How-To vs. How-Tos? A No-Nonsense Grammar Guide
Ever typed “How-To vs. How-Tos” and then stared at it, unsure if you’d just broken a grammar rule? You’re not the only one. This little phrase trips up even seasoned writers because it can act as a verb phrase, a noun, or an adjective and each role has its own punctuation.
Here’s the plain-English breakdown, no jargon required.
First, What Is “How-To” Doing in the Sentence?
Everything hinges on the job the phrase is performing:
- As a verb phrase: “I’ll show you how to bake bread.” Here, “how to” is just part of a longer instruction. No hyphen needed.
- As a noun: “I bookmarked that how-to.” Now it names a thing (a guide, an article), so it gets a hyphen.
- As an adjective: “Check out this how-to video.” It’s describing the noun that follows, so again, hyphenate.
The test is simple: if you can point at it and call it “a thing,” hyphenate it. If it’s describing an action someone is taking, leave the hyphen out.
Making It Plural: Where People Go Wrong
This is the real sticking point. Once “how-to” becomes a noun, people need to make it plural and two spellings compete for the job:
| Version | Verdict |
|---|---|
| how-tos | ✅ Correct |
| how-to’s | ❌ Avoid |
English generally pluralizes compound nouns by adding an “s” to the end of the whole term, not by sticking an apostrophe in the middle. Compare:
- sign-in → sign-ins
- close-up → close-ups
- how-to → how-tos
See More https://reuterings.co.uk/unselect-vs-deselect/
The apostrophe version looks like it should show ownership or a contraction (“the how-to’s page,” “how-to’s not that hard”), which is exactly why it confuses readers when someone means it as a plain plural. Save the apostrophe for actual possessives or contractions, and let the plural “how-tos” stand on its own.
Quick Cheat Sheet
| Situation | Example | Hyphen? |
|---|---|---|
| Verb phrase | “Here’s how to fix it.” | No |
| Singular noun | “That was a great how-to.” | Yes |
| Adjective before a noun | “a how-to guide” | Yes |
| Plural noun | “our latest how-tos” | Yes, no apostrophe |
Mistakes Worth Avoiding
- Dropping the hyphen when it’s a noun: “Did you see that how to?” reads awkwardly. It should be “how-to.”
- Apostrophe-pluralizing: “how-to’s” looks like a possessive, not a plural.
- Assuming it’s always hyphenated: In a sentence like “Here’s how to get started,” there’s no noun being named, so no hyphen belongs there.
When in Doubt, Sidestep the Problem
If a sentence feels awkward no matter which version you pick, just swap the word out:
- “These how-tos are outdated” → “These tutorials are outdated.”
- “I write how-tos for a living” → “I write instructional guides for a living.”
Synonyms like guide, tutorial, walkthrough, or instructional article often read more naturally anyway, especially in headlines.
Fast Answers (FAQ)
What’s the plural of “how-to”? How-tos no apostrophe.
Is “how-to’s” ever correct? Only if you’re forming a possessive (rare, and usually awkward), never as a plain plural.
Do I hyphenate “how to” in every sentence? No only when it functions as a noun or adjective, not when it’s part of a verb phrase like “learn how to swim.”
Why does this trip people up so much? Because “how-to” shifts grammatical roles depending on the sentence, and English pluralization rules for compounds aren’t always intuitive.
Bottom Line
- Hyphenate when “how-to” is a noun or describes one.
- Skip the hyphen in ordinary verb phrases (“how to cook”).
- Pluralize as how-tos never with an apostrophe.
- When unsure, rewrite with a synonym.
Once this clicks, you’ll never second-guess the phrase again.
