Apostrophes in special circumstances

I feel we don't need a lesson on possessive apostrophes. Y'all probably know, at least in theory, when to use apostrophes for possession - it's when something is owned by someone, right? The girl's dog. The Shrek's donkey. The newsletter's lesson on apostrophes. I know we don't always execute perfectly on apostrophes because we're human and it doesn't usually impact the clarity or effectiveness of what you're saying. But there are a few situations where people consistently eff up apostrophes; that is, the second the word that's being apostrophied is non-standard. Like when it's an acronym or a verb that's being used as a noun.

Just a bunch of crazy spas n’ pools

Dos and Don'ts

In this scenario, do, which is usually a verb, is used as a noun. Simples. But people often freak out and write it like this - Do's and Don't's. I get it, it's a bit confusing. But it's not a contraction nor a possessive so we don't need the extra apostrophes. Unless you want to make a very laboured point and have two characters called Do and Don't and say 'These are Do's do Dos and here are Don't's Do not Dos' but I really think that might confuse the point.

Pros and Cons

I often see people write Pro's and Con's. It's similar to Dos and Don'ts but even more confusing because pro and con are pretty much only used when writing a list of reasons to go to the gym or stay home. And what do they even mean? What are they short for? They come from the Latin 'prō' meaning 'for' and 'contrā' meaning against. I think most of us, wrapped up thinking about the gym and how to get out of it, glaze over and slap a few apostrophes in there for good measure. But you don't have to, there's no need.

FAQs

I'm sorry to point this one out because it will haunt you. You'll be horrified ever more by the number of websites that have an FAQ's page instead of an FAQs page. Frequently asked questions don't need an apostrophe but I think sometimes people see the capital letters, freak out by the officiousness of it all, and think 'You know what, I'll just pop a little apostrophe in there, nice'. Please don't.

TL;DR? Try to avoid the very human urge to sprinkle in apostrophes when writing Dos and Don'ts, Pros and Cons, and FAQs.

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