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For example, if the first use of RDA occurs as follows:

"Recommended daily allowances (RDAs) are established by nutritionists after some kind of research...."

Should the parenthetical introduction be singular or plural?

Please note whether your answer is style guide-specific.

Note: This question was already asked here: Is the acronym pluralized in the first parenthetical use?, but because the example used by the OP included a plural word (Forces) inside the initialism (RFF) the crux of this question was not answered. (I created this one because I don't have enough reputation to comment on or edit that post yet.)

Also, the above question was listed as a duplicate of this one: What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym / initialism? ; however, that topic does not answer the question I'm asking.

Mathias Weibel
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    Not awful, not great. I'd reword: Each Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is established by nutritionists after research...." Oh, yeah, what's some kind of research? – Yosef Baskin Jan 18 '22 at 19:45
  • Perhaps ".... is established through research by nutritionists." – DjinTonic Jan 18 '22 at 19:47
  • I would put (RDA) after the first occurrence of recommended daily allowance that is not plural or possessive. (There's no rule that it needs to occur on the very first occurrence.) – Tinfoil Hat Jan 18 '22 at 20:18
  • @YosefBaskin, I understand the option to reword, but I'm trying to figure out if there's a convention that addresses a plural first mention, in case it's unavoidable. The sentence is made up, "some kind of research" is just filler. Thanks for the quick reply. – Mathias Weibel Jan 18 '22 at 20:23
  • I'd counter that I cannot suggest painting myself into a corner and then call for theoretical help in how to get out. I'd take control of my wording. My approach is not style-guide specific. – Yosef Baskin Jan 18 '22 at 21:25
  • Me, I'd write RDAs (recommended daily allowances) ... and I have no trouble with the word spelt r-d-a-s and pronounced approximately 'are-dee-aise'. I assert (and have neither time nor inclination to dig out evidence to back up this assertion) that this pluralisation of initialisms is very widely practiced in all but the most high falutin' prose. – High Performance Mark Jan 18 '22 at 22:25
  • The acronym can be construed as an appositive here. Appositives don't always have to agree in number with their referents, but in this case it is certainly appropriate to force agreement. (I.e., yes, the acronym should be plural.) – MarcInManhattan Jan 19 '22 at 00:13
  • The two examples showing initialism/acronym first mentions [(RDAs) and (ISAs)] I quoted have been deleted, but are easy reasonable research. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 19 '22 at 11:13
  • The question as posed clearly must be answered by “yes”. This aspect, and the full discussion on comments, lead me to vote to close. – Anton Jan 24 '22 at 14:24
  • Not only can plurals be found in the introductory use, but some journals even permit this in the paper's title, for example. Space is at a premium in journals. – DjinTonic Jan 26 '22 at 01:01

1 Answers1

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Yes, in the absence of specific guidance otherwise, the parenthetical introduction of an acronym/initialism can be plural to match the expanded version.

Mathias Weibel
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  • Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Community Jan 25 '22 at 19:55