Oh, Veronica, I use numerals for ALL measurements just as a format/style preference: scale of 1 to 10, 8 miles, 2 centimeters, 9-inch nails.

But: five days a week, seven-page document, etc.

Veronica, I always use numerals when referring to numbers on a scale, like the pain scale: 0-10, 0 being no pain, 10 being the worst pain imaginable. That type of thing.

The numbers on the scale itself, if you were to look at it, are numerals; they're not words. So I think it's not only clearer to use numerals or a style preference; I think it is correct to use numerals in that case because of the way they are represented on the chart.

Thanks, all. I feel better now.

V.

Quyen, leave the gouge with the (sic). It's technically accurate.

A. Right now it just has the one for a million 50.

am I technically accurate to leave it exactly as written? I am not certain how to interpret: a million 50. she could mean 1,050,000 or 1,000,050.

anybody have an opinion?

Thanks,
Derek

Derek:

...the one for a million-fifty.

Just another note. Derek, I have heard people misspeak and say a million-five for 1,500,000 and also a million-five for 1,000,500.

I wouldn't use the hyphen, just "a million fifty." I rarely write out numbers, but in this case I would. I don't like the mix of words and numerals when they're connected to a single number.

The witness said "slash" where I need to put a dash, so I don't know what to do after "myself" where I would normally put the ending dash. The witness does this a lot. It's driving me nuts.

A. At the very, very start of this unhappiness there were specific things that we felt, slash, Vickie, Larry, myself, we were not getting answers to specific questions that we asked.

Leanne,
I would just use the word slash, as spoken, so it is clear.

I hate it when they split their numbers up.

What I remember was that there was a deficit turned over of about 250­, -70,000 dollars that were accounts payables.

Any other ideas?

This is one of the very few time that I would write out the numbers. I've never gotten used to the hyphen used that way.

So would you do it:
... turned over of about two hundred fifty, seventy thousand dollars that were a/p?

I thought that was harder to read than what I had. I don't like the hyphen there either, but I'm trying to make it understandable.

You're right. It is hard to read. I didn't write it out to see how it would look. 250, -70 thousand dollars maybe? Yours is probably the best. It's sooooooo hard to reflect the understandable spoken word understandably sometimes! grrrrrr!!!

I wouldn't write the numbers out in words. I don't think it helps with clarity in this case. I think the hyphen before 70,000 makes it look like a negative number. So I might just do 250, $70,000. Or you could put the word "dollars" after it, of course. Just my opinion.

How to punctuate this:

But do you notice in your daily life -- I don't know if you live in the same place or -- there are certain things -- you can see the TV better or worse than before LASIK with your vision. Have you noticed anything like that with your left eye?

-------------------------------

It's doesn't flow smoothly, and there doesn't seem to be one complete sentence in this that makes sense except for the last question part.

Thanks.

LOL Quyen! When my son starts that, I tell him to stop. think. then speak. Don't you wish you could say that to attorneys?

I wouldn't change a thing. GIGO!

The only thing I'd change is the period to a question mark at the end of that first sentence because, regardless of the interruptions, it's a question - "Do you notice in your daily life you can see the TV better...?"

But do you notice in your daily life -- I don't know if you live in the same place or -- there are certain things -- you can see the TV better or worse than before LASIK with your vision. [?]

Brenda, I have wanted to say that soooo many times to attorneys. Sooo many times.

Question mark makes sense. It's just so disjointed, I'm not sure either one would be missed. But, yes, question mark is the better way to go.

OK, I'll leave it as is. Thanks.

LOL, Brenda, believe it or not, I actually DID tell an attorney that! His questions were like this:

Q Were those -- did those -- were those operated after the testing period?

Q And -- and -- and -- and did you -- did you attend the conference in the -- the Bay Area?

------------------------------

It was a full week of all-day depos -- all videotaped. He was killing me! After about three full days of all-day stuttering, at a break, I had a conversation with the attorney that went something like this:

Me: What -- what -- what -- what time do you -- do you think you'll -- you'll break for lunch?

He: (Staring at me blankly.)

Me: You know your transcripts are going to look terrible, right?

He: Oh, you mean my stuttering?

Me: Yep.

He: Just clean me up.

Me: I would, but this is being videotaped, so I can't. Just slow down and think about your questions before you ask them. You're thinking much faster than you can speak.

He: But my brain doesn't work that way.

Me (flashing a sweet, oh-so-innocent smile): And the record will so reflect.

---------------------------------

The first week was a completely lost cause. Well, at the second round of depos, week two, the first couple days were more of the same. By the third day, he did a total 180!

He said, after all my teasing, he realized he was talking like that to his secretary and the people in his office, too, so he's trying to slow down in his depos.

I told him he owes me one for making a better attorney out of him -- for some other reporter!

He and I are friends now. :)

OK, I like the KWARK idea. Thanks! :)

Good for you! Said in private like that is doing them a favor, I truly believe. It's just smack-dab in the middle of it that I'd like to talk to them like I do my kids -- and that just won't fly! LOL

I know! Me too! :)

Words.

You could do:
* 1 million 5 or one million five
* 5 million 679 (but NOT five million 679)
You can't do 5,679,000 because it could be 5,000,679. Same with 1,500,000 or 1,000,500 or 1,000,005.

That's why I'm voting for numerals over words - because of the 679 - for consistency.
1 million 5. 5 million 679.

The 679 is what threw me off. 1,679,000? 1,000,679? I just feel the 5 million 679 implies, strongly, that it's 5,679,000. I rarely use words instead of numerals, so that says something.

If I knew just what they mean, though, from documents or other discussion, I'd have no hesitation with the numerals.

I'm not sure where to post this.

How would I punctuate an acronym that ends in "S" that is possessive?

Example A: We have asked these panelists to provide their perspectives on the FSIS's efforts to improve its inspections.

Example B: We have asked these panelists to provide their perspectives on the FSIS' efforts to improve its inspections.

The speaker definitely says [F-S-I-S-es efforts].

I would use 's

If you hear the "es" at the end, it is correct to use the 's.

Per Gregg Section 638: To form the singular possessive of an abbreviation, add an apostrophe plus s. One of their examples is PBS's programming.

Thank you, Christine and Denise. I really appreciate your helpful responses.

Time question. I thought I read that when you have time such as 10 a.m. that you do not need the colon and two zeroes after it. However, 10:30 is done like this, and if they say "o'clock," then you write "ten" out like ten o'clock.

When the time falls on the hour, like 10 a.m., is "10 a.m." appropriate?

Could, would, or should it be "10:00 a.m."?

Jennie, I just looked up the rules for time in Morson's English Guide, and you are right. 10 a.m. is correct, same with ten o'clock. Thanks for bringing this question up because years ago when working with one firm, the owner had me change to 10:00 a.m., 10:00 o'clock, etc., but now that I've looked it up, I'm going back to my old ways.

Thanks for the response, Rosalie! :) Now I feel more confident that I selected the right punctuation.

I recently had to look up how to write ratios, and I am still not sure what to think about it.

A slash represents "per" or "to" in measures and ratios, e.g. 2 ft./min., price/earnings ratio. A colon is supposed to be used in proportions, e.g. 2:1, and as a ratio sign, e.g. 1:2::3:6.

When "fifty fifty chance" words are spoken, I still am inclined to write 50/50 and not 50:50.

What do y'all think?

Rules or not (rules are guidelines, after all), I use numerals in all reflections of time. When the word "o'clock" is used, I use :00, which means o'clock anyway. If I were to use "o'clock," I'd still use 10 o'clock. I've never understood the point in making a difference between the two! Rules should at least make sense, and this one doesn't. It makes it more index friendly as well.

Re: 50-50, per Websters:

fif·ty–fif·ty
Function:
adjective
Date:
1913

1 : shared, assumed, or borne equally 2 : half favorable and half unfavorable

Since I don't use words for numbers over ten, I'd use 50-50. But ...

I agree with Brenda. I use :00 for o'clock. Makes it easier to read in the transcript.

The examples from Websters didn't come through. Here they are:
a fifty–fifty proposition
a fifty–fifty chance

Don't know why it changed the color to red and left those out. Odd.

Thanks, Brenda, for the 50-50 explanation from Webster's. Also, I appreciate you and Marla providing the "o'clock" reference. :)

I am not sure where to post this, but here goes. I am doing a podcast from NIH, and the speaker references an extremely long website address that goes something similar to this.

SPEAKER: For more information, go to NLM.NIH.gov/medicalreport/menopausehotlflashsymptoms.html.

Then the speaker says this: Let me repeat that, NLM.NIH.gov/medicalreport/menopausehotflashsymptoms.html, or just go to NIH.gov, blah, blah, blah.

The problem is that EXTREMELY long website address moves down a line, leaving the line above it looking skimpy, like only three words on the line, and then the rest of the line is BLANK.

I hope I have explained this right. I can see no other way to punctuate this, and it looks like there is a hole, literally, in the transcript.

Any suggestions?

You could do it just the way it appears here and split at at slash, only with the / at the end of the line. I do that with other slashed phrases that get too long. Reading it here, it's very clear. In a transcript, it would be just as clear. I would definitely put the / at the end, rather than beginning, of the line however. I do the same with long hyphenated phrases.

Brenda, that is a perfect solution. It doesn't look strange to end with a slash at the end of the line. Plus, I think it makes it clear to the reader of the transcript. Brilliant! :-)

I just want to say that this forum is really enhancing my knowledge base, thanks to all who have responded. The quality of discourse on this forum is far superior than any I have ever participated in.

Brenda, this just came up in that podcast: "It is interesting that if you take identical twins and where one of them has lupus, there is a 50-50 chance that the other one will as well."

I didn't even hesitate when I transcribed "50-50 chance."

CSRnation gets high scores across the board!

How would you write five to $600,000 in a video deposition? If It wasn't video, I'd write $500,000 to $600,000.

Nothing I've tried looks right.l

That is a really good question, Janet. I'm curious to see what others will say because I am having a problem with something similar. The witness says, "It was all the way through 2003, four and five." Any suggestions? TIA.

It was all the way through 2003, '4, and '5.

That is what I thought, but I just wasn't really sure. Thanks, Kyung.

I also do 5- to $600,000.

I do it 5- to 600,000 dollars.

Great minds think alike, as they say!

I do it 5- to $600,000. However, LeAnne's "I do it 5- to 600,000 dollars" works for me too. In fact, I think I like LeAnne's the best, having "dollars" set off by itself, since "5-" has no dollar sign by it.

For the dates, I would do it like this: "It was all the way through 2003, '4, and '5."

What I am having trouble with quite often in recent times is numbers under ten and over ten within a sentence. It looks funny to make them all the same, only to have a paragraph or two later in the transcript, they are handled differently.

Example: She bought 4 apples, 12 oranges, and 32 pears.
Example later in transcript: She only kept three apples and two pears.

More on number punctuation. When the speaker says "between fourteen and fifteen-hundred widgets," which way would you write it?

Example A. I have 14- to 1500 widgets.
Example B. I have 14- to 1,500 widgets.
Example C. I have fourteen to fifteen-hundred widgets.
Example D. I have fourteen to fifteen hundred widgets.

If you choose Example A or Example B using Arabic numbers, would you omit the comma if the speaker says "fifteen hundred" instead of "one thousand five hundred"?

If you like Example C or Example D, writing out the words, would you use a hyphens to show omission and/or use it as a descriptive adjective on "fifteen-hundred widgets"?

I would go with either A or D. I leave out the comma if they say "hundred." It reads more like what was said.