So, you want to figure out the correct plural form of FAQ. Well, you’ve come to the right place!
This article will explain which is correct out of FAQ and FAQs. That way, you won’t have to worry about getting them incorrect in your writing!
FAQ or FAQs – What’s the Correct Plural?
The correct plural is FAQs. You can add an “-s” to the end of an acronym when you want to take it from the singular to the plural form. For example, “you should refer to the FAQs to learn more.” It shows there are multiple “Frequently Asked Questions” available.
Here’s another look at the two forms:
- Singular: We need to get the FAQ section completed immediately.
- Plural: How many FAQs do you think we’ll need to address?
The difficulty here comes from the acronym FAQ, standing for “Frequently Asked Questions.” “Questions” is already plural, but FAQ as an acronym is singular. That’s why people have difficulty figuring out whether to add an “-s” at the end of the letters.
Keep reading if you want to learn more! We’ll touch on all the forms you might come across and how they work.
FAQ
FAQ is the singular form. It stands for Frequently Asked Questions, a common web page section that wants to answer the most important questions in one place.
Here are some examples showing you how to use FAQ in a sentence:
- Most of the answers are under the FAQ. I think you should go there to learn more about this.
- The FAQ is quite comprehensive. I spent a great amount of time working through it.
FAQ is singular, meaning it only refers to a single section filled with multiple questions. This can trip some people up since “Questions” is part of the acronym.
However, while the acronym uses the plural “Questions,” it is still treated as a singular entity. You should use it in this way without adding an extra “-s” to the end of the acronym.
FAQs
FAQs is the plural form. You should add an “-s” to the end of the acronym when highlighting it as multiple entities.
Here are a few examples that should help you out:
- You have to include extra FAQs to show the user that you listened to them.
- FAQs are a good idea, and I think you should follow through with them. Don’t be stupid!
As you can see, the “-s” at the end of the acronym shows you are referring to multiple instances of Frequently Asked Questions. For instance, you might use the plural form when two (or more) different FAQ sections can help the reader.
Finally, you should leave the “-s” lowercase when you include it in the plural form. You do not capitalize the “s” when adding it to a pluralized acronym.
FAQ’s
According to common style guides like APA Style, you only need to add an “-s” to the end of an acronym. There is never a reason to add an apostrophe after the acronym.
To help clarify that, you can refer to the following examples:
- Correct: I need to review all the FAQs to ensure we didn’t miss anything.
- Incorrect: What’s with all these FAQ’s? I don’t think anyone has asked these questions!
The apostrophe does not make the meaning clearer. Readers already understand that FAQs is the plural form of FAQ. The apostrophe is an error that has no purpose.
Also, since FAQ is an acronym, it does not have a possessive form. Since possessive forms are one of the most common reasons for nouns to have apostrophes, it makes sense that you should leave them out of FAQ.
Conclusion
FAQs is the correct plural form of FAQ. You do not need to capitalize the “-s,” but you should add it to show the plural form.
You should never add an apostrophe after FAQ. After all, it is not a possessive form, and the apostrophe does not clarify any meaning changes between FAQ and FAQs.