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Victo Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Very Technical Punctuation Query
If we pluralize words as words in text, we have the option to italicize them, but not the plural-ending 's.'
Example-
There were five ands in his last sentence.
In this sentence, I italicized the word 'and,' but not the letter 's' at the end. I believe this is correct.
My question is whether or not you can add an apostrophe to lend clarity.
Example-
There were five and 's in his last sentence.
This tends to make it look more possessive, but do you prefer the first example above or this one?
In this one, I italicized 'and' but not the apostrophe and the 's.'
Thanks for your input.
Example-
There were five ands in his last sentence.
In this sentence, I italicized the word 'and,' but not the letter 's' at the end. I believe this is correct.
My question is whether or not you can add an apostrophe to lend clarity.
Example-
There were five and 's in his last sentence.
This tends to make it look more possessive, but do you prefer the first example above or this one?
In this one, I italicized 'and' but not the apostrophe and the 's.'
Thanks for your input.
Top answer
You should not add an apostrophe. An apostrophe is for possession. It is however, hard to read with an italicized and .
- You should not add an apostrophe.
- An apostrophe is for possession.
- It is however, hard to read with an italicized and .
- I suggest single quotations: There were five 'and's.
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8 Answers
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You should not add an apostrophe. An apostrophe is for possession. It is however, hard to read with an italicized and. I suggest single quotations: There were five 'and's.
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Thanks, Mister Micawber. I'm assuming that you'd agree with the sentence below based on your guidance. If not, how'd you write it? I've never seen that style in grammar/punctuation guides, and quite honestly, I love the way you punctuated it.
You good with this below?
There were five 'and's, three 'but's, four 'yes's, six 'hello's, fourteen 'why's, three 'no's, five 'which's,
You good with this below?
There were five 'and's, three 'but's, four 'yes's, six 'hello's, fourteen 'why's, three 'no's, five 'which's,
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too many 'so's, 'which's, and 'that's ... correct, too?
the 'Associated Press's article instead of the Associated Press's article
the 'Associated Press's article instead of the Associated Press's article
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All OK except:
'whereas's
Times-Picayune's editorial
Associated Press's article
'whereas's
Times-Picayune's editorial
Associated Press's article
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That being said (with words emphasized as words), we WOULDN'T do that with single letters, would we?
1. This - His a's look like 8's. His 5's look like A's.
2. NOT: His 'a's look like '8's
1 or 2 preferred above?
Thanks.
1. This - His a's look like 8's. His 5's look like A's.
2. NOT: His 'a's look like '8's
1 or 2 preferred above?
Thanks.
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I will abandon this topic forever after one more reply. The same would apply with cap letters, too, right?
His 'A's look like 'B's, and his 'h's look like '4's.
With contractions: Paragraph contained four 'I'm's, two 'don't's, four 'hasn't's, and three 'isn't's.
His 'A's look like 'B's, and his 'h's look like '4's.
With contractions: Paragraph contained four 'I'm's, two 'don't's, four 'hasn't's, and three 'isn't's.
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Looks OK, but use double quotation marks for the contractions (also possible for the non-contractions):
four 'A's / 'a's / "A"s / "a"s
four "don't"s
four 'A's / 'a's / "A"s / "a"s
four "don't"s
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