As a home inspector, bats sometimes fly in my face when I’m in the attic.” That’s called a misplaced modifier, because the modifier, the “as” phrase, mistakenly modifies “bats.” This is a very common error that I as a copy editor see. Is it correct to write – We’re leaving on 23rd August – ? I’m going to the gym at 4:30, and then I might take a class there. Not Advised: Now that I am old, I know it is. Would you use a comma in 4th of July, 2020 or not?