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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Flying 747s
Hi,
Can anyone help tell me why "s" is added to 747 ? Or, it may be should be " flying 747's " instead of " flying 747s " (no apostrophe before the s)? Which is correct? If " 747's " is correct, then, why we use an apostrophe plus an s? Can someone explain that to me?
By the way, two other similar questions are:
a) when people say "Lear your ABC's", why they put an apostrophe plus an s (ABC's), too?
What does " 's " mean then?
b) Is it " 1970s " or " 1970's "? Or, they are completely different in meaning?
Thank you in advance for your help and answer.
Apostrophe Guy
Can anyone help tell me why "s" is added to 747 ? Or, it may be should be " flying 747's " instead of " flying 747s " (no apostrophe before the s)? Which is correct? If " 747's " is correct, then, why we use an apostrophe plus an s? Can someone explain that to me?
By the way, two other similar questions are:
a) when people say "Lear your ABC's", why they put an apostrophe plus an s (ABC's), too?
What does " 's " mean then?
b) Is it " 1970s " or " 1970's "? Or, they are completely different in meaning?
Thank you in advance for your help and answer.
Apostrophe Guy
Top answer
Hi, Both ways (apostrophe/no apostrophe) are acceptable. I'd guess that with an apostrophe is more common. Best wishes, Clive
- Hi, Both ways (apostrophe/no apostrophe) are acceptable.
- I'd guess that with an apostrophe is more common.
- Best wishes, Clive
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3 Answers
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Hi,
Both ways (apostrophe/no apostrophe) are acceptable. I'd guess that with an apostrophe is more common.
Best wishes, Clive
Both ways (apostrophe/no apostrophe) are acceptable. I'd guess that with an apostrophe is more common.
Best wishes, Clive
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Thank you for your answer, Clive. But, do you know what "s" (with or without apostrophe) means ? Why is it added to such nouns then?
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Hi Anon
In your examples, the s at the end makes the thing plural:
747s (or 747's) = 747 airplanes
ABCs (ABC's) = the letters of the alphabet or the fundamentals of reading, writing and spelling.
1970s (or 1970's) = the years 1970 through 1979
As Clive said, some people simply add s, and others add 's to form these sorts of plurals. P
In your examples, the s at the end makes the thing plural:
747s (or 747's) = 747 airplanes
ABCs (ABC's) = the letters of the alphabet or the fundamentals of reading, writing and spelling.
1970s (or 1970's) = the years 1970 through 1979
As Clive said, some people simply add s, and others add 's to form these sorts of plurals. P
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