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Explanation: Yes, there should be a hyphen. It's exactly the same as your first three examples: the hyphen is needed to clarify that 100 and m2 belong together.
That said, I normally avoid using m2 because it's a form of shorthand, like %. I certainly wouldn't use it in, say, a brochure or magazine article - I'd spell it out as 100-square-metre.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 11 mins (2016-04-05 14:25:22 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
It presumably goes without saying that the 2 should be superscript.
Probably loss adjustors! It has nothing to do with renting offices, it's an area of a ship's deck which has been separated and converted into an office. The document is atually an accident report but it includes all sorts of information on the ship's repair/refitting.
Does that shed more light for you?
(BTW - "I'm a Yorkshireman, born and bred, strong in the arm and thick in the 'ed" ..... it goes on ;@)
"Long the language universally used in science..." Is this 100m2 office being used for scientific purposes or is it being advertised for rental? Who is the intended readership?
There is a space between the numerical value and unit symbol, even when the value is used in an adjectival sense, except in the case of superscript units for plane angle. proper: a 25 kg sphere an angle of 2° 3' 4" If the spelled-out name of a unit is used, the normal rules of English apply: "a roll of 35-millimeter film." improper: a 25-kg sphere an angle of 2 ° 3 ' 4 " http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/checklist.html
"For example, Björn's first reference below this post says 'so-called,' and I think 'so called' would be wrong."
Frankly, I don't appreciate it if people are trying to twist my statements. I never said anything about hyphen usage in general.
If you want to play the "EN variant card," don't forget about the British predilection for omitting commas wherever possible. It's something that surely didn't start in the US and it's beginning to confuse readers, as ever longer sentence parts preceding the subject are inserted without the separation by a comma. Personally, I don't like this trend either, but I can only speak for myself. If other's don't mind, that's their prerogative.
The only definite rules on metric units you'll find are from the American Department of Commerce and the BBC on the British side, but the BBC does not (!) use "m2" at all.
I also quoted several sources taking a different approach (BTW, the Guardian doesn't use "sq m," but "sq metre"). Neil's EU EMA and other references don't talk one bit about hyphens and m2.
A glossary entry is meaningless. If you don't like the style guides, go organize a protest march. Or pick what works best for you - as I recommended.
I think it would be sad if we said hyphens are dying out, so we may as well go with the flow. I think they still serve an important purpose in clarifying meaning and making text easier to read. For example, Björn's first reference below this post says "so-called", and I think "so called" would be wrong.
However, if a hyphen works better for you: Use it. The EMA EU does use a space as you suggested (http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Procure... ), but despite a paragraph on Hyphenated Numbers, it hardly clears up the issue whether to use a hyphen for m2 and the like.
As I said before: Consistency is key. If your usage is not a flat-out rejection of the style guide you're supposed to follow, decide such things on your own.
The link I quoted below is from NIST and it is said on the page: "The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce."
Across the pond, the answer chosen would most definitely not be in line with official specifications. The other organization, AMA, is also an American association; I was just trying to make the point that there are different rules one can follow. They depend on what works best for you or the person who gave you the article.
Choosing an answer at all is probably not good in this case - if an American looks up this question, he or she will be pretty confused.
"I think it should be there (so does the BBC and that's good enough for me"
As you can see, I agree with Helena, but not with Phil's answer. Why? Because if you're writing it according to BBC rules, it should be "100-sq-m office" - the BBC does not use "100 m2".
"........45° angle temperature of 37.5°C (not 37.5° C or 37.5 °C)" Bjorn, I disagree with this quote and so do most authorities (EU EMA, IUPAC); there should be a non-breaking space between the quantity and unit of °C, i.e., "37.5 °C" is the correct form of writing this. A degree ° symbol is only placed directly next to the quantity for angles.
Regarding the hyphen; I don't see how a rule is a rule but only applied sometimes.... I think it should be there (so does the BBC and that's good enough for me, for UK English) and I'm going to put it there.
Thanks all for your thoughts, I can see it just comes down to which style manual you read (which generally seem to try and contradict each other just to be different from the next). In my opinion "10-mL flask" is most definitely correct; that's how I was taught at university, and I'm going to stick to it.
...the AMA Manual of Style agrees with me: "With the exception of the percent sign, the degree sign (for temperature and angles), and normal and molar solutions (see , Conventional Units and SI Units in JAMA and the Archives Journals, Solutions and Concentration), a full space should appear between the arabic numeral indicating the quantity and the unit of measure.140 nmol/L (not 140nmol/L) 135-150 nmol/L 120 mm Hg 40% adherence rate 40%-50% 45° angle temperature of 37.5°C (not 37.5° C or 37.5 °C)" http://www.amamanualofstyle.com/oso/search:downloadsearchres...
My recommendation is: Consistency is key. If you can explain why you write it like that and you have sources to back you up, I don't believe this will get you into any trouble - unless, of course, you're not consistent in your application of those rules.
Cilian's example is not applicable here because all of what he quotes refers to spelled-out units. Neil asked about the abbreviated versions.
Admittedly, I disregard the rule below when it comes to degree Celsius, simply because degree is abbreviated using a symbol, not letters and the space is just irritating in my opinion. But that is something you may or may not be able to agree on with the person who gave you the article to be translated.
After my long absence from this forum, I didn't quite expect such a heated discussion to be the first thing I see here. But, oh well.
I'll have to defend Tony here and I am a bit confused where you, Phil, get your information from.
Let me quote from an official reference, as in: "SP 811 provides an editorial checklist for reviewing manuscripts' conformity with the SI and the basic principles of physical quantities and units."
"A space is used between the number and the symbol to which it refers. For example: 7 m, 31.4 kg, 37 °C."
It goes on to explain: "When a metric value is used as a one-thought modifier before a noun, hyphenating the quantity is not necessary."
Not sure you where the difficulty is. Besides, if I recall correctly, an abbreviated measurement always refers to the number preceding it, so there is no confusion whatsoever.
Let's say you have "six hundred-liter buckets." Under no circumstances will you be able to write "I put up six hundred l buckets."
Well, it's a well-documented fact, included in several highly respected US style guides, and has been discussed at great length in this forum on a number of occasions. Other than that, it is also based my own entirely empirical observation of documents from both sides of the pond, at least SOME of which must have been written by "professional wordsmiths" and certainly "journalists" (e.g. Washington Post, New York Times); it is also extremely noticeable on this forum, VERY often when there is an issue with comprehension / source-text parsing, it turns out that the document is of US origin (though of course we are not really in a position to judge the literary skills of its writer!)
I'd like to know where you get your evidence that the UK and the US are different. In my extensive experience as a Brit living in the US, people in both countries with a less than perfect grasp of punctuation get it wrong; journalists and other professional wordsmiths get it right.
I beg to differ there, Phil: there IS quite a divergence between US and GB usage here. There is still a much greater tendency to use hyphens to aid comprehension in GB, whereas in US EN they have been all but eliminated; and this goes for hyphens in running text as well as in special cases like these of numbers + units.
I don't condone this move, but it cannot but be admitted that this practice has become so widely accepted in US grammar, it can no longer really be regarded as 'wrong'.
I don't think it's anything to do with British/American differences or personal preferences. Omitting the hyphen is wrong, even if lots of people do it.
Lots of people ignore apostrophes too, especially with the rise of texting. But that doesn't mean it's grammatically correct, which is presumably what Neil is asking.
Compound modifiers that include a number followed by a noun (except for the noun percent) are hyphenated when they precede the noun they modify, but usually not when they follow it. (For details on measurement, see "Units of Measurement," paragraph 42.)
the four-color press a 12-foot-high fence a fence 12 feet high a 300-square-mile area an area of 300 square miles but a 10 percent raise
If a currency symbol precedes the number, the hyphen is omitted. an $8.5 million deficit
I have an impression that Brits would be much more likely than Americans to use a hyphen in such a context. On the other hand, it's also very much a matter of personal preference.
I tend to agree with your points, however, the use of the hyphen specifically in this sort of case to indicate attributive use is traditional in EN grammar.
I think your point is very relevant, that when SI-standard units are being used with the regulation space, it can be less than helpful to occupy that space with a hyphen — note too that unless a non-breaking hyphen is used, it can cause unitentional hyphenation betwene the figure and the units, which is definitely NOT required! As you say, when the unit is written out in full, it somehow seems less intrusive: 'a 9-volt battery'
not a native English speaker I am very keen and attentive to hyphenation, which does not seem the rule nowadays. I wish to express my humble opinion. The only phrase that really looks right to me is "40-year-old woman". Even though a capital el (L) is accepted for liter (litre) I prefer "ml" as the symbol for milliliter, but... I would hyphenate if the unit were spelt out (milliliter, milligram etc.), thus: 100-milliliter flask. But, also visually, the hyphenation conflicts with the standard that a space should separate the number from the unit symbol. Therefore I find 100 ml flask quite acceptable. I understand that you posted an ENGLISH LANGUAGE question, still, also provided that many do not hyphenate (probably they don't even know how to), I would consider that the unit denomination shows its attributive value anyhow. (Just thinking out loud, in the hope it can help you.) Ciao. Maurizio
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Answers
8 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +3
100-m2
Explanation: Yes, there should be a hyphen. It's exactly the same as your first three examples: the hyphen is needed to clarify that 100 and m2 belong together.
That said, I normally avoid using m2 because it's a form of shorthand, like %. I certainly wouldn't use it in, say, a brochure or magazine article - I'd spell it out as 100-square-metre.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 11 mins (2016-04-05 14:25:22 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
It presumably goes without saying that the 2 should be superscript.
philgoddard United States Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 16
peer agreement (net): +3