In most cases an apostrophe is used to show possession. A contraction is a shortened form of a word or group of words that omits certain letters or sounds. Today were going to start talking about a different piece of punctuation and that piece of punctuation is the apostrophe it kind of looks like a comma, but its one that floats in the air heres the ground, heres the word ground, and if we say paiges dog atti were using the apostrophe, not. Both acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations that are formed by combining the first letter of each word in a longer name or phrase. To use an apostrophe to create a contraction, place an apostrophe where the omitted letter s would go. Apostrophes apostrophes are perhaps the most confusing of all punctuation marks. The reason you omit apostrophes from most plurals has an. For 25 of the 26 letters of the alphabet, the rule is simple. Acronyms often forms a new lexical unit following normal rules for plurals. Apostrophes are used to form plurals of letters that appear in lowercase. To indicate possession, an apostrophe needs to be placed before a possessive s in the singular case a dogs life and after a possessive s in the plural the dogs tails.
Capital letters used as words, numerals used as nouns, and abbreviations usually form the plural by adding s. Sometimes, its called the grocers apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements 3 oranges for a dollar. Plurals of acronyms, letters, numbers use an apostrophe or not. The most common contractions are made up of verbs, auxiliaries, or modals attached to other words. In a contraction, an apostrophe represents missing letters. Nov 09, 2009 capital letters used as words, numerals used as nouns, and abbreviations usually form the plural by adding s. Using apostrophes correctly examples and common mistakes. Walden university doesnt recognize ground hog day as an official holiday. Choose the correct evaluation of each underlined word. Contractions are common in speaking and in informal writing. Do not use apostrophes when creating plural acronyms and years.
After looking around the web a bit for guidance on this, it appears that, to indicate the plural of an abbreviation or acronym, the style consensus is. Organizations whose title or name is an acronym or contain a single letter are alphabetized treating each letter of the acronym or single letter as a separate unit. Some phrases can be contracted by replacing letter s or numbers with apostrophes. The dachshunds and boxers tails were wagging furiously at the mention of a treat. The full stops act as substitutes for the rest of the letters in. Here are some tips to help you use apostrophes correctly. Cds cds congratulations congratulations 1920s 1920s. Apostrophe rules the apostrophe is a type of punctuation used to indicate possession, mark contractions, and form certain. The first thing to keep in mind is using apostrophes to show possession for singular nouns. Walden university does not recognize ground hog day as an official holiday. Apostrophes are not used for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals, including acronyms. If the abbreviation is obscure or unfamiliar, make sure to explain what it means the first time you use it. Correct the only people allowed inside are the vips.
Rules for finding and fixing apostrophe errors grammar bytes. May 16, 2016 one unusual use of the apostrophe is in plural acronyms, like icbms ngos and cds. If the abbreviation is a single letter or ends in a period, use an apostrophe to avoid conf. The apostrophe is always placed at the spot where the letters has been removed. Apostrophes, punctuation thats used to show possession. There are some simple and not so simple rules to follow when you are using apostrophes.
Plural acronyms without an apostrophe not only look neater but are also. The tax advantages offered by iras make them attractive investments. You should only use an apostrophe in the plural of an abbreviation, a letter, or a number to assist your reader. There is uncertainty in how the apostrophe fits in with plurals as it has become so comfortable around the letter s since it first started being used at the end of english words in the 16th century. A contraction is a word or set of numbers in which one or more letters or numbers have been omitted. Apostrophes in orthography means the text character that serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in rare contexts. All words labeled as a part of speech including those listed of foreign origin, and as archaic, obsolete, colloquial, slang, etc.
There are conflicting policies and theories about how to show possession when writing such nouns. The rules for the use of possessive apostrophes, however. By signing up, youll get thousands of stepbystep solutions to your homework questions. In the absence of an academy to rule on this it will continue to evolve naturally. There are different rules for singular and plural nouns. Sources of the exercises are the authors own work, including visuals. Even if there is no real ambiguity, it will at least make the reader pause momentarily to check whether the apostrophe shows a plural or a possessive noun. Diana hackers rules for writers three different ways to correctly use apostrophes. The chicago manual of style and others recommend dos and donts. Before the game begins, all players should agree upon the dictionary that they will use, in case of a challenge. Plural forms of letters a, b, c need apostrophes to indicate the plural. Do you use an apostrophe in plural acronyms and initialisms. Use of apostrophes in order to form the plural of certain nonwords is quite normal, accepted, and cited in style manuals.
Apostrophe usage rules rule 1 use the apostrophe with contractions. Of course, if the plural form is one of those rare versions in. When initials and acronyms are followed only by ellipses or other marks of omission, disregard the ellipses or marks of omission. Apostrophes to show the plurals of abbreviations or awkward. For further information on the use of apostrophes, consult any good english handbook. However, they arent difficult to master if you can remember a few apostrophe rules. Apostrophes to show the plurals of abbreviations or awkward plurals the quick answer if you have an awkward plural usually of a letter, a number, or an unusual abbreviation, you can use an apostrophe to assist your readers. For example, little playhouse school has 3 units, gardeners glen has 2 units and.
Apostrophes punctuation really does matter when writing in. The thorny question of using or not using an apostrophe when pluralising acronyms is one that clearly divides opinion not only amongst my fellow wordsmiths but also amongst the public at large. With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make nouns plural. One unusual use of the apostrophe is in plural acronyms, like icbms ngos and cds. Plurals of acronyms, letters, numbers use an apostrophe. Net, microsoft office, azure, windows, java, adobe, python, sql, javascript, angular and much more.
This sort of contraction is considered to be informal, however, and should not be used in formal writing such as term papers. It is important to learn and apply the rules for correct punctuation so that. Sep 16, 2015 after looking around the web a bit for guidance on this, it appears that, to indicate the plural of an abbreviation or acronym, the style consensus is. Check your answers with the interactive version of the exercise. To indicate individual possession of a noun by more than one person or object, use an apostrophe with each individual. Apostrophe rules the apostrophe is a type of punctuation used to indicate possession, mark contractions, and form certain plurals. Incorrect the only people allowed inside are the vips. Treat acronyms and initials not separated in any way as single words regardless of capitalization. To form the plural of a lowercase letter, place s after the letter. Although the apostrophe might look like a comma defying gravity, this mark of punctuation has three distinct jobs. Mings and peters speeches were the best ones given at the ceremony. You should have a game board, 100 letter tiles, a letter bag, and four racks.
Apostrophe usage rules contd rule 9 never use an apostrophe with possessive pronouns. The apostrophe with numbers, letters, and abbreviations. Acronyms are abbreviations formed by the initial letters taken from a word or series of word that is itself pronounced as a word. An apostrophe is a punctuation mark that appears as part of a word to show possession, to make a plural number or to indicate the omission of one or more letters. Jul 08, 2015 acronyms and apostrophes as this blog grows, youll find that i have no shortage of pet peeves when it comes to punctuation, grammar, spelling, and speech. You may ignore authority or declare yourself an authority at your own risk. All the apostrophes in this example are used to make contractions of a noun and the verb is. Apostrophes can also be use to create contractions words like cant and didnt.
Jul, 2016 students look at various uses of the apostrophe and divide them into two groups depending on whether the apostrophe shows possession or abbreviation. Read on to discover all the apostrophe rules youll ever need to know. Todays peeve is the improper use of the apostrophe to pluralize an acronym. We have trained over 90,000 students from over 16,000 organizations on technologies such as microsoft asp. Apostrophes in plurals for uppercase abbreviations when writing titles, you are sometimes compelled to use just capital letters. If something belongs to someone or something, then the apostrophe is called for. Apostrophe rules can be broken into four main categories. Apostrophes show possession ownership, indicate a contraction the omission of one or more letters or numbers, or are used to form the plurals of some letters and abbreviations. Using apostrophes correctly and other related issues.
Voiceover hello grammarians hello paige, voiceover hi, david. To aid comprehension, lowercase letters form the plural with an apostrophe and an s compare two as in llama with two as in llama. An apostrophe is a mark of punctuation used to identify a noun in the possessive case or indicate the omission of one or more letters from a word. Youll need to print off the worksheet to do the exercises. Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. The general rule is that you should not use an apostrophe to form the plurals of nouns, abbreviations, or dates made. Apostrophes apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, primetime, talk show on french television created and hosted by bernard pivot. There is no need for apostrophes indicating a plural on capitalized letters, numbers, and symbols. Apostrophes are used to indicate possession and in contractions. One of 1199 english language usage polls covering many aspects of english, including grammar, usage and vocabulary. The general rule is that you should not use an apostrophe to form the plurals of nouns, abbreviations, or dates made up of numbers. One unusual modern use of the apostrophe is in plural acronyms, like icbms ngos and cds. Use an apostrophe to form a possessive noun or pronoun. Possessives with apostrophes, possession is nine tenths of the issue.
Is it grammatically correct to put an apostrophe after an. Apostrophes show possession ownership, indicate a contraction the omission of one or more letters or numbers, or are used to form the plurals of some. Another issue with acronyms and initialisms is what to do with apostrophes if there is a plural andor possession involved. Apostrophes to show the plural of abbreviations and.
The apostrophe, quotation marks, and italicsunderlining. Since this pattern violates the rule that apostrophes are not used before an s indicating a plural, many people object to it. Jul 24, 2019 as a general rule, use only an s or an es without an apostrophe to form the plurals of nouns including dates, acronyms, and family names. Space is provided to write, and a key to the exercises is given at the end. Using apostrophes apostrophes for possession apostrophe placement rules apostrophe after s apostrophe after z apostrophe before s apostrophes for awkward plurals apostrophes after acronyms and abbreviations apostrophes in contractions apostrophes in expressions like 2 years pay and a days notice apostrophes used incorrectly for plurals.
The plurals for capital letters and numbers above nine do not require. The apostrophe will dangle off the edge of the plural noun. Use an apostrophe to indicate a noun is possessive. This makes it difficult to show a plural of an otherwise normallooking abbreviation. The location of the apostrophe clues an educated reader about numbers. Apostrophes punctuation academic guides at walden university. This is a judgment call for the writer, but there are several style manuals available online e.
Use a n apostrophe to show possession or ownership. It is optional to use an apostrophe to indicate plurals with abbreviations or acronyms. I dont like using apostrophes to pluralize acronyms when it can be. Webucator provides instructorled training to students throughout the us and canada. Many common nouns end in the letter s lens, cactus, bus, etc. If a kid has some books, then the kids books will clearly express that. Apostrophe rules dos and donts what does an apostrophe do. For clarity, most writers use apostrophes with single capital letters and. Remember, if it assists your reader, you can use an apostrophe to show a plural. As a general rule, use only an s or an es without an apostrophe to form the plurals of nouns including dates, acronyms, and family names. Names are alphabetized by units the number of words contained in a name. Apostrophes of abbreviation and possession teaching resources.
Aug 07, 2019 this wont be a using apostrophes worksheet but it will break down the rules with examples. Once youve determined whether you need to make a possessive, follow these rules to create one. Lets look at a few popular plural acronyms, along with the arguments put forward for and against adding apostrophes. Scrabble rules official word game rules board games. I wouldnt fret about it as common usage always trumps old rules in language. Lets look at a few popular plural acronyms, along with the arguments put. It ran for fifteen years from january 10, 1975 to june 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on french television.