The use of apostrophe for Pluralization

Question

Hi,
As you already know there are several instances that apostrophe is used for pluralization such as

1. Letters Ex. Q's and A's or i's and u's
2. Numbers Ex. 3's and 5's
3. Acronyms Ex. SUV's, CD's

For the third one, I have seen it both with and without apostrophe, however I believe it is more common to drop the apostrophe. I was wondering if you could give your thoughts on that.
Thank you
Hamid

GPY · Accepted Answer

I don't like those with the apostrophe. I would write "SUVs", "CDs", etc.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

It seems superficially simple, but in reality it is a quite complex subject. See the discussion "Representing plurals and possessives" in this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym

This is the beginning:
There is a question about how to pluralize acronyms. Often a writer will add an 's' following an apostrophe, as in "PC's". However, Kate Turabian, writing about style in academic writings, allows for an apostrophe to form plural acronyms "only when an abbreviation contains internal periods or both capital and lowercase letters". Turabian would therefore prefer "DVDs" and "URLs" and "Ph.D.'s", while the Modern Language Association explicitly says, "do not use an apostrophe to form the plural of an abbreviation". Also, the American Psychological Association specifically says: "without an apostrophe".
Multiple options arise when acronyms are spelled with periods and are pluralized: for example, whether compact discs may become C.D.'s, C.D.s, or CDs. Possessive plurals that also include apostrophes for mere pluralization and periods appear especially complex: for example, the C.D.’s’ labels (the labels of the compact discs). This is yet another reason to use apostrophes only for possessives and not for plurals.

Hrsanei · Answer

That's very interesting. Thank you A.S.

The use of apostrophe for Pluralization

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