Home page for english grammar today on cambridge dictionary. So we will attempt to shed more light on the distinctions. Acronyms flourished especially from the 20th century onwards. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing book. Jun 02, 2016 mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. Team names and musical group names that are plural take plural verbs. There is one important way in which plural last names differ from other plurals. Other sections feature science info from everyday einstein, health tips from house call doctor, and parenting advice from mighty mommy. However, as grammar monster points out, you can use an apostrophe to show a plural if it assists. Plurals, articles, and quantity words purdue writing lab. Items is plural, so fewer would be the accurate word to use in these signs. Heres the scoop on when to use apostrophes to make things plural.
This makes it difficult to show a plural of an otherwise normallooking abbreviation. Below is a sample that contains the full form of several different words, phrases, and. Acronyms result from a word formation process known as blending, in which parts of two or more words are combined to form a new word. Hgvs sign if youre a grammar pedant like me, signs like this or ones advertising cds for sale will most likely make your. Aan and the english grammar today cambridge dictionary. Oct 10, 2006 mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing. Team or group names with no plural forms also take plural verbs.
We have compiled a list of some of the most useful. Apr 14, 20 so i was reading through novocain in the workshop, and saw the following. If youre a grammar pedant like me, signs like this or ones advertising cds for sale will most likely make your toes curl and set your teeth on edge yet the majority of people have become so used to seeing plural acronyms written like this that they assume its correct english. There are many irregular plural nouns, such as woman women, potato potatoes, or tooth teeth, and some nouns are the same in both the singular and plural forms such as sheep and fish, but most nouns are made plural by adding s, es or ies. Apostrophes and plurals grammar girl quick and dirty tips. From the quick and dirty tips series, grammar girl aka mignon fogarty provides you tips to improve your writing in a. As you now know, abbreviations and acronyms can save time and space, and they can make your writing easier to read. It can be confusing, since its the rpart run that is becoming plural. If something belongs to a collective, you use the plural form, followed.
Apostrophes are generally used in contractions and to indicate the possessive case, but they are not used to form plurals of numbers and. Any english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. Listen to grammar girl quick and dirty tips for better writing episodes free, on demand. From new york times bestselling author and creator of the top ranked grammar girl podcast, mignon fogarty, comes her bestselling grammar girl presents the ultimate writing guide for. Grammar girl quick and dirty tips for better writing. Generally, you dont use apostrophes to make words or abbreviations plural e.
Style guides for book and academic publishing generally would. The fundamental key to these lessons is in how the teacher illustrates the lesson. Use abbreviations and acronyms if you are certain your reader understands them. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. For example, boat becomes boats, or hat becomes hats a noun ending with a consonant and the letter y forms the plural by adding ies. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by. You make the plural and the possessive in the usual way for acronyms. It is important for any publishing professional to have access to the right style, grammar, and writing guides. The word anaphora is an english word that means the repetition of something. Mignon fogarty, the creator of grammar girl and the founder of the quick and dirty tips network, is also the author of the new york times bestselling grammar girls quick and dirty tips. How to make rbi plural grammar girl quick and dirty tips.
From new york times bestselling author and creator of the top ranked grammar girl podcast, mignon fogarty, comes her bestselling grammar girl presents the ultimate writing guide for students. Dickenss novels provide a wonderful insight into victorian england. Instead, i created this guide on how to make things plural with five tricky writing situations in mind. Plural noun in this lesson you will learn the definition of a plural noun, study examples of plural nouns, and take a test. In general, use abbreviations only in charts, tables, graphs, footnotes, bibliographies, and other places where space is at a premium. A baseball pitcher must work constantly on their pitch. Jul 01, 2014 in english, we form the plurals of nouns by adding s to the singular. Unusual plurals of abbreviations thanks to lawrence k. Grammar handbook personal pronoun, it has now become an acceptable and genderneutral way to refer to someone. If something belongs to a collective, you use the plural form, followed by an apostrophe girls. As a second resource, merriam websters collegiate dictionary is preferred. Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and wordchoice guidelines that. Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and wordchoice guidelines that can confound even the best writers.
Unusual plurals of abbreviations grammar and punctuation. Using a or an with acronyms and abbreviations apa style. Find books like grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing from the worlds largest community of readers. Whenever i listen to her podcast, scan her blog, or read her book, i always pick up new insight into grammar and writing. Plural acronyms without an apostrophe not only look neater but are also clearly not possessive nouns. I assume that an abbreviation is treated just as if it were a word, but im having trouble with some examples. But as i like to remind readers despite these grammar police posts that i do periodically, i understand that everyday conversational english is not the same as proper written english.
But as i like to remind readers despite these grammar police. Ever go to a supermarket and see the 10 items or less express lane. Both count nouns whether singular or plural and noncount nouns take articles. Choosing which article to use if any with a noun is a complex matter because the range of choices depends on whether the noun in question is 1 count or noncount and 2 singular or plural.
She is an inductee in the podcasting hall of fame, and the show is a fivetime winner of best education podcast in the podcast awards. I will not use an apostrophe before the s when creating plurals out of commonly. One unusual use of the apostrophe is in plural acronyms, like icbms ngos and cds. So, if you have an awkward abbreviation, number, or letter and adding s makes for the bestlooking plural, then go for it. Grammar handbook personal pronoun, it has now become an acceptable and genderneutral way. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing quick. Apostrophes in plurals for uppercase abbreviations when writing titles, you are sometimes compelled to use just capital letters. The chicago manual of style online is the venerable, timetested guide to style, usage, and grammar in an accessible online format. The general rule is that you should not use an apostrophe to form the plurals of nouns, abbreviations, or dates made up of.
Joanna ryder, peter gelhorn, elizabeth collingwood, michiko. Forming the plurals of abbreviations grammar lesson. So now there are two different alex cameron societies acss in the. Unless your editor wishes otherwise, if you write books, spell it dos. When the word ends in an es to make it plural, the same rule applies, such as in. A big shout out of appreciation to all those who have helped make this site possible through their generous patreon donations. Use this style guide as your first reference for treatment and spelling of individual words.
Rule number 2 add an apostrophe for plural possession. Since discovering grammar girl, ive acquired plenty of fresh knowledge about grammar, some of which ive shared here in the writing forward grammar posts. Grammar girl offers language and usage instruction through the quick and dirty tips network of sites. Then the second ones channel selector button broke, so i could tell that the vcrs buttons were made cheaply. This rule is exactly the same when the acronym in question ends.
Confusing words and homonyms the blue book of grammar and. Confusing words and homonyms grammar and punctuation. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing by mignon. Whichever dictionary you use as a spelling resource, be sure to use it consistently throughout your publication. Other sections feature science info from everyday einstein, health tips from house. Both these books contain extensive chapters on proper form in using abbreviations, as well as the possessive and plural forms of abbreviations. Notes from the newsroom on grammar, usage and style. Initialisms dictionaries dont all agree on the definitions of these words and neither do style manuals.
If youre a copywriter or blogger, i assume you already know the basics of how to make things plural i. Grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. July 1, 2014 in english, we form the plurals of nouns by adding s to the singular. Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms grammar girl. This is a fine distinction that some consider nitpicking. Below is a sample that contains the full form of several different words, phrases, and expressions. Since this pattern violates the rule that apostrophes are not used before an s indicating a plural, many people object to it. With 100,000 copies sold, this is a complete and comprehensive guide to all things.
Dear style experts, how do you tell whether to use a or an with abbreviations. Aan and the english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. Clear explanations of natural written and spoken english. Ive tried educating myself in the past, cramming books on grammar into my tortured brain, but id forget what id learned just hours after trying to commit it to memory. However, as grammar monster points out, you can use an apostrophe to show a plural if it assists your reader. Pluralize numbers and abbreviations without apostrophes. Terms such as fbi, hmo, and naacp, although widely called acronyms, are actually abbreviations.
Girl doesnt end in s, or a vowel, two things that can trip people up when it comes to employing the possessive. Browse grammar articles on the website that start with the letter. New york times bestselling author mignon fogarty shares her weekly grammar girl podcast and video tips about english, grammar, and writing. Frequently asked questions in this faq youll find answers to common grammatical questions that may provide help with your writing ills. Books similar to grammar girls quick and dirty tips for.
Many teachers are tasked with the challenge of teaching the usage of english grammar possessives to students worldwide. Since discovering grammar girl, ive acquired plenty of fresh knowledge about grammar, some of which ive shared here in the writing forward. When you want to show plural possession, an apostrophe is placed after the letter s, such as in girls night out. 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. Jul 08, 2008 written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing covers the grammar rules and wordchoice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. Books similar to grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better writing. However, although not common practice, it is acceptable to use s if it is deemed to assist the reader. Want to find out more about english grammar usage possessives.
The 2009 ap stylebooks plurals entry has no section on acronyms, but. Mignon fogarty is the founder of quick and dirty tips and the author of seven books on language, including the new york times bestseller grammar girls quick and dirty tips for better. I assume that an abbreviation is treated just as if it were a word, but im having trouble. Do you know which acronyms and abbreviations could be used as substitutes. A common mistake people make is to include apostrophes when pluralizing a number or an abbreviation. Grammar girl s quick and dirty tips for better writing is not only easy to understand, it is packed with mnemonics which help me retain what ive just learned. Grammar girl presents the ultimate writing guide for students. Reference the full name first in the body of the text with the abbreviation in parenthesis. Fun easy english new american english grammar topic. Millions of people around the world communicate better thanks to mignon fogarty, aka grammar girl, whose toprated weekly grammar podcast has been downloaded more than 30 million times.
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