Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Find out how to use “used to” and “different from” and how to make acronyms plural. joy grammar how do you make the abbreviation plural, when the last letter of the abbreviation is "s"? for example - Operation Specialists (OS) - would it be (for instance) OSs use the following equipment...? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=17548#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=17548#Comments Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:37:11 GMT Fred Lin grammar Regarding making an acronym or initialism plural. My wife insists that adding an apostrophe is the correct grammar. She grew up studying British English and now she is an ESL teacher here in USA. Do you have any documentation on this subject that I can provide her? Thank you. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=14809#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=14809#Comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:41:28 GMT Joe grammar Ok with the used to and use to, do we always say used to even if a sentence is like this. I was getting use the to or I was getting used to the? Thanks, http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=13832#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=13832#Comments Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:16:37 GMT Laura grammar Regarding plural acronyms - I usually remember this way - I can use an apostrophe when I want an acronym to be possesive, and not when I want it plural - same as everything else. For example, CPA - "The quality of the CPA's work was excellent." or "There are many CPAs that work in this building." http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=13425#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=13425#Comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:36:28 GMT Albert grammar Grammar Girl, is there no way to get the submissions to start at the top of the page? By the way, I hate the overuse of "no way", but it seemed right in the previous sentence. I would like to suggest that contributors to postings identify any particular contribution they might be responding to. For instance, I agree with Barbara Rochester's submission (12/12/07) about indenting address lines on envelopes. How on earth did that convention ever start? I'm glad to see the back of it. The funny thing about "used to" is that it cannot be used in the present tense. I mean that you cannot say, "I use to walk to school everyday." Of course, you can say, "I use string to tie parcels." but that's a different usage(!)I think the use of "used to" to indicate a habitual action in the past (which has now ceased), is a very useful device. Other languages, such as French and Spanish, only have the imperfect tense to perform this function. This can sometimes lead to ambiguity in translation - I was walking to school, or I used to walk to school. Would you agree that "used" is an auxiliary verb when used in this way? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=11413#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=11413#Comments Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:13:07 GMT Yogita grammar i find ur website very useful http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=11402#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=11402#Comments Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:15:41 GMT MarcParis grammar To KK: Huh??? "I've grown accustomed of your face"? I think not! Your wife is nuts! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=10939#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=10939#Comments Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:37:27 GMT KK grammar Is it correct to say "used to" or "used of" when you are referring to becoming accustomed to something, as in "I am getting used to your new hairstyle"? I always thought it was "used to," but my spouse says "used of," and it drives me crazy! Am I wrong? Are we both wrong? Please help!!! Thanks, GG! I appreciate the clarity of your explanations. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=10741#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=10741#Comments Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:10:18 GMT MarcParis grammar Barrett in Nantucket was asking about whether is was "use to" or "used to", and of course GG's answer was spot on. But there was another aspect that wasn't explicitly discussed, the pronunciation. It is normal for "used to" to be pronounced "yousstoo", rather than "youzd to". Mignon herself took pains to say "youzd too", but when she said the words spontaneously, she used the standard "yousstoo". And oddly, when it's not that "nostalgic" expression, we DO say "youzd to", as in "pens are used to write". http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=10703#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=10703#Comments Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:43:24 GMT Meems grammar According to The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, no apostrophes are used to pluralize figures ("The custom began in the 1920s" or "There are five size 7s"). In the case of single letters, an apostrophe is used ("Mind your p's and q's") but with multiple letters, no apostrophe is used ("She knows her ABCs"). Admittedly, the most recent edition that I own is from 1987 so maybe things have changed in the last 20 years. I still think it's an excellent reference. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=10692#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx?commentid=10692#Comments Thu, 13 Dec 2007 02:11:18 GMT Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:37:11 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-usedto-different-cpas.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us