When you spell out the number 14, do you write forteen or fourteen? If you use “forteen” as the place value of a number, you are wrong because the only correct spelling of the number 14 is “fourteen,” with the letter u between the letters r and o. Read on to find out why “fourteen” is correct, including when to use the word form or numeral to ace your grammar.
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What Is Fourteen?
Fourteen is an English cardinal number word representing 14, and it specifies the quantity of objects or individuals. The number appears after 13 and is followed by 15.
What about its etymology? The word “fourteen” comes directly from the Old English term “feowertiene,” derived from feower (meaning “four”) and tiene (meaning “ten”). The suffix -teen in “fourteen” links this number to others in the same range, such as thirteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen.
Fun Fact: In numbers, the suffix “-teen” means “ten.”
Examples of correct usage of fourteen:
- Fourteen moderators are in the social media chat room.
- The soccer team consists of fourteen players.
- There are fourteen apples in the basket.
- Fourteen individuals are a fan of hiking.
- Cancel those fourteen guests’ reservations.
- There are only fourteen students enrolled in Warsaw University’s linguistics program.
- Next month there will be fourteen individuals in our team.
- Our English teacher reprimanded fourteen students today.
- I only know a handful of good people. About fourteen, to be more precise.
- My nephew is celebrating his fourteenth birthday next week.
- Fourteen different countries participated in the global event.
Is It Forteen or Fourteen?
The correct spelling is always “fourteen” for the word form of the number 14. So, why is “forteen” an incorrect spelling? If you separate the words “for” and “teen,” “for” is not a number but either a conjunction or a preposition. On the other hand, “fourteen” includes the number four.
Trick to Remembering Which One to Use
A clever trick to remember the correct spelling of “fourteen” is to think that the letter “u” should always be there, just like it is in the word “four.” Another trick is to visualize the number 14 as “four” plus “teen.”
How About Fourteen vs Fourteenth?
“Fourteen” and “fourteenth” may sound similar, but they are used in different contexts.
Remember, “fourteen” is a cardinal number that refers to the number 14. You use “fourteen” when talking about an amount, such as “There are fourteen students in the class.” This implies that the students in the class are 14.
“Fourteenth,” on the other hand, is an ordinal number that shows the position or order in a sequence. So, you use “fourteenth” when indicating a place or rank, such as “She finished in fourteenth place in the race.” This means that she came in 14th place in the race.
Word Form or Numeral: Should Fourteen Be Spelled Out?
Whether to use “fourteen” as a word or “14” as a numeral is a question of context and writing style. Here are some cases that determine whether you should spell out 14 or not:
Tip: In text messages, online conversations, and informal writing, it is more convenient to use the numeral form.
Technical Writing
Typically, you use the numeral form 14 for technical writing, particularly when writing a unit of measurement, amounts, or numerical data. For example, “14 grams” or “14 kilometers.”
Beginning of a Sentence
If you have a number at the start of your sentence, you should always spell it out, whether large or small. Here’s an example sentence: ‘’Fourteen students attended the workshop.’’
Fractions and Decimals
Numerals are generally preferred with fractions and decimals for clarity and simplicity. You write “14.5 inches” or “0.14 grams” rather than spelling them out as “fourteen point 5 inches.”
Part of a Larger Amount
For amounts or quantities that form part of a large figure, you should use the numeral form. For instance, “14 million dollars” is easier to read and more universally recognizable than “fourteen million dollars.”
Style Guide
Different style guides have different recommendations when it comes to writing 14 in numerals or as a word.
- APA Style: For numbers 10 and above, you’ll use numerals. But for one to nine, you’ll have to spell them out. However, when they start a sentence, appear in common fractions, and when used as part of some universally accepted phrases, you should use word form.
- Chicago Style: Chicago’s general rule is to spell numbers from zero all the way to one hundred.
- MLA Style: If you are using a number that you can write in one or two words, then you should spell it out. Therefore, you should have 14 as “fourteen” in MLA.
- AP Style: For numbers 1-9, you should write it out as words, but from 10 onwards, including 14, it is in numerals.
Final Thoughts
To sum it up, should you write “forteen or fourteen?” The correct spelling is fourteen. The best way to remember the correct spelling is to consider the word ‘four’ and include the suffix ‘teen’ afterward. Don’t forget that deciding between word form and numeral form will depend on the style guide you follow.
