Thanks Mike for those references. Of course, English will only ever have guidelines. Trying to describe English usage in black and white is like sucking a small pig through a straw - pointless and a guaranteed headache - and that's assuming you can even get the pig to keep still :) I still prefer not to use apostrophes in those situations, but I feel wiser for knowing all the variations. Cheers, Craig Craig Bligh Technical Writer, Product Development MXL Consolidated Pty Ltd Level 3, 62 Pitt Street Sydney NSW 2000 Phone +61 2 8249 0000 Fax +61 2 8249 0099 Email craig.bligh@xxxxxxx www.mxl.com Wise Software Solutions for the Global Education Market -----Original Message----- From: Michael West [mailto:mbwest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Thursday, 3 July 2003 5:09 PM To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [austechwriter] Re: Resumes are a show case for a Tech Writer From: "Craig Bligh" > To which usage guides are you referring? There are only two instances > where you'd use an apostrophe - to indicate possessives and omitted > letters. Since _CV's_ is a plural, it doesn't apply (unless of course > you're referring to something that belongs to the CV). Adding apostrophe + s ( 's ) to form the plural of acronyms and initializations used to be recommended by dictionaries and style guides; it no longer is. However, it is a very different issue than say, the so-called 'green-grocer's apostrophe' -- forcefully deprecated in all style guides and dictionaries -- as in the following example: Special today: Banana's Tomato's That's wrong, and we all know it. The Oxford English dictionary recognizes that plurals of initialisations such as 'CD' and 'IOU' are often written with an apostrophe by educated users; they are exceptions to the Oxford's general prohibition against using apostrophes to form the plural. Here is a link: http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/pizza?view= I found some uses of "CD's" and "DVD's" as plurals at the website of the Times of London. A usage guide sponsored by the BBC has the following to say: "The plural of CD is, by convention, CDs. Strictly, CD's may be used too, though this is not at all recommended. This applies to all other abbreviations like HGVs or A to Zs. " http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/onthefuture/A783227 An Australian website offering writing instruction uses "CD's" and "ID's" as plurals in articles, without further comment. See http://www.write101.com/W.Tips118.htm The _Cambridge Australian English Style Guide_ says "Apostrophes are not now obligatory in a number of kinds of expressions. These include ... ... (d) sets of letters, such as PhDs or MPs." Suggesting that it was once obligatory, but is no longer, is a far cry from saying it is "wrong" to put one in. Clearly it is a matter of strong preference; I myself dislike it for aesthetic reasons, preferring to omit anything that isn't really needed. But it is not a simple matter of right and wrong. -- Mike West Melbourne ************************************************** To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field. To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field. To search the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelist.org/archives/austechwriter To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ************************************************** ************************************************** To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field. To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field. To search the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelist.org/archives/austechwriter To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **************************************************