WMD or WMD's?

[herkiefan]

I saw an interesting bumper sticker the other day.

"Where are the WMD?"

I assume the acronym stands for Weapons of Mass Destruction, yet in our current pop-news culture we are used to seeing the plural form as WMD's not WMD.

It sounds wierd to me.

My question is this: If an acronym can stand for both the plural and singular version of the noun, what is the best way to use it in the above bumper sticker?

Should it be:
a. Where are the WMD?
b. Where is the WMD?
c. Wehre are teh WMD's?

Does it matter, or did the person buy a bumper sticker that was written incorrectly.

Mike


PS> This is not intended to incite a political debate.

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.”-Albert Einstein

 

[SantaMufasa]

...Wehre are teh WMD's?

This one is bogus at so many different levels. #1: Spelling ("Wehre" and "teh"); #2: "WMD's", with an apostrophe represents either a possessive tense or a contraction meaning "WMD is".

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[CajunCenturion]

Acronyms (initialisms) follow the same pluralization and possessive rules as other words. Add an " s " to form the plural, add an " 's " to form the possessive, and add an " s' " to form the plural possessive.

Either of the following is correct:

Where is the MWD?
Where are the MWDs?


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[AnotherHiggins]

The non-abbreviated term would be "Weapon[highlight]s[/highlight] of Mass Destruction", not "Weapon of Mass Destruction[highlight]s[/highlight]".

So how about "WsMD"?

Nah.

I think (but I'm prepared to be corrected) that acronyms and initialisms are considered words. That means that none of your options are correct! In C ("Wehre are teh WMD's?") the apostrophe should only be used if you are expressing possession, not pluralization.

so I'd submit a fourth option:
d. Where are the WMDs?


[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue][/tt]
[tab][red]The plural of anecdote is not data[/red]

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[AnotherHiggins]

[grumble]
Y'all nimble-fingered so-and-sos....
[/grumble]

[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue][/tt]
[tab][red]The plural of anecdote is not data[/red]

Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.

 

[herkiefan]

Sorry for the spelling errors.

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.”-Albert Einstein

 

[GwydionM]

More than one sheep make sheep. More than one mouse makes mice. More than one Mickey Mouse makes Mickey Mouses. There is no logic, just a set of habits.

A term that stands for a group can itself become plural: more than one flock makes flocks. We could logically have WMDs if several sorts were being talked about, say gas or nuclear, or missing in Iraq but real in North Korea.

The term is bad for quite different reasons. Poison gas has been routine in warfare since World War One. Germ warfare has never unambiguously been used - see Wikipeida for alledged uses. If used it has not been decisive. Nuclear weapons are in a completley different category and a war between nuclear-armed states would be very terrible. Confusing it with more minor abuses does nothing useful.

------------------------------
An old man who lives in the UK

 

[gbaughma]

OK... if more than one sheep makes sheep...
... and more than one mouse makes mice....
... how come more than spouse makes bigamy, and not spice???



Just my 2¢
-There once was a man from Peru
Who wanted to write a Haiku
but...

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[Lunatic]

Either of the following is correct:

Where is the MWD?
Where are the MWDs?

Is there a deeper meaning there... or is this thread simply fraught with switched letters?

***************************************
Have a problem with my spelling or grammar? Please refer all complaints to my English teacher:
Ralphy "Me fail English? That's unpossible." Wiggum

 

[CajunCenturion]

The thread is fraught.

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Good Luck
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[Olaf Doschke]

It's BMWs, isn't it?

Bye, Olaf.

 

[herkiefan]

One letter a = a.
Multiple letters a = a's.

So why is there a difference with acronyms?

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.”-Albert Einstein

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> So why is there a difference with acronyms?
The difference is that an acronym is treated as a word, and not a single letter. The apostrophe only comes into play when forming the plural of a single letter.

You should always use the apostrophe when the letter is lowercase. If the letter is uppercase, you should use an apostrophe if a different word is formed by simply adding an 's', but the apostrophe is optional otherwise.

There are two a's in the report.
There are two A's in the report. --> Use the apostrophe to differentiate between the plural of 'A' and the word 'As'.
There are three Ps in the report. --> No need for the apostrophe in this case, but P's is also acceptable.
There are three p's in the report. --> Always use the apostrophe when the letter is lowercase.


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Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[flapeyre]

I cringe when I drive along the road and see mailboxes with names such as "The Smith's" or even, "The Jone's". Yikes!

Okay, for a refresher on the subject:

The Dreaded Apostrophe

Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas.

 

[Lunatic]

Flapeyre

Do you have a problem with either:
The Smith; or
The Jone?



***************************************
Have a problem with my spelling or grammar? Please refer all complaints to my English teacher:
Ralphy "Me fail English? That's unpossible." Wiggum

 

[flapeyre]

The proper pluralization of proper names that end in "S" or "X" is to simply append -es. Otherwise, you simple append an "S":

The Smiths
The Joneses
The Marxes

Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas.

 

[SantaMufasa]

One other slight issue, but, nonetheless an issue here on MAI since we focus upon grammatical and definitional precision:

"Where are the WMD?"...I assume the acronym stands for Weapons of Mass Destruction.

I am not aware that anyone pronounces "WMD" as "Wimd"; we pronounce it "double-you-em-dee". Therefore, "WMD" is not an acronym (an initialisation that we pronounce as a word, such as "LAN", "WAN", "TOAD", et cetera); it is an initialisation, which we pronounce by its individual letters (such as IBM...pronounced "eye-be-em", not "ib-um").

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[flapeyre]

The Smith's" implies that you are referring to something belonging to a blacksmith. I have no clue what a "Jone" is.

Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas.

 

[SantaMufasa]

I have no clue what a "Jone" is

A "Jone" is someone who, in this case, owns a mailbox.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[flapeyre]

:


Tibi gratias agimus quod nihil fumas.