Wait, You Can’t Use an Apostrophe to Make an Acronym Plural?

My experience tells me that, in theory, most high school graduates understand the most fundamental rule about using apostrophes: they are used for possession.

(Oh, sure, apostrophes do other things, too [like omitting letters in contractions, among other things], but the possession thing tends to be what people think of when they hear “apostrophe.”)

When I ask my college students how to use an apostrophe for possessions, they can rattle of correct rules pretty quickly: if a noun posses something, you add an apostrophe and an ‘s’ (like in “the puppy’s house”); if a noun is plural, the apostrophe goes after the ‘s’ (as in “the puppies’ kennel”); and, most importantly, if a noun is simply plural, but doesn’t possess anything (as in “there were seventeen puppies in the kennel”), then you never, ever use an apostrophe.  Apostrophes, they will almost universally tell me, are for possession, not for plural nouns. Ever.

Then why, oh why, do so many people (including my wonderful college students) put an apostrophe after an acronym (as in DVD’s or VCR’s or TV’s or SKU’s)? And why do they add an apostrophe after a year (as in 1900’s or 1600’s)? It’s a head-scratching mistake and it’s painful to look at. If these nouns—and yes, an acronym almost always functions as a plain old noun—possess something, sure, you can include the apostrophe. But when you’re making a sign that says “Used DVD’s for Sale,” the DVDs don’t possess anything. They’re just plural. You have to ask yourself: what on earth is the purpose of that apostrophe?

Because acronyms are capitalized, placing a lower-case ‘s’ after the acronym is plain and clear enough to make it plural. Adding an apostrophe only adds confusion (not to mention visual noise if you’re design-conscious); and it breaks the fundamental punctuation rule that apostrophes are used for, well, possession. Here’s a quick list of words that DO NOT need apostrophes when used simply as a plural noun:

• DVDs
• VCRs
• TVs
• RVs
• 1900s
• WMDs
• ATVs
• SKUs
• MBAs
• BFFs
• And any other plural noun that doesn’t possess anything.

Next time you’re tempted to add in that little apostrophe on a plural acronym, think about how awful and hideous these signs look, which all make the plural apostrophe error: