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These two cities of the US have the highest GDPs.

I have framed this sentence. I would like to know if the word GDP should be plural here, since we are talking about two different GDPs of two different cities, and I have really not come across the word GDPs ever. Should it be GDP or GDPs?

[Note: This question is still unanswered. I am looking forward to getting an answer which addresses the actual problem.]

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I believe it would be more grammatically correct to say 'the highest GDPs'. If you simply said 'the two cities have the highest GDP', it could be misinterpreted to be referring to the combined GDP of both cities.

It may feel awkward adding the 's' at the end of acronyms and initalisms like that, however it is the correct way to do it - for example, CDs, MP3s, etc.

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  • Thank you! That means people often mistake it and say ‘GDP’ instead of ‘GDPs’. Am I right? May I ask “are you a native English speaker?” If yes, then why do even native English speakers make this mistake?
    – Ayden Ferguson
    Commented Oct 12, 2020 at 6:32
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    To be honest, I only really hear that particular thing ('highest GDPs') in news articles etc., rather than spoken conversation. I would expect that people may sometimes just say 'the highest GDP' because you don't always stop and think about the exact implications of the grammar you use in day-to-day speech
    – callum202
    Commented Oct 14, 2020 at 0:08
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No question in my mind as a speaker of 'Queen's English'.

These two cities of the US have the highest GDP. Is almost acceptable but wrong. These two cities of the US has the highest GDP(s). Is bizarre.

Two cities must always 'have' (not has) and that needs a plural.

In this context GDPs (a plural) is correct.

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    Welcome to English Language Learners! Please stick to the actual question, which is about 'GDP' vs. 'GDPs', not 'have' vs. 'has'. See the Help Center article How to Answer.
    – Glorfindel ♦
    Commented Oct 11, 2020 at 14:23
  • I understood that the question related to the implied plural form of GDP. I am attempting to evaluate the grammar associated with this.
    – Graham Stevenson
    Commented Oct 12, 2020 at 8:15

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