Hi! I’m Kathy Ide. In addition to being a published author, I’m a full-time professional freelance editor. For CAN, I’m blogging about tips for writers based on the manuscripts I edit.

Using an Apostrophe in Plural Words

Do not use an apostrophe for most plurals. Examples:

dos and don’ts

no ifs, ands, or buts

the 1980s

the Joneses

maybes

yeses and nos

thank-yous

Molly got three As and two Cs.

Five Toms, four Dicks, and three Harrys

I had to go to two DMVs to get my license renewed.

Exception: To avoid confusion, pluralize single lowercase letters by adding apostrophe-s. Examples:

a’s and b’s

 x’s and y’s