Plurals and Apostrophes (Mostly) Don’t Mix

Posted: November 29, 2012

[caption id="attachment_11014" align="alignright" width="300"]© chaudaboy - Fotolia.com[/caption]Apostrophes serve vital roles in writing. It serves three distinct purposes, but one of those purposes has almost been done away with. There are still some instances where it is necessary though, so don't write off the apostrophe yet.

The apostrophe has three functions: To help indicate possession (boy’s), to mark contraction (it’s), and to convert a singular letter, number, or initialism to a plural. However, the mark has all but been relieved of duty in its third task.

One of the few categories in which apostrophes are still retained for plural usage is when plurals of letters are concerned. In expressing how many times a letter appears in a word, for example, one would write “There are five e’s in beekeeper”; it would be distracting to write “There are five es in beekeeper.” This style also applies to the expressions “Mind your p’s and q’s” and “Dot the i’s and cross the t’s.” (Note, however, that in these idiomatic uses, contrary to the previous example, the letters are not italicized to indicate that they are being employed to refer to themselves.)

However, legibility is not a concern when uppercase letters are concerned: No apostrophes are necessary in “She received three As, two Bs, and one C on her report card.” (Note that names of letter grades are not italicized.) But to avoid confusion, don’t start a sentence with “As” or “Is” to refer to more than one uppercase letter; the resemblance to the words As and Is will distract readers.

If plurals of both uppercase and lowercase letters are listed in reference to the alphabet, though, be consistent: “The T’s and r’s in his first signature differ from those in the second one.”

Read the entire article Plurals and Apostrophes (Mostly) Don’t Mix

Biz Tip Provided by Daily Writing Tips