P

percent:

Use the % sign when paired with a number, with no space, in most cases (a change in 2019): Average hourly pay rose 3.1% from a year ago; her mortgage rate is 4.75%; about 60% of Americans agreed; he won 56.2% of the vote.

In casual uses, use words rather than figures and numbers: She said he has a zero percent chance of winning.

At the start of a sentence: Try to avoid this construction. If it’s necessary to start a sentence with a percentage, spell out both: Eighty-nine percent of sentences don’t have to begin with a number.


phone number formats for U.S. numbers:

(212) 727-2074. Use a hyphen, not an en dash.


place and regional names:

Capitalize full names of specific places and recognized regions. Do not capitalize if the reference is to a more general area. Examples:

  • Central Coast
  • Southern, Northern, and Central California
  • East Coast, West Coast (but eastern U.S.)
  • Monterey Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area
  • Salinas Valley, Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley, Central Valley

Related lowercase uses include central Africa, western Asia, eastern Nevada.


Last modified: Dec 01, 2017