Apostrophe With Plural of Unfamiliar Words
The Apostrophe
Rulebase Summary
Use an apostrophe and s to show the plural form of any word that is unfamiliar or likely to be misread. If the pluralized form is quoted, keep the entire expression inside the quotes. However, words that are common are still made plural by simply adding s or es without an apostrophe (ands, ifs, buts, whys, ins, outs, pros, cons).
Examples
A. There are too many ifs, ands, and but's in that sentence.
A. There are too many ifs, ands, and buts in that sentence.
Common words like ifs, ands, and buts are pluralized by adding s — no apostrophe needed.
A. He kept saying a bunch of yeahs.
A. He kept saying a bunch of yeah's.
Unfamiliar or unusual words use an apostrophe and s to prevent misreading.
Transcript Notes
Use the apostrophe and s for the plural of unfamiliar or potentially confusing words (do's and don'ts, go-go's, thank-you's). Common words are still made plural by adding s or es alone, with no apostrophe (ands, ifs, buts, whereases, whys and wherefores, ins and outs, pros and cons, ups and downs). If there is a chance of misreading, use quotation marks instead. If the pluralized form is quoted, keep the entire expression inside the quotes.
Style Guide References (4)
Morson's
BGGP
BGGP
BGGP