For acronyms, the rule is to use s without the apostrophe for a plural and the apostrophes for a singular possessive. In order to indicate plural possession, you will need to make a noun plural and use an apostrophe. Grammar tip apostrophes with dates and acronyms march 28, 2012 0 comments in grammar by jane watson nancys question. The plural noun is generally formed by adding s to the singular. Heres the scoop on when to use apostrophes to make things plural. Since you say the letters of emt, its an initialism. Apostrophes in plurals for uppercase abbreviations when writing titles, you are sometimes compelled to use just capital letters.
You get the ideareally, anything to do with books and being an author in general. Unusual plurals of abbreviations thanks to lawrence k. As for the plural, in either case, it doesnt matter. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. Regarding pluralization, abbreviations should reflect the meaning you wish to convey. Sometimes, its called the grocers apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements 3 oranges for a dollar. The plurals for capital letters and numbers used as nouns are not formed with apostrophes. Pluralize numbers and abbreviations without apostrophes. Apostrophes are generally used in contractions and to indicate the possessive case, but they are not used to form plurals of numbers and abbreviations in apa style. Rbis acronyms are abbreviations that are pronounced as words nasa, and initialisms are abbreviations for which you say each letter fbi. Rule number 2 add an apostrophe for plural possession.
Without an apostrophe, the s in the plural abbreviation looks like part of the principal term. Unusual plurals of abbreviations grammar and punctuation. When using a or an before an acronym or initialism, use a if the acronym or initialism, when spoken, begins with a consonant sound, as in a ufo. Learn how to make plural words possessive, how to make words that end in s plural, and what to do about abbreviations.
If the singular noun ends in s, ss, sh, ch, or x, add es to form a plural noun. Hgvs sign if youre a grammar pedant like me, signs like this or ones advertising cds for sale will most likely make your. Both initialisms and acronyms are under the abbreviation umbrella. A more accurate title would probably be grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better grammar. But many, many style books and grammar guides including mine recommend adding an apostrophe with the plural of a small letter in an abbreviation to make it easier to read. One unusual use of the apostrophe is in plural acronyms, like icbms ngos and cds. The form girl s is the possessive form of the singular noun girl. By contrast, when two or more nouns separately possess something, add an apostrophe to each noun listed. Since this pattern violates the rule that apostrophes are not used before an s indicating a plural, many people object to it. It is important to put the apostrophe in the correct place, either before the s or after the s, depending on whether the subject is singular or plural. Get grammar girls take on abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms. Remember, the plural of child is children, not childrens. Form most plurals by adding s to the singular noun. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by.
Forming plurals of abbreviations the plural of an abbreviation is usually formed by adding s to the end e. The apostrophe indicates that one bicycle belongs to one girl. There werent a whole lot of actual writing tips, with the exception of a short chapter near the end with advice like avoid cliches like the plague. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and. A common mistake people make is to include apostrophes when pluralizing a number or an abbreviation. Apostrophes occasionally make acronyms and initialisms plural. With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural. Style guides and usage books dont agree where to put the. The normal method for making nouns plural is to add an s. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller. But use an if it, when spoken, begins with a vowel sound, as in an fda hearing. What if the abbreviation already stands for something plural or the final word has an irregular plural form.
The book, common sense or more specifically the authorship of the book, belongs equally to lederer and shore, so only the second name, shore, takes the apostrophe and s. Nouns ending with s, ss, z, zz, x, ch, sh, and tch are made plural by adding es to the singular form. Personally i dont like the visual inconsistency of leaving most initialisms and acronyms unpunctuated most of the time and i dont think there are many instances where it is unclear whether usa or us is meant. Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms grammar girl. Abbreviations, initials and acronyms adjuncts apposition clause types clauses clauses and sentences clauses. Ontario training network grammar tip apostrophes with. I have a question regarding the use of the apostrophe after dates and acronyms. Generally, you dont use apostrophes to make words or abbreviations plural e. An apostrophe and the letter s are used to show possession.
Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language. Want to find out more about english grammar usage possessives. Here is another excerpt from grammar girl s newest book. Instead, i created this guide on how to make things plural with five tricky writing situations in mind. Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. Whenever a word or phrase is shortened by contraction, remember to place an apostrophe at the point where the letters are omitted. If the name ends in s, like charles, we usually treat it like a singular noun and add s. So, if you are talking about two people then you would make the noun plural and. Abbreviations, initials and acronyms english grammar. Pbxs not pbxes if the abbreviation contains internal punctuation, form the plural with an apostrophe s. It can be confusing, since its the rpart run that is becoming plural. Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms by grammar girl. For instance, would i write gaap require or gaap requires.
The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. To form the possessive of a plural abbreviation, add an s. If you are referring to a plural object, then a plural form with an s is appropriate e. If the noun ends in y preceded by a consonant, change the y to i then add es. The apostrophe is needed here to show plural possessive. This makes it difficult to show a plural of an otherwise normallooking abbreviation. For example, the possessive of fox would have been foxes, which was the same as the plural. In the following example, assume i have many parts designated cth and cts, and only one ctm. Picture books for teaching regular plural nouns book. She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards. An acronym is an abbreviation that you say as a word e. Corbett, the associate managing editor for standards, who is also in charge of the timess style manual. Picture books for teaching regular plural nouns these books contain multiple examples of regular plural nouns and opportunities for children to practise to stay updated on the latest and greatest picture books for speech and language development, subscribe to our email newsletter.
After deadline examines questions of grammar, usage and style encountered by writers and editors of the times. The noun girls is the plural form of the singular noun girl. How to make rbi plural grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Apostrophes and plurals grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Grammar girl s 101 troublesome words youll master in no time. Plurals of nouns are used to indicate when there is more than one person, place, animal, or thing. Faqs on style the new york times grammar, usage and style. Form the plural of an acronym or initialism by adding a lowercase s.
However, although not common practice, it is acceptable to use s if it is deemed to assist the reader. Initialisms dictionaries dont all agree on the definitions of these words and neither do style manuals. If your industry uses such abbreviations as verbs, it may be fine to. Posted on 07122015 by geraldine jones 12 comments v if youre a grammar pedant like me, signs like this or ones advertising cds for sale will most likely make your toes curl and set your teeth on edge.
Its a type of abbreviation, but its different from an acronym. So, if you have an awkward abbreviation, number, or letter and adding s makes for the bestlooking plural, then go for it. Describes a noun or pronounfor example, a tall girl, an interesting book, a big house. The apostrophe with numbers, letters, and abbreviations. If i am writing a sentence, do i treat the acronym as a plural or as a singular since the term itself is plural i.
Abbreviations, initials and acronyms english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms by grammar girl what the heck is an initialism. Forming the plurals of abbreviations grammar lesson. It used to be common to use an apostrophe to make years plural e. If youre a copywriter or blogger, i assume you already know the basics of how to make things plural i. Form the plural of most acronyms and initialisms simply by adding s. Cow singular, cows plural boy, boys girl, girls book, books tree, trees dog, english grammar. However, it is also correct to just add the apostrophe. But that is a matter of style, rather than grammar.
234 669 1435 770 1146 1507 944 1514 655 451 1189 522 300 546 44 1508 988 1613 359 1483 1604 160 987 824 1402 1443 396 23 1306 460 1182 1388 568 214 789 173 806 1233 465 1482 1453 690 247