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Q&A How to write time duration correctly

I would use commas between each component, and use "and" only if the last component is seconds. I learned way back in intermediate school that "and" is only used before fractions (so 10,247 is said...

posted 11y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:12Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/6509
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T02:33:17Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/6509
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T02:33:17Z (over 4 years ago)
I would use commas between each component, and use "and" _only_ if the last component is seconds. I learned way back in intermediate school that "and" is only used before fractions (so 10,247 is said "ten thousand, two hundred forty-seven" but 10 7/8 is said "ten and seven-eighths"). I would call seconds the smallest "lay person" time interval — if you're getting into fractions of a second, you've moved beyond regular timekeeping and are now talking science, so it would be formatted differently.

So using your example:

> The maximum time period allowed is 365 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds, so any longer than that is a problem.

BUT if your time were shorter, it would be written:

> The maximum time period allowed is 365 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, so any longer than that is a problem.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2012-10-18T10:44:04Z (over 11 years ago)
Original score: 2