Apostrophe police, your help please!

[Lefty Two Drams]

If I wish to pluralise an acronym, should it have an apostrophe?

GBSs

Or

GBS's.

Second one looks better but if it wasn't an acronym it wouldn't have an apostrophe: "Gravity Based Structures".

[whitevanman88]

First one.

Well it depends on the context tbh. Are you just pluralising it, is there something else (in the plural) that belongs to the acronym?

Edited by whitevanman88 on Monday 22 February 11:34

[marshalla]

I'd say neither - GBS can stand for Gravity Based Structures quite happily.

If you want to have an obviously plural abbreviation though then a lowercase "s" with no apostrophe is less ambiguous in meaning and, IMNSHO, looks better.

GBSs

would be apt.

[Lefty Two Drams]

Thanks chaps.

GBSs it is.

I see the point that GBS would be fine as a plural as well but I want to make it clear that I'm describing more than just one.

By the way, this is a GBS on the offchance you may care:

[central]

Apostrophes are NEVER used to denote plurals.

http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/apo.htm

[escargot]

Lefty Two Drams said:

Thanks chaps.

GBSs it is.

I see the point that GBS would be fine as a plural as well but I want to make it clear that I'm describing more than just one.

By the way, this is a GBS on the offchance you may care:

Oil rig legs?

[Justayellowbadge]

central said:

Apostrophes are NEVER used to denote plurals.

http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/apo.htm

I believe an apostrophe should be used if there is punctuation in the acronym.

[Lefty Two Drams]

escargot said:

Lefty Two Drams said:

Thanks chaps.

GBSs it is.

I see the point that GBS would be fine as a plural as well but I want to make it clear that I'm describing more than just one.

By the way, this is a GBS on the offchance you may care:

Oil rig legs?

A specific type of substructure for offshore platforms, usually made of concrete with storage cells at the base. Generally built inshore and floated to site and sunk. F'kin enormous things.

[Cock Womble]

Justayellowbadge said:

I believe an apostrophe should be used if there is punctuation in the acronym.

Whereas I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.

[Bill]

central said:

Apostrophes are NEVER used to denote plurals.

http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/apo.htm

They can be used for numbers and acronyms AFAIK (And according to Lynn Truss in Eats, Shoots & Leaves). So 90's and TLA's is permissible but the apostrophe isn't mandatory.

[wiffmaster]

Apostrophes can sometimes be used to denote plurals, if it aids in clarity/understanding. For example, "He obtained five As at GCSE" is not immediately clear and could be misconstrued. However, "He got five A's at GCSE" is much clearer. It would be acceptable to use an apostrophe in your case, as the acronym ends in an 'S' and so the apostrophe aids in clarity. This use of the apostrophe is debatable though (see point d).

Edited by wiffmaster on Monday 22 February 12:27

[Eric Mc]

I always think that using an apostrophe before the letter "s" when making an acronym or set of initials plural somehow makes the "word" look less messy - so I WOULD put it in.

I know it isn't absolutely, gramatically, correct but then the use of acronyms as words isn't a great use of English either.

[Cock Womble]

Bill said:

So 90's and TLA's is permissible but the apostrophe isn't mandatory.

No. No no no no no.

When abbreviating a decade, you're removing the first two numbers, so that's where the apostrophe should go.

So, it's '90s not 90's.

[central]

MP (military police) Sixteen MPs.

PC (personal computer) A network of PCs.

MB (megabyte) 100 MB.

[Eric Mc]

Cock Womble said:

Bill said:

So 90's and TLA's is permissible but the apostrophe isn't mandatory.

No. No no no no no.

When abbreviating a decade, you're removing the first two numbers, so that's where the apostrophe should go.

So, it's '90s not 90's.

What about the "1990's" (or "1990s").

[Lefty Two Drams]

Eric Mc said:

the use of acronyms as words isn't a great use of English either.

I know but I'm writing a report which is at 7000 words now and is nowhere near finished. The acronym GBS has appeared 182 times so far... I've got a list of acronyms that is 3 pages long at the start.


Off topic, when I started at a BP project about 7 years ago I was handed an a4 book about 200 pages long entitled BP TLA's (yes, it did have an apostrophe).

I think the oil industry like acronyms almost as much as the forces do.

[Hugo a Gogo]

As an aside, I would only ever use the word 'acronym' to describe an initialism that was pronounced as a single word, like NATO or radar

BBC, GBS etc are just initialisms


Not universally accepted terminology, but what is?

:geek:

[Cock Womble]

Eric Mc said:

Cock Womble said:

Bill said:

So 90's and TLA's is permissible but the apostrophe isn't mandatory.

No. No no no no no.

When abbreviating a decade, you're removing the first two numbers, so that's where the apostrophe should go.

So, it's '90s not 90's.

What about the "1990's" (or "1990s").

Eric, man, if you can remember the '90s, you weren't really there.

[central]

Cock Womble said:

Eric Mc said:

Cock Womble said:

Bill said:

So 90's and TLA's is permissible but the apostrophe isn't mandatory.

No. No no no no no.

When abbreviating a decade, you're removing the first two numbers, so that's where the apostrophe should go.

So, it's '90s not 90's.

What about the "1990's" (or "1990s").

Eric, man, if you can remember the '90s, you weren't really there.

[Lefty Two Drams]

Hugo a Gogo said:

As an aside, I would only ever use the word 'acronym' to describe an initialism that was pronounced as a single word, like NATO or radar

BBC, GBS etc are just initialisms


Not universally accepted terminology, but what is?

:geek:

Interesting point. Is that true or is it a rectally extracted "fact"?