Apostrophes with Acronyms and Abbreviations

by Craig Shrives

Apostrophes in Plural Acronyms and Abbreviations

It is common to see an apostrophe used in the plural of an abbreviation or an acronym. For example:
  • She had two CJJ's. wrong cross
  • Buy three CD's for the price of two. wrong cross
  • Our garage can do twenty MOT's in day. wrong cross
As the apostrophes in the examples above do not make the text clearer, I am happy to mark them as incorrect. However, despite what some of the more dogmatic grammarians might tell you, it is not always incorrect to show the plural of an abbreviation or an acronym with an apostrophe.

Table of Contents

  • Apostrophes in Unwieldy Plurals
  • Apostrophes in Uppercase Plural Abbreviations and Acronyms
  • Apostrophes in Awkward Plurals
  • Printable Test
apostrophes after abbreviations and acronyms

Apostrophes in Unwieldy Plurals

If the writer thinks an apostrophe helps readers, then one can be used in the plural of an abbreviation or an acronym. For example:
  • She sent two SOS's. correct tick
  • I have five SUS's in my care. correct tick

Warning!

Be aware that using an apostrophe to show the plural of an abbreviation or an acronym is not a popular convention. Lots of your readers will hate it.
As most of your readers would prefer the non-apostrophe versions below, you are advised to set a high threshold for using an apostrophe to show a plural. (In other words, you should try hard to avoid it.)
  • She sent two SOSs. correct tick
  • I have five SUSs in my care. correct tick
Of course, the two examples above are acceptable, but they do look slightly awkward. Therefore, using an apostrophe to avoid an unwieldy-looking plural has become permissible.

Apostrophes in Uppercase Plural Abbreviations and Acronyms

When only capital letters can be used, it is permissible to use an apostrophe to show the plural of an abbreviation or an acronym. (This happens mostly in document titles or advertisements.)
  • CDS REQUIRES THREE CD'S correct tick
    • (The Chief of Defence Staff requires three compact discs.)
  • VISITING SUS'S AFTER 1 APRIL correct tick
    • (Visiting Soldiers under Sentence after 1 April)

Apostrophes in Awkward Plurals

Apostrophes can also be used in other awkward plurals. For example:
  • Your 2's look like Z's. correct tick
  • You use too many and's in your writing. correct tick
  • There are two a's, two c's, and two o's in accommodation. correct tick
Of course, there are other ways of writing these to avoid the apostrophes, but using an apostrophe is tidy and efficient. Read more about apostrophes in plural abbreviations and awkward plurals.

Printable Test

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See Also

Using apostrophes Apostrophes for possession Apostrophe placement rules Apostrophe after s Apostrophe after z Apostrophe before s Apostrophes for awkward plurals Apostrophes in contractions Apostrophes in expressions like 2 years' pay and a day's notice Apostrophes used incorrectly for plurals Apostrophe exercises Apostrophes in names Apostrophe misuse Apostrophes in contractions Using brackets and parentheses Using colons Using commas Using dashes Using hyphens Using quotation marks Using semicolons "Apostrophes for possession" game (Tetris-style game) "Apostrophes in time expressions" game (Tetris-style game)