Writing & StyleStyle guide
Writing Decades: 1990s vs. 1990’s
Use “1990s,” without an apostrophe, for the plural name of the decade. The Australian Government Style Manual explicitly rejects “1990’s” for that plural; an apostrophe is appropriate only when it marks omitted digits in a shortened form such as “the ’90s.”
Write “the 1990s,” not “the 1990’s,” for the decade. Use an apostrophe in a shortened form only to mark omitted digits, as in “the ’90s.”
Key details
Core Issueplural decade formatting
Full Decade1990s
Incorrect Plural1990’s
Shortened Form’90s
Important caveats
Omission Boundary
In a shortened decade such as “’90s,” the apostrophe marks the omitted “19”; it is not a plural apostrophe.
Further guidance
Plural Rule
Add s without an apostrophe to a full decade numeral: “1980s,” “1990s,” “2010s.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Dates and time — Australian Government Style Manual (opens in a new tab)Australian Government Style Manual · Australian Government guidance for day–month–year dates, ordinal dates, decades, centuries, time zones, and en-dash spacing in date/time spans