Re: New Grist: Conditional Plural(s)

Subject: Re: New Grist: Conditional Plural(s)
From: mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 1995 15:01:32 EDT

Loren Castro asks about the (s) in:
>"These plans shall be recorded in Software Installation Plan(s)
>(SIPs)."

The standard at IBM is (or was last time I checked) to simply use the plural.
If it's important that the singular be included (to avoid giving the
impression that the noun has to be plural), then say something like "one or
more" (as John Renish does in an example). There's no reason to use (s)
to indicate a possible plural, when it A) usually doesn't matter and B) has
better alternatives when it does matter.

Hope this helps,

Michael Priestley
mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
Disclaimer: speaking on my own behalf, not IBM's.


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