Follow the guidelines below to form the plural of different types of abbreviations.
Plurals formed with s alone
Add an s, but not an apostrophe, to form the plural of most abbreviations:
- ADMs
- BMWs
- CAs
- CRs
- FTEs
- GICs
- MPs
- PCBs
- 747s
Add an s without an apostrophe to form the plural of abbreviations with only one period. The s is added before the period:
- Gens.
- pts.
Plurals formed with apostrophe s
In cases where the resulting form would be ambiguous, add an apostrophe before the s:
- Q’s and A’s
- SIN’s
Add an apostrophe and s to form the plural of abbreviations containing more than one period:
- c.o.d.’s
- G.M.’s
Use an apostrophe and s to form the plural of numerical names of aircraft ending in a single letter:
- 727-100C’s
- 747B’s
- Cessna 402B’s
Irregular plurals
The plurals of Mr. and Mrs. are irregular:
- Mr., Messrs.
- Mrs., Mmes.
The plural forms of the abbreviations for certain bibliographic references are different:
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
l. (line) | ll. |
p. (page) | pp. |
f. (and the one following) | ff. |
c., ch. (chapter) | c., ch. |
MS (manuscript) | MSS |
s. (section) | ss. |
subs. (subsection) | subss. |
Note that SI/metric symbols maintain the same form for both singular and plural and are written without periods, except at the end of a sentence:
- 1 cm
- 5 cm
- 75 kg
- The boxer weighed only 75 kg.
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© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada
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