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Plurals of Symbols

Friday, January 29, 2010

You don’t need to use an apostrophe to show the plurals of symbols.
Examples: #s 1, 2, and 3 (numbers 1, 2, and 3)
$s, not €s (dollars, not euros)
For information on apostrophes with numbers, dates, and letters, click here.

Confusing Possessives

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Example: Mother’s Day vs. Mothers’ Day vs. Mothers Day
With titles, you may think of the word in front of the noun as either singular, plural, or possessive. For example, do you think of the holiday as belonging to each mother individually (Mother’s Day) or to all mothers collectively (Mothers’ Day)? Or do you think of [...]

Writing Dates and Times

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Rule: The following examples apply when using dates:
The meeting is scheduled for June 30.
The meeting is scheduled for the 30th of June.
We have had tricks played on us on April 1.
The 1st of April puts some people on edge.
Rule: When expressing decades, you may spell them out and lowercase them.
Example: During the eighties and nineties, [...]

Forming the Plurals of Numbers, Letters, and Abbreviations

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Rule: The plurals for capital letters and numbers used as nouns are not formed with apostrophes.
Example: She consulted with three M.D.s. BUT
Example: She went to three M.D.s’ offices.
The apostrophe is needed here to show plural possessive.
Example: She learned her ABCs.
Example: the 1990s, not the 1990’s
Example: the ’90s or the mid-’70s, not the ’90’s or the [...]

Plural and Possessive Forms with Names Ending in y

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

How do you form the plural of a proper noun that ends in y such as Murphy? Should you change the name to Murphies? Given how other English words ending in y form their plurals, you would think so.
Examples:
puppy / puppies
army / armies
supply / supplies
However, proper nouns are not pluralized the same way as common [...]

Apostrophes with Words Ending in “s”

Friday, January 26, 2007

While normal people wonder about apostrophes in general, believe it or not, word nerds have heated arguments over whether to use an additional s with singular possession. In this newsletter, you will get the standard, most popular decision among authorities.
Rule: To show singular possession for a word ending in an s or s sound, use [...]

Apostrophes

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

When asked what the most common English usage error is, I don’t have to think hard. The “winning” mistake is the misuse of the apostrophe, especially with its/it’s.
First, let’s get rid of a myth: There is no such thing as its’. Why? Because its’ would be meaningless. If its’ existed, it would be indicating plural [...]