View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
BMO
Joined: 19 Feb 2004 Posts: 705
|
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:05 pm Post subject: School grades |
|
|
How many A's, B's, and C's did you get?
Is it A's or As? I think it is A's, but why it is with an apostrophe?
Similarly, in the 1950s or 1950's?
Thanks. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
asterix
Joined: 26 Jan 2003 Posts: 1654
|
Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yes, it's A's, B's and C's.
It's the 1950's, 1860's, 1400's.
He has trouble writing legible 7's.
Don't use too many if's, and's and but's in your titles.
The apostrophe is used with s to indicate the plurals of numerals, letters and words considered as words. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
BMO
Joined: 19 Feb 2004 Posts: 705
|
Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks, but why not As, Bs, etc. ? |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
asterix
Joined: 26 Jan 2003 Posts: 1654
|
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 2:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
It's just a grammatical convention.
I guess it removes any ambiguity - for example As is a word in its own right. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
BMO
Joined: 19 Feb 2004 Posts: 705
|
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 2:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Ok, Ok, I got it. Thanks.
bmo |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
toe
Joined: 12 Jun 2005 Posts: 120 Location: michigan, usa
|
Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 4:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
i read somewhere online
that you can use both 50s and 50's.
50's = as in age of someone. He's in his 50's.
'50s = as in the year. He was born in the '50s.
^^toe |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
ebb

Joined: 12 Jan 2006 Posts: 87 Location: USA
|
Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 4:45 pm Post subject: |
|
|
'50s (with the leading apostrophe) is a separate issue from how the plural is formed.. ... the apostrophe is an indicator that something has been omitted: here, the "19". Just like an apostrophe is used in the word "don't" -- it's short for "do not" and the apostrophe shows that the letter "o" is left out of the contraction. _________________ "This is insolence up with which I will not put." Winston Churchill, upon reading a newspaper�s criticism of his having ended a sentence with a preposition.
"You can get more with a kind word and a gun, than with just a kind word." Al Capone. |
|
Back to top |
|
 |
|