by Jennie Ruby
Apostrophes are normally used to indicate possessive, as discussed in a previous article. However, they are occasionally used to indicate the plural in some exceptional situations. One such situation occurs when you are discussing words and letters. When you discuss words and letters, you italicize them:
- The word if is a subordinating conjunction.
- The letter W is one of the two widest letters in the alphabet.
When you need to make these plural, you add a non-italic s:
- How many ifs appear in this paragraph?
- There are three Ws in World Wide Web.
When you are discussing lowercase letters, you add apostrophe plus a roman s, for clarity:
- How many s's are there in the word Mississippi?
- Please type three x'safter your name.
When you are discussing abbreviations containing multiple periods or a mixture of capital and lowercase letters, you use an apostrophe to create the plural:
- How many B.A.'s does she have?
- How many PhD's does it take to screw in a light bulb?
When an abbreviation has one period, at the end, you add an s before the period to make it plural:
- vol. becomes vols.
- no. becomes nos.
- Dr. becomes Drs.
When an abbreviation or acronym has no periods, you just add a lowercase s:
- VCRs
- ATMs
Do not use an apostrophe to make common expressions plural, like these:
- Don't give me anyifs, ands or buts.
- What are the pros and cons of the plan?
- Tell me the dos and don'ts of test development.
But when adding an s is confusing, add an apostrophe for clarity:
- He is learning the abc's of designing a document.
Do not use an apostrophe to make a number or a decade plural:
- Five 3s in a row indicate an error.
- The Internet came into being in the 1990s.
Finally, do not add another apostrophe to create the plural of contractions that contain an apostrophe:
- Here is a list of don'ts for preventing your program from crashing.
I have taken this advice from two style guides: the Gregg Reference Manual and the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition. If you use a specific style guide other than these, you should always check your style guide regarding the use of apostrophes.
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About the Author: Jennie Ruby is a veteran IconLogic trainer and author with titles such as "Editing with Word 2003 and Acrobat 7" and "Editing with MS Word 2007" to her credit. Jennie specializes in electronic editing. At the American Psychological Association, she was manager of electronic publishing and manager of technical editing and journal production. Jennie has an M.A. from George Washington University and is a Certified Technical Trainer (Chauncey Group). She is a publishing professional with 20 years of experience in writing, editing and desktop publishing.
Great blog, Jennie! I really enjoyed this post on the apostrophes for plurals. I think you or your readers might enjoy Dianna Booher’s new book, Booher’s Rules of Business Grammar: 101 Fast and Easy Ways to Correct the Most Common Errors (McGraw-Hill, November 2008). In a light-hearted style, Dianna addresses common mistakes people make in their written and spoken language. The chapters are short, and she provides memory tips to help the rules stick.
If you’re interested in receiving a review copy, I’d be glad to send you one. Maybe you’ll find a topic in there that sparks a blog idea. Please email me your mailing address if you’re interested.
To your continued success,
Rachel Randolph
Great blog, Jennie! I really enjoyed this post on the apostrophes for plurals. I think you or your readers might enjoy Dianna Booher’s new book, Booher’s Rules of Business Grammar: 101 Fast and Easy Ways to Correct the Most Common Errors (McGraw-Hill, November 2008). In a light-hearted style, Dianna addresses common mistakes people make in their written and spoken language. The chapters are short, and she provides memory tips to help the rules stick.
If you’re interested in receiving a review copy, I’d be glad to send you one. Maybe you’ll find a topic in there that sparks a blog idea. Please email me your mailing address if you’re interested.
To your continued success,
Rachel Randolph
Great blog, Jennie! I really enjoyed this post on the apostrophes for plurals. I think you or your readers might enjoy Dianna Booher’s new book, Booher’s Rules of Business Grammar: 101 Fast and Easy Ways to Correct the Most Common Errors (McGraw-Hill, November 2008). In a light-hearted style, Dianna addresses common mistakes people make in their written and spoken language. The chapters are short, and she provides memory tips to help the rules stick.
If you’re interested in receiving a review copy, I’d be glad to send you one. Maybe you’ll find a topic in there that sparks a blog idea. Please email me your mailing address if you’re interested.
To your continued success,
Rachel Randolph