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How do you pluralize abbreviations?
Making an Abbreviation Plural Simply add an “s” to an abbreviation to make it plural. (Do not add an apostrophe.) I work with five other RNs during a typical shift. Note: RN is a commonly used acronym found in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, so it does not need to be introduced.
Do you use an apostrophe for abbreviations?
A common mistake people make is to include apostrophes when pluralizing a number or an abbreviation. Apostrophes are generally used in contractions and to indicate the possessive case, but they are not used to form plurals of numbers and abbreviations in APA Style.
How do you make a possessive acronym?
To form the possessive of any acronym, including those ending in S, add an apostrophe and an s. Therefore, the possessive form of UN is UN’s, and the possessive of OAS is OAS’s. By contrast, to make an acronym plural add an s without an apostrophe. It is best to avoid using too many acronyms in formal academic prose.
Are acronyms treated as singular or plural?
They are formed the same and become plural the same way, but are pronounced as individual letters rather than sounding like a word (For example: RBI). Most acronyms are easy to convert to the plural form simply by adding the letter s to the end.
Is acronym plural or singular?
When using an acronym, it is reasonable to assume that both reader and writer do not know the exact words it stands for. Therefore, they do not know if there is an “s” somewhere in there making it plural. For this reason, I would always use singular unless there is an explicit plural.
How do you abbreviate abbreviations?
It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word abbreviation can itself be represented by the abbreviation abbr., abbrv., or abbrev.; NPO, for nil (or nothing) per (by) os (mouth) is an abbreviated medical instruction.
What are the different types of acronyms?
There are four different types of abbreviations in English:
- Initialism.
- Acronym.
- Shortening.
- Contraction.
What is the difference between acronym and initialism?
Acronyms and initialisms are types of abbreviations. An acronym is formed when you combine the first letters of a phrase to create a new word (think LASER) An initialism is formed when you combined the first letters of a phrase but say the individual letters (think VIP)
Do you use an apostrophe to pluralise an acronym?
Plural acronyms without an apostrophe not only look neater but are also clearly NOT possessive nouns. However, as Grammar Monster points out, you CAN use an apostrophe to show a plural if it assists your reader.
What is the noun for pluralize?
The word plural is used in grammar to mean “noting or pertaining to a member of the category of number, found in many languages, indicating that a word has more than one referent.” So, a plural noun is a noun that refers to more than one of something. For example, the word cats is a plural noun because it refers to more than one animal.
Is an apostrophe used with a plural acronym?
Do all acronyms need to be capitalized?
Every letter in an acronym should be capitalized, regardless of whether the words those letters represent start with capital letters: The acronym for Writing Forward would be WF. WYSIWYG is an acronym that stands for what you see is what you get.