Larry,

The rule of thumb I follow is to avoid apostrophes for plurals of words and numbers, except when they are needed for ease of reading. Hence: "They issued a long list of do's and don'ts." The plural of "don't" does not need an apostrophe for easy reading, but the plural of "do" does. Similarly, "There were two pi's and three omegas in the fraternity names." People would have difficulty reading about dos and pis, so they get apostrophes.

So, in this case, pragmatism trumps a hard-and-fast rule.

Dick


On Mon, Jan 16, 2012 at 3:23 PM, Larry Beason <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Dear Colleagues:

I'm revising a chapter in a grammar book (McGraw-Hill Guide to Grammar & Usage) in terms of how the apostrophe is used to form certain plurals.  As you probably know, the style guides (MLA and APA in particular) aren't always in agreement, although most grammar texts prohibit the plural apostrophe in cases where they've tolerated them before.

The prohibition that most bothers me is with 'words used as words'.  Thus, it seems most grammar books and style guides want us to use"Forget about all the whys and wherefores" rather than "Forget about all the why's and wherefore's".  Seems awkward to me, though my personal opinion doesn't count much.

I'm curious as to whether you agree with this prohibition--or if you  find current reference texts that allow an apostrohe with words used as words?

Larry Beason

Larry Beason
Associate Professor & Composition Director
Dept. of English, 240 HUMB
Univ. of South Alabama
Mobile AL 36688
(251) 460-7861

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