Do decades ever get apostrophes?

Question

In researching whether to write 1960s or 1960's, I have found several sources stating that 1960s is correct: one, two, three.

On the other hand, this source states that:

In British usage, we do not use an apostrophe in pluralizing dates:

      This research was carried out in the 1970s.

American usage, however, does put an apostrophe here:

      (A) This research was carried out in the 1970's.

You should not adopt this practice unless you are specifically writing for an American audience.

This is contradicted by a forum post stating that this is simply incorrect.

Now I'm not sure anymore. Considering the sources I'm pretty sure 1960s is correct, but is there any situation, in any recognised English orthography, in which the spelling 1960's is also correct in referring to the decade (as opposed to a property of the year 1960)?

Answer 1

It's really just a stylistic choice, as per this related ELU question, but most style guides would suggest you shouldn't use the apostrophe, and these days, that's what most people do...

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I should also point out that if the apostrophe is used, it can't represent "possession/association" unless followed by another noun. You can say I was last year's winner, and (just about) I was 2012's winner, but that's a completely different usage. In OP's context, the 60's can only be a noun meaning "that decade".

Besides which, if you really wanted to use the possessive with the sense "of that decade", it would have to be the 60s' singer Pat Boone, for example. But nobody would actually do that - we just assume that regardless of whether it includes an apostrophe, the 60s there is a "noun" used as an adjective.

Answer 2

As is ever the case with style in English, there is no hard rule except to be consistent within the parameters of the style guide you are using. That said, I know the Chicago, MLA, and Associated Press manuals all say not to use the apostrophe to pluralize dates, contradicting your contradictory source regarding American usage.

The common explanation behind the pluralizing apostrophe is to avoid confusion where the s could be read as part of a word.

mind your p's and q's; five a's and nine the's, two 1's and three 0's

Over time, however, we have seen a simplifying trend toward sparser use of punctuation. Many brand names have long omitted even the possessive apostrophe (e.g. Gimbels), and acronyms have mostly lost their periods (e.g. N.A.A.C.P. → NAACP, unless you are the New York Times). We have also moved from typewriters to word processors and computers which offer a wider range of characters and typographic styles, meaning we have better tools to signal meaning to the reader than simply a straight apostrophe.

Answer 3

According to the Google Books ngram viewer, there was a surge in the use of e.g. 60's in the US in, ahem, the 70s, which has been fading out ever since:

60s vs 60's, US English

... but that surge is nowhere to be seen in British English:

60s vs 60's, UK English

Other decades give similar results. From that, I think it's safe to say that it's never been correct in British English, and is no longer so in US English.

Answer 4

I'd say that it would be more appropriate to use the one without an apostrophe before the "s", it's because some writing styles tell us that doing so is more appropriate. Say for example, the MLA style, Chicago style and the Associated Press style of writing would tell us that a decade with an apostrophe is incorrect (e.g., "1960's). We also write it as, "'90s", not "90's". I also read a lot of references saying that we shouldn't put an apostrophe before the "s" here are some of them:

[1] https://editorsmanual.com/articles/decades/

[2] https://newsroom.unl.edu/announce/snr/2789/15239

[3] https://grammarplanethq.com/writing-decades/

[4] https://wordwatchtowers.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/the-apostrophe-and-decades/

I actually had an answer regarding this case, you may visit it here: The 1990s vs the 1990's

But I don't mean to say that the other way is incorrect, I'm just emphasizing that the appropriateness of the way it is written may vary depending on the style guide used. Some style guides may oppose the rules presented in some of the style guides I presented earlier like the OUP style. And there are also some books resonating the same thing like 'The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage' (1999) and the 'Words into Type', third edition (1974).

Answer 5

I have also researched the sources cited above. There is just no reason to put an apostrophe when referring to a decade of years.

On another note, acronyms are initials of words that create a word that is spoken as such. Examples include NATO, NASA, and laser. Acronym does NOT refer to the initials of words that do not create another word like the NAACP. I researched it generally and the definition is pretty consistent across most websites including Chicago.

Answer 6

You are REPLACING the 19...

The ONLY PROPER USAGE is such:

The '60s, the '70s, the '80s!

You are replacing the removed 19 with an APOSTROPHE!

There is absolutely NO SITUATION in which It would be technically correct to utilize The apostrophe AFTER, such as "60's, 70's, 80's". This would be COMPLETELY INCORRECT!

Remember This!