Usage of "and" and comma when writing numbers UK style
Solution 1:
A common rule is to write out numbers from one to nine (sometimes 10), and use numerals after that. This is also matter of style, and for example the Guardian style guide says:
Spell out from one to nine; numerals from 10 to 999,999; thereafter use m or bn for sums of money, quantities or inanimate objects in copy, eg £10m, 5bn tonnes of coal, 30m doses of vaccine; but million or billion for people or animals, eg 1 million people, 25 million rabbits, the world population is 7 billion, etc; spell trillion in full at first mention, then tn; in headlines use m, bn or tn
You should also use commas to separate the numerals into groups of three. So 1,002 rather than 1002.
But assuming you want to write any number in full, use as many ands as makes it clear, and use commas to list the separate groups of number.
- 102: one hundred and two
- 120: one hundred and twenty
- 1,002: one thousand and two
- 1,203: one thousand, two hundred and three
- 102,003: one hundred and two thousand and three
- 102,304: one hundred and two thousand, three hundred and four
- 1,000,002: one million and two
- 1,000,020: one million and twenty
- 1,000,200: one million, two hundred
- 1,002,000: one million, two thousand
- 1,002,003: one million, two thousand and three
- 1,023,045: one million, twenty-three thousand and forty-five
- 1,203,450: one million, two hundred and three thousand, four hundred and fifty
- 100,000,300 : one hundred million, three hundred
- 102,000,003 : one hundred and two million and three
- 102,304,567 : one hundred and two million, three hundred and four thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven
Although it is also common to say a instead of an initial one.
- 102: a hundred and two
And sometimes just hundreds are used instead of numbers:
- 2,502: twenty-five hundred and two
Years are different and have their own rules.
Solution 2:
As a matter of usage, one should write any numeric value that is less than or equal to nine as a number. A numeric format is used for values that are greater than or equal* to 10.
One uniform exception to this is when writing a check. In that case, one does write the amount in words. This is equally true for American English and British English. The first line of a check is "Pay to the order of" or "Make payable to", followed by a person or organization name. The next line is "In the amount of" and should have the value written out in full, excluding any fractional amount.
So for an amount less than 1000, call it XYZ
Pounds SterlingX hundred and Y-ty Z
if Y = {2...9}
orX hundred and YZ-teen
if Y = 1
orX hundred and Z
if Y = 0
where each digit X, Y
and Z
are written as words.
For integer values greater than or equal to 1000, separation with "and" is appropriate. I have not seen commas used. So 99,999 (or 99999) would beNinety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine
Note that this is applicable for writing numbers, which was the inquiry in the question. For speaking purposes, I am not certain.
*Decimal, fractional and other non-integer values deserve a question of their own.