Describes a noun or pronounfor example, a tall girl, an interesting book, a big house. This makes it difficult to show a plural of an otherwise normallooking abbreviation. So, if you are talking about two people then you would make the noun plural and. Corbett, the associate managing editor for standards, who is also in charge of the timess style manual. Since this pattern violates the rule that apostrophes are not used before an s indicating a plural, many people object to it. The plural noun is generally formed by adding s to the singular. It can be confusing, since its the rpart run that is becoming plural. If your industry uses such abbreviations as verbs, it may be fine to. If the noun ends in y preceded by a consonant, change the y to i then add es. What if the abbreviation already stands for something plural or the final word has an irregular plural form. 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. Rbis acronyms are abbreviations that are pronounced as words nasa, and initialisms are abbreviations for which you say each letter fbi. Abbreviations, initials and acronyms english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. Abbreviations, initials and acronyms adjuncts apposition clause types clauses clauses and sentences clauses.
Grammar girl s 101 troublesome words youll master in no time. 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. In the following example, assume i have many parts designated cth and cts, and only one ctm. Initialisms dictionaries dont all agree on the definitions of these words and neither do style manuals. 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 grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. Form most plurals by adding s to the singular noun.
Forming the plurals of abbreviations grammar lesson. Whenever a word or phrase is shortened by contraction, remember to place an apostrophe at the point where the letters are omitted. Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms by grammar girl what the heck is an initialism. Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms by grammar girl. Nouns ending with s, ss, z, zz, x, ch, sh, and tch are made plural by adding es to the singular form. A more accurate title would probably be grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better grammar. 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. A common mistake people make is to include apostrophes when pluralizing a number or an abbreviation. I have a question regarding the use of the apostrophe after dates and acronyms.
The plurals for capital letters and numbers used as nouns are not formed with apostrophes. In order to indicate plural possession, you will need to make a noun plural and use an apostrophe. For example, the possessive of fox would have been foxes, which was the same as the plural. Apostrophes in plurals for uppercase abbreviations when writing titles, you are sometimes compelled to use just capital letters.
It used to be common to use an apostrophe to make years plural e. Hgvs sign if youre a grammar pedant like me, signs like this or ones advertising cds for sale will most likely make your. It is adapted from a weekly newsroom critique overseen by philip b. The form girl s is the possessive form of the singular noun girl. Since you say the letters of emt, its an initialism. 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. You get the ideareally, anything to do with books and being an author in general. The apostrophe indicates that one bicycle belongs to one girl. Get grammar girls take on abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms. However, although not common practice, it is acceptable to use s if it is deemed to assist the reader. Faqs on style the new york times grammar, usage and style. The apostrophe with numbers, letters, and abbreviations. Abbreviations, initials and acronyms english grammar.
With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural. 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. 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. If the name ends in s, like charles, we usually treat it like a singular noun and add s. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language. The apostrophe is needed here to show plural possessive. For acronyms, the rule is to use s without the apostrophe for a plural and the apostrophes for a singular possessive.
Apostrophes and plurals grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Unusual plurals of abbreviations thanks to lawrence k. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller. If youre a copywriter or blogger, i assume you already know the basics of how to make things plural i. Sometimes, its called the grocers apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements 3 oranges for a dollar. Form the plural of most acronyms and initialisms simply by adding s. Generally, you dont use apostrophes to make words or abbreviations plural e. Unusual plurals of abbreviations grammar and punctuation. Rule number 2 add an apostrophe for plural possession. 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. Pbxs not pbxes if the abbreviation contains internal punctuation, form the plural with an apostrophe s. 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. So, if you have an awkward abbreviation, number, or letter and adding s makes for the bestlooking plural, then go for it.
But that is a matter of style, rather than grammar. An apostrophe and the letter s are used to show possession. How to make rbi plural grammar girl quick and dirty tips. Learn how to make plural words possessive, how to make words that end in s plural, and what to do about abbreviations. 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.
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. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. Its a type of abbreviation, but its different from an acronym. Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms grammar girl. Forming plurals of abbreviations the plural of an abbreviation is usually formed by adding s to the end e. Heres the scoop on when to use apostrophes to make things plural. The noun girls is the plural form of the singular noun girl. Remember, the plural of child is children, not childrens. But use an if it, when spoken, begins with a vowel sound, as in an fda hearing. Both initialisms and acronyms are under the abbreviation umbrella. 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. Cow singular, cows plural boy, boys girl, girls book, books tree, trees dog, english grammar.
Regarding pluralization, abbreviations should reflect the meaning you wish to convey. 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. Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. Form the plural of an acronym or initialism by adding a lowercase s. Ontario training network grammar tip apostrophes with. Style guides and usage books dont agree where to put the. Want to find out more about english grammar usage possessives. 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.
Plurals of nouns are used to indicate when there is more than one person, place, animal, or thing. Pluralize numbers and abbreviations without apostrophes. After deadline examines questions of grammar, usage and style encountered by writers and editors of the times. Here is another excerpt from grammar girl s newest book. If the singular noun ends in s, ss, sh, ch, or x, add es to form a plural noun. Apostrophes occasionally make acronyms and initialisms plural. Picture books for teaching regular plural nouns book. However, it is also correct to just add the apostrophe. An acronym is an abbreviation that you say as a word e.
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