Writing Tips:
Spelling

How to Make Most Nouns Plural

Copyright © 2001 Lynette M. Smith
  

Just add s or es, as in dilemmas or businesses—no apostrophe.

Only rarely is an apostrophe used, generally to show the plurals of individual letters that might otherwise be confused with other words. 

WRONG: Have you any As or Is among your Scrabble tiles? [confusing, because As and Is are real words]

RIGHT: Have you any A's or I's among your Scrabble tiles?

 

How to Make First or Last Names Plural or Possessive,
and When to Use an Apostrophe

Copyright © 2000 Lynette M. Smith
  

Some things that look wrong often are actually correct, especially with names. Here are examples of one style of proper spelling and punctuation: 

SINGULAR: Smith, Jones, Kennedy
PLURAL: Smiths, Joneses [the way you'd pronounce it], Kennedys

SINGULAR POSSESSIVE: Mr. Smith's house, Ms. Jones's house
PLURAL POSSESSIVE: The Smiths' house, the Joneses' house [as you would
     pronounce it]

With names, an apostrophe is used only to show possession, never to show plurals. Here's a good way to remember how to spell possessive names: 

First, decide if the name is singular or plural and spell it correctly.
 

Next, add an apostrophe to the end of the word you've just spelled.
 

Finally, add another s only if you would ordinarily pronounce that extra s when speaking the word. (Pronouncing that final s is a matter of style; choose the style that's most natural sounding to you, and be consistent in applying it.)

 

How to Spell Computer Terms Correctly

Copyright © 2007 Lynette M. Smith
  

An alphabetical list compiled to help you decide how to correctly spell, capitalize, and punctuate computer terms in your writing, according to The Associated Press Stylebook 2006, The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition, and NetLingo, The Internet Dictionary. Click here for A–Z LISTING.