Grammar Tip – Apostrophes With Abbreviations

Anne’s question: “We would like to ask you for the proper punctuation. In the sentence, ‘We have talked to other CCAC’s about their experience,’ should it be CCAC’s or CCACs?”

BizWritingTip response: This is a great question dealing with a common error. To pluralize capital letters and abbreviations ending in capital letters, just add a lower case “s.”

Examples (Plural words)
CEOs
M.D.s
MPs
Ph.D.s

Correct: We have talked to other CCACs about their experience.

You would only use an apostrophe if you were indicating possession or a missing letter.

Example
Our CCAC’s going to fill two new positions. (missing letter — Our CCAC is going to fill two new positions.)
Would you like to see the CEO’s office? (possession — the office belonging to one CEO)
Would you like to visit the MPs’ offices? (possession – the offices of many MPs)