Full Stops (Periods) in Abbreviations
Full Periods (Full Stops) in Abbreviations
Abbreviations can be written with or without periods (full stops). Often, you have a choice. In other words, you can write:- C.N.N. or CNN (These are uppercase abbreviations.)
- e.g. or eg (These are lowercase abbreviations.)
If the abbreviation is a proper noun (e.g., a company name), copy the official version.
More about Periods (Full Stops) in Abbreviations
It is considered untidy to mix abbreviations with periods and ones without periods in the same article. These two examples have been marked as correct because the writer has been consistent.- The band toured around the UK and the USA last year.
- The band toured around the U.K. and the U.S.A. last year.
- It was only shown on CNN and not B.B.C. (This is an inconsistent use of full stops (periods). It is considered untidy.)
- The M.D. asked her PA to clean the company car. (Untidy)
The Tendency: Use Periods Only in Lowercase Abbreviations
Abbreviations made up of capital letters tend not to have periods, but abbreviations made up of lowercase letters tend to have them. For example:- BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
- LRS (Linear Recursive Sequence)
- CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System)
- a.m. (ante meridiem - before midday)
- p.m. (post meridiem - after midday)
- i.e. (id est - that is)
- e.g. (exempli gratia - for the sake of an example)
- p.p. (per procurationem - by the agency of)
If the abbreviation is a proper noun (e.g., a company name), copy the official version. For example:
- Our team was hosted by the Italian club A.S. Livorno Calcio. ("A.S. Livorno Calcio" (with periods) is the name shown on the logo and in all correspondence.)
- The shop will be taken over by the clothing company s.Oliver in June. ("s.Oliver" is the official version.)
- We will meet at P.F. Chang's in Tokyo. ("P.F. Chang" is the official version.)
Do Not Use Two Periods If Your Sentence Ends with an Abbreviation
If your sentence ends with an abbreviation (including a contraction like "etc.") that ends with a period, do not use a second period to show the end of the sentence. However, other end marks (such as question marks, exclamation marks) should be used. For example:- I need milk, bread, cheese, etc.
- She moved from C.N.N. after an irresistible offer from the B.B.C.
- She moved from C.N.N. after an irresistible offer from the B.B.C.. (Logically, this is correct, but it is too unwieldy.)
- Will she move back to the B.B.C.? (This is correct, but it looks a little scruffy. To avoid this, use BBC instead of B.B.C.)
- Standing tall and with the Lord's Prayer mumbling across our lips, we entered the chamber...." (This ends in four dots: three for the ellipsis and one to end the sentence.)
Learning Resources
play:
match the pairs (parts of speech) hundreds more games and testslists:
parts-of-speech listsmore actions:
download the test below as .doc
send the test below as homework
Test Time!
This test is printable and sendable