To Dos or To Do's

Question

The first seems right but doesn't look right.  Thanks.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

I'm told that the more recent recommendation is to drop the apostrophe in such expressions, but I still use the older forms.

I have a lot of to-do's on my list. One of them is to buy three CD's.

More recently, I've seen this recommended:

... a lot of to-dos ... three CDs.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJimI'm told that the more recent recommendation is to drop the apostrophe in such expressions, but I still use the older forms.I have a lot of to-do's on my list. One of them is to buy three CD's.More recently, I've seen this recommended:... a lot of to-dos ... three CDs.CJ

The two basic rules of the apostrophe are to use it to show possession (ownership) and to use it to show missing letters, such as with a contraction (do not = don't).

There should never be an apostrophe for CDs unless you mean to show possessive (eg: the CD's cover). The same goes for age groups and decades. It's 40s (for age) and '90s (decade). Notice the apostrophe is before the nine in 90 to show the missing 19 in 1990s.

There is some contention with whether or not using an apostrophe as a plural is acceptable. Some believe for certain words and letters, this is acceptable, as in "the do's and don'ts of the apostrophe" or "she earned A's and B's on her report card". The reason being that it looks funny without it and in the example of do's, the word can be confused with dos for the Spanish number two or for Microsoft's original operating system. At first glance, that may be but reading it puts the word in context so the apostrophe is unnecessary. When people start using punctuation properly, they'll get used to seeing it and won't fight against CDs, As and Bs, '90s, or 40s. Perhaps when TV shows, newspapers, and advertisers abide by the rules, everyone else will follow. In the meantime, we're stuck with the misused apostrophe along with the rejection of capitalization all in the name of sales and dumbing down America. Oh yay.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousWhen people start using punctuation properly, they'll get used to seeing it and won't fight against CDs, As and Bs, '90s, or 40s.

It's so reassuring to know that you young people know what proper punctuation use is. When I was growing up As and Bs, 90s and 40s were all wrong, wrong, wrong. Proper punctuation was A's, B's, 90's, and 40's.

I hope when you reach my age the rules will have changed back again and you can listen to some smug youngster tell you how people like you will someday learn to do these things correctly.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Check out how the name of this popular TV show was spelled.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165598/

The show came out in 1998. That's more than a decade ago. This shows that the apostrophe had been written that way since then. I'm sure whoever wrote that would be considered one of the older people now.

Whether you get the apostrophe correctly or not, it's just a reflection of the amount of books you read. Books have to be edited by professionals, who do not generally get it wrong.

Cool Breeze · Answer

AnonymousWhether you get the apostrophe correctly or not, it's just a reflection of the amount of books you read. Books have to be edited by professionals, who do not generally get it wrong.

There is no Language Academy in the Anglo-Saxon world. That's why there often is no ultimate correctness, either. There are some people who think they know what is correct, though. That's what makes English more interesting than the other Germanic languages!

Anonymous · Answer

Answer me this: What's the plural or iPhone 5s? (keep in mind the 'S' needs to be lower case, which might be covered by your "rejection of capitalization" comment).

Grammarfreak · Answer

Anonymous it's just a reflection of the amount of books you read. Books have to be edited by professionals,

Wow, are you serious! I could never imagine anyone who has the audacity to make such a disrespectful statement toward CJ. It is a good thing that you are hiding behind the name " anonymous".

AnonymousBooks have to be edited by professionals, who do not generally get it wrong.

Generally yes, but I won't bet my life on it.

Anonymous · Answer

Well, um, what if the books were published long ago?  Then, CJ's way is correct, yes?

Anonymous · Answer

AnonymousThe two basic rules of the apostrophe are to use it to show possession (ownership) and to use it to show missing letters, such as with a contraction (do not = don't).There should never be an apostrophe for CDs unless you mean to show possessive (eg: the CD's cover). The same goes for age groups and decades. It's 40s (for age) and '90s (decade). Notice the apostrophe is before the nine in 90 to show the missing 19 in 1990s. There is some contention with whether or not using an apostrophe as a plural is acceptable. Some believe for certain words and letters, this is acceptable, as in "the do's and don'ts of the apostrophe" or "she earned A's and B's on her report card". The reason being that it looks funny without it and in the example of do's, the word can be confused with dos for the Spanish number two or for Microsoft's original operating system. At first glance, that may be but reading it puts the word in context so the apostrophe is unnecessary. When people start using punctuation properly, they'll get used to seeing it and won't fight against CDs, As and Bs, '90s, or 40s. Perhaps when TV shows, newspapers, and advertisers abide by the rules, everyone else will follow. In the meantime, we're stuck with the misused apostrophe along with the rejection of capitalization all in the name of sales and dumbing down America. Oh yay.

Isn't CD an abbreviation for Compact Disc? Making the plural Compact Discs and the abbreviation CD's. I don't read much and I don't claim to know much either. That having been said, it sure looks like there are some missing letters that the apostrophe represents. As for CD meaning Certificate of Deposit... The plural would be Certificates of Deposit so you've got me on the C'sD vs. CD's vs. CDs but in this instance I think it is pretty clear that the rules are more guidelines. Apostrophes can also help define a plural vs. creating a whole new word. As would like 'as' at the beginning of a sentence not the plural of A. It could be confusing. I happen to know a couple editors and I wouldn't trust the use of apostrophes in print as rules. Characters and character spacing often define the 'rules' for print and now online work. Does it look good? Does it keep me from printing one less page or keep someone from having to scroll down? Does it cost me less money? Then run with it.

Do's or dos? I use Do's.

Good luck, at least your trying!

Anonymous · Answer

iPhones 5s. It's like Secretaries General or Forms 1040.

To Dos or To Do's

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