How to Pluralize Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initialisms

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An acronym is an abbreviation used as a word, such as the words laser, radar, and DVD. Acronyms are generally formed from the first letters of a longer phrase. For example, CD is easier to say than compact disc. The utilization of acronyms as plurals is not always understood or implemented consistently by writers. Let's try to clarify how to pluralize these abbreviations.

Steps

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    • Does it have more than a single letter?
    • Does it have periods between the letters?
    • Does it have all capital letters?
    • EXAMPLE: You must receive all A's or B's to pass this course.
    • EXAMPLE: Egg is spelled with two g's.
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    • EXAMPLE: We hired three C.P.A.'s for our office.
    • EXAMPLE: She earned two Ph.D.'s from Purdue University.
  4. If an abbreviation which is longer than a single letter does not have periods between the letters, pluralize it by adding "s".
    • EXAMPLE: Return the CDs that you borrowed.
    • EXAMPLE: Jay owns five GTOs.
    • EXAMPLE: Upload the GIFs to my Dropbox.
  5. Do not add an apostrophe before the "s".
    • EXAMPLE: We have Netflix on both TVs.
    • EXAMPLE: Don't point lasers at people.
    • EXAMPLE: Who ate my M&Ms?
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  • Question
    Would I write FoIs or FoI's in the sentence "We received several FoIs today"?
    Community Answer
    An apostrophe never works as a plural; it's always a contraction. Therefore, your sentence is correct.
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      • For the purpose of this brief article, we will not distinguish between initialism and acronym.
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      References

      1. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/621/01/
      2. https://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/faqs-on-style/
      3. https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/abbreviations/

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        Jan 10, 2020

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