http://www.englishforums.com/English/EslGeneralEnglishGrammar-Questions/Forum12.htmAsk your questions on grammar and get your sentence checked. We answer lots of different types of general English grammar questions here. <font color=red>DO NOT post paragraphs and compositions here. Post them in our <a href="http://www.englishforums.com/English/EssayReportCompositionWriting/Forum9.htm"><b>Essay, Report and Composition Writing Forum</b></a>.</font>enXMOD (Build: 3616.28671)http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#509391Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:509391Grammar Geek0http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#509391http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-509391.xmlI would say 1993, but not 1994. 1994, 1995, and 1996 are the mid-1990s.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#509174Wed, 27 May 2009 03:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:509174Takoyaki-English1http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#509174http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-509174.xmlHello. 1) 1990s 2) 1990&#39;s Both are acceptable and often used, aren&#39;t they? The first one is my preference, though. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/weekly/ed/ed20070526a1.htm &quot;... in the early 1990s...&quot; I think that 1990, 1991 and 1992 are called the early 1990s. Do &quot;the early 1990s&quot; include &quot;1993&quot; and &quot;1994&quot;?http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#509153Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:509153Grammar Geek2http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#509153http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-509153.xmlI&#39;ve edited my prior post for clarity. I though it was clear by saying &quot;the 1990s&#39;&quot; what I meant but apparently not. I don&#39;t think we&#39;re disageeing at all here - do you?http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#509074Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:509074Anonymous3http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#509074http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-509074.xmlActually, the possessive would be &quot;ninteen ninties&#39;&quot; because you&#39;re talking about a possessive of the plural form, the decade is constituted by all of the years in total. So the abbreviated form of the possessive should be 1990s&#39; - with the apostrophe after the s, just like if you were talking about the possessive of any plural. No?http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#509010Wed, 27 May 2009 03:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:509010Grammar Geek4http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#509010http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-509010.xmlHello fooladder, welcome to the forums. Obvioulsy, with the possessive, you use the apostrophe. It was a popular tune sometime back in the early 1990s. He has 1990&#39;s biggest hit record. (Obviously, a possessive.) EDITED for clarity -by this I mean the one year, 1990. He was the 1990s&#39; most popular enteratiner. (Also possessive.) EDITED for clairty - by this I mean the decade of the 1990s.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#508821Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:508821fooladder5http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#508821http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-508821.xml(I would prefer 1990s .) Unless ofcourse when used as a possisive. In which case it becomes troubling to distinguish between some that was from 1990 or from the 1990s.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#508732Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:508732Anonymous6http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#508732http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-508732.xmlI think the p&#39;s and q&#39;s argument is most salient here. The apostrophe is used for the sake of clarity. While conventionally used for the possessive, the apostrophe is also used to indicate vernacular omissions and contractions, such as in the cases of &quot;Ol&#39; Dirty ***&quot; or &quot;N&#39;awlins.&quot; This understadning of the usage of apostrophes is important for thinking about the 1990s/1990&#39;s problem. If you were to spell out the actual words 1990 and 1990s/1990&#39;s, you get the words &quot;nineteen ninety&quot; and &quot;nineteen nineties.&quot; The difference between these two words is a &quot;y&quot; and an &quot;ies.&quot; The possessive spelling of 1990&#39;s would be &quot;nineteen ninety&#39;s,&quot; the...http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#427649Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:427649Anonymous7http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/2/bdrqv/Post.htm#427649http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-427649.xmlAccording to the 4th ed. of The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers the answer is this. When indicating plural letters like 4 s's , 4 i's , and 2 p's you separate the letter and the 's' that makes it a plural with a single apostrophe. When writing the plural of a number like 3s or 5s you can omit the apostrophe. The book does not go so far as to say that it is wrong or right if you leave the apostrophe in like 3's or 5's . Based on the wording, it seems that either would be correct. I hope this is helpful. At least I know now that it is not wrong to write it as 3s and 5s .http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#308257Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:308257Grammar Geek8http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#308257http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-308257.xmlMrPedantic wrote: (I would prefer 1990s .) MrP So would the AP stylebook.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#308246Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:308246MrPedantic9http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#308246http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-308246.xml(I would prefer 1990s .) MrPhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#308211Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:308211Anonymous10http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#308211http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-308211.xmlit is 1990's with an apostrophehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#154025Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:154025Anonymous11http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#154025http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-154025.xmli would say: mind your 'p's and 'q's (no apostrophes, inverted commas). on another note, the general rule for apostrophes seems to be (from the links above) that they are not used with possessive pronouns (his, her, my, its), but does this also apply to 'one'? is it ones or one's? sara + philhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#99361Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:99361khoff12http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#99361http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-99361.xmlI think we'll have to agree to disagree here - I would never use "esses," unless it was in a Scrabble game, in which case it might come in handy. I would probably write "s"s.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#98850Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:98850Mister Micawber13http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#98850http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-98850.xml'Four esses, four ayes and two pees.' 'Four s's, four i's and two p's, ' if I had to.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#98625Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:98625khoff14http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#98625http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-98625.xmlMr. M. - what is your preferred way to show the plural of a letter of the alphabet? In "Mississippi" there are four _________, four ___________ and two __________. S's?? "S"s?? (Surely not Ss.) Thanks! -khoffhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#98580Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:98580Mister Micawber15http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htm#98580http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-98580.xmlAs you say, this is still a bone of contention, but I believe that most authorities adhere to the simple rule of 'no possessive ergo no apostrophe'. At least I do, and would unhesitantingly write: H.G.V.s only seven HPs seven MPs seven MPs' hats. Exceptions are usually made for the few cases where confusion is possible, the classic example being 'mind your p's and q's'. Here is one SOURCE , and here's ANOTHER . Googling 'apostrophe' will get you several more, with slightly varying opinions, especially re numerals and acronyms.http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htmFri, 27 Mar 2009 04:32:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:98536Guest16http://www.englishforums.com/English/PluralsAbbreviations1990s-1990s/bdrqv/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-98536.xmlI used to be convinced that the plural did not take the apostrophe as it was not a possessive but I now see the apostrophe used in many places and am full of doubt. What is the correct usage? There are road signs showing "H.G.V.'s only". Surely that can't be right? Would the abbreviation of 'housepoints" be HPs of HP's? If the apostrophe usage is correct then presumably we would see MP's rather than MPs and if this were the case, something belonging to a number of MPs would be MP's' or even MP's's rather than MPs' Can someone please put me right and provide a recognized source so that I can go into battle. Many thanks