Quote:
Originally Posted by ApK
Slightly off topic, but isn't the convention to spell out numbers less than ten, i.e., "one in six" rather than "1 in 6?"
FWIW, I think that "are" is correct and, perhaps more importantly, it sounds better. To my American ears, anyway.
I note that different English speaking countries often use singulars and plurals differently.
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No, it is not the convention in the sense that
one in six is more correct than
1 in 6. It depends on the style that is being applied (at least in the U.S.). For example, if the project is a medical book applying the American Medical Association's style, the numbers are numbers, not spelled out. Chicago style would spell it out except as otherwise noted in section 9 of the manual, which runs through a lot of exceptions and other possibilities, and which probably comes down on the side of using numerals.
More important is consistency than whether a number is a numeral or spelled out.