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ASPartOfMe
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30 Dec 2024, 1:51 pm

When did the 60’s become the ‘60s? Or was it always the 60s and I was writing it wrong for decades?


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Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 30 Dec 2024, 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

BillyTree
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30 Dec 2024, 2:28 pm

I was born in the '60s and it has been written that way as long as I remember.


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30 Dec 2024, 3:05 pm

Here's what I know at the moment;

'60s = Gregorian Calendar Years 1960-1969
60s = Usually ages or quantitative number of years ranges from 60 to 69

60's = Context dependent related to what belongs to the '60s. (i.e. "The year 60's common situations")


No sources referred, just assumptions.
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utterly absurd
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30 Dec 2024, 3:13 pm

If you write 60's that means 60 is. That's not a plural. Apostrophes are used in contractions to indicate something was removed, so technically '60s would be correct. But 60s is fine too.

I'm not much of a grammar stickler, but when people overuse apostrophes it drives me absolutely insane. I don't think apostrophes are really necessary so if you never use them I don't see the problem. But if you're going out of your way to use way more apostrophes than you need, that is when I want to start breaking things.

(As if to prove my point, as I was typing this my apostrophe key was partly stuck making it hard to type apostrophes)


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30 Dec 2024, 3:37 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
When did the 60’s become the ‘60s? Or was it always the 60s and I was writing it wrong for decades?

Its written with an apostrophe when we are shorthanding it. So '60s is short for 1960s. We generally go with the last decade. So in 2070, the '60s will refer to 2060s and everyone will have to specify if they mean 1960s (like how we currently do for 1860s, etc.)



Carbonhalo
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30 Dec 2024, 4:01 pm

utterly absurd wrote:
If you write 60's that means 60 is. That's not a plural. Apostrophes are used in contractions to indicate something was removed, so technically '60s would be correct. But 60s is fine too.

I'm not much of a grammar stickler, but when people overuse apostrophes it drives me absolutely insane. I don't think apostrophes are really necessary so if you never use them I don't see the problem. But if you're going out of your way to use way more apostrophes than you need, that is when I want to start breaking things.

(As if to prove my point, as I was typing this my apostrophe key was partly stuck making it hard to type apostrophes)

60's is perfectly acceptable if the apostrophe is possessive. The years of 1960.
It works in English...American, who knows. Baby/bathwater.



kokopelli
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30 Dec 2024, 4:37 pm

utterly absurd wrote:
I'm not much of a grammar stickler, but when people overuse apostrophes it drives me absolutely insane. I don't think apostrophes are really necessary so if you never use them I don't see the problem. But if you're going out of your way to use way more apostrophes than you need, that is when I want to start breaking things.


You couldn't've been more right about that, but it'sn't necessary to go so far as to break things. I'dn't've been inclined to agree.



MatchboxVagabond
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30 Dec 2024, 5:55 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:
When did the 60’s become the ‘60s? Or was it always the 60s and I was writing it wrong for decades?

60's was never correct. '60s is the technically correct one, although 60s is fine, if technically wrong.



CockneyRebel
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30 Dec 2024, 7:14 pm

I just type 60s for all the contexts.


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