Dates and time

• Good "am", "pm"
• Avoid "AM", "PM", "a.m.", "p.m."

Combine "am" or "pm" with a space between the time. For "noon", and "midnight", also have a space.

• Good 7-8 pm.
• Good 7:30 am to 8:00 pm (separate "am" and "pm" times with the word "to").
• Good 7:30-8 pm.
• Good 7 am to 8 pm.
• Good 7 am-8 pm.
• Good 12 noon to 8 pm.
• Avoid 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm (no spaces around dash).
• Avoid 7:00 pm-8:00 pm (if both are "pm" then leave the first off).
• Avoid 7:00-8:00 pm (if times are ":00" then leave it off).
• Avoid 7–8 pm (we don't use –).
• Avoid 7—8 pm (we don't use —).
• Avoid 2noon to 8pm (have a space before "noon" and "pm").
• Avoid noon (don't write "noon", put "12 noon").
• Avoid 12 pm ("12 am" or "12 pm" is confusing, put "12 midnight" or "12 noon").

For day ranges:

• Good Mon-Fri.
• Avoid Monday to Friday (too verbose).

List the time zone at the end:

• Good Mon-Fri, 8 am to 1 pm, UK time.
• Avoid Mon-Fri, PT 9 am to 5 pm.
• Avoid "EST", "EDT" (ET is fine in most cases).

Was this page helpful?