Full Stops (Periods) in Abbreviations
It is considered untidy to mix abbreviations with full stops and ones without full stops in the same article. The first two examples below are both correct, because the writer has been consistent.
Examples:
 The band travelled around UK and USA last year.
The band travelled around U.K. and U.S.A. last year.
It was only shown on ITV and not B.B.C.
(inconsistent use of full stops (periods) - considered untidy)
The M.D. insisted that his PA had left by 4 o'clock.
(inconsistent - considered untidy)
The Tendency
Abbreviations made up of capital letters tend not to have full stops; whereas, abbreviations made up of lowercase letters tend to have them.
BBC / LRS (Linear Recursive Sequence) / BUPA
(This is a tendency not a rule.)
a.m. / i.e. / e.g. / p.m. / p.p.
(This is a tendency not a rule.)
|
COPY THEIR VERSION
In general, you have a choice whether to use full stops or not. However, when an abbreviation is a company title, you should copy the version the company uses.
 Please remind me to renew my BUPA policy on Saturday.
(Note: BUPA does not use full stops in 'BUPA' in its own correspondence.)
|
 |
 |
"IN OTHER WORDS" OR "FOR EXAMPLE"?
The abbreviation i.e. (id est) means 'in other words' or 'that is to say'; whereas e.g. (exempli gratia) means
'for example'. Do not confuse the two.
 It happened in
August, i.e., two months ago.
All amphibians are thriving in the new
pond; e.g., two bullfrogs
were spotted yesterday.
They all passed easily, i.e.,
Jane scored 80%.
See the lesson on e.g.
and i.e.
ETC. ETC.
The abbreviation etc. is a contraction of et cetera. However, it is often mistakenly written as ect. (This is because many people pronounce it
'eccetra'.)
For a small monthly bonus, you can present staff with shop tokens, flowers, chocolates, theatre tickets,
ect.
(Note: It is normal to include the full stop with etc.)
FINISH THE ABBREVIATION
If using full stops (periods) in abbreviations, ensure you give the last letter a full stop too.
should be M.O.T.
(garage sign)
|
|
Common grammar errors
(periods 
) - be consistent.
