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Jama
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 Posted: Dec 22, 2007 1:47 am Post subject: Grammar issue |
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The Apostrophe followed by an "s". It's a conniving little monster.
Obviously the apostrophe followed by an "s" is used to show possession as well as conractions ending in the word "is".
Where I get confused is when it shows up in numbers. For instance: "I landed a couple 360's today." What is the rule in that situation? Why is it necessary there? |
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Classy
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| Posted: Dec 22, 2007 10:16 am Post subject: |
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I could be wrong but I think it's along the lines of ma'am ev'ry...When omitting certain letters out to shorten a word you much add the " ' " It is by no means formal...but writing a couple of three-sixties in number form would be 360ies, so you switch it to 360's...
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Kay-Kay
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| Posted: Dec 22, 2007 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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it would be 360s just like the 1960s or something like that. apostrophes are only used to form plurals of lowercase letters.
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Forming plurals of lowercase letters
Apostrophes are used to form plurals of letters that appear in lowercase; here the rule appears to be more typographical than grammatical, e.g. "three ps" versus "three p's." To form the plural of a lowercase letter, place 's after the letter. There is no need for apostrophes indicating a plural on capitalized letters, numbers, and symbols (though keep in mind that some editors, teachers, and professors still prefer them). Here are some examples:
p's and q's = a phrase indicating politeness, possibly from "mind your pleases and thankyous"?
Nita's mother constantly stressed minding one's p's and q's.
three Macintosh G4s = three of the Macintosh model G4
There are two G4s currently used in the writing classrom.
many &s = many ampersands
That printed page has too many &s on it.
the 1960s = the years in decade from 1960 to 1969
The 1960s were a time of great social unrest.
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Classy
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| Posted: Dec 22, 2007 1:54 pm Post subject: |
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Kay-Kay, It's 1960's...
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Jama
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| Posted: Dec 22, 2007 2:47 pm Post subject: |
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Classy, your's made sense, but Kay-Kay's confused me.
Where's the english major on this site who helped me with my causal argument paper? We need you buddy. |
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Kay-Kay
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| Posted: Dec 22, 2007 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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this is what wikipedia has. apparently you can use either. for numbers its more common not to use the apostrophe because it could be confused with the possesive but for letters and abbreviations it is necesary to use the apostrophe.
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Individual letters and abbreviations whose plural would be ambiguous if only an -s were added are pluralized by adding -'s.
mind your p's and q's
A.A.'s and B.A.'s
the note had three PS's
Opinion is divided on whether to extend this use of the apostrophe to related but nonambiguous cases, such as the plurals of numerals (e.g., 1990's vs. 1990s) and words used as terms (e.g., "his writing uses a lot of but's" vs. "his writing uses a lot of buts"). Some writers favor the use of the apostrophe as consistent with its application in ambiguous cases; others say it confuses the plural with the possessive -'s and should be avoided whenever possible in pluralization, a view with which The Chicago Manual of Style concurs.
Acronyms are initialisms used as if they are words. Clearly, it is not desirable to pluralize the acronym laser as laser's. Thus, the most consistent approach for pluralizing acronyms is to simply add a lowercase -s as a suffix. This works well even for acronyms ending with an s, as with CASs (pronounced "kazzes"), while still making it possible to use the possessive form (-'s) for acronyms without confusion. The traditional style of pluralizing single letters with -'s was naturally extended to acronyms when they were commonly written with periods. This form is still preferred by some people for all initialisms and thus -'s as a suffix is often seen in informal usage.
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Jama
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| Posted: Dec 22, 2007 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Kay-Kay, there's what I needed bro. Thanks alot. |
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scott a
"a" is for angel
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| Posted: Dec 23, 2007 1:33 am Post subject: |
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I wouldn't put too much faith in Wiki. Dartmouth also disagrees with the apostrophe usage.
Personally, I've never been taught the "correct" thing to do (or if there even is one) but I think I'd worry more about the content of the paper and not such minor things as apostrophe usage in acronyms. Basically, unless they've taught you the proper thing to do or have given you a refrence guide, I'd find it very hard to believe that they'll knock points off your grade if you get it wrong. Especially in a case like this.
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ImSoWakested
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| Posted: Dec 23, 2007 2:31 am Post subject: |
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i was taught not to put the ' after numbers so 360s is how i would do it, even tho im used to doing it with the '.
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