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When You Need Periods After Abbreviations

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Grammar Girl

When You Need Periods After Abbreviations

Putting periods after abbreviations (or not) is a little-known difference between British English and American English. Here's when you need periods and when you don't.

By Mignon FogartySeptember 18, 2014No Comments1 Min Read
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A reader named Dennis K. asked whether you always put periods after abbreviations or whether it’s different depending on which letters from the word are used in the abbreviation. Someone told him that abbreviations should only use a period if it doesn’t end with the last letter of the original word, but he’d never heard that before, so he was wondering if it is right.

Putting periods after abbreviations (or not) is a little-known difference between British English and American English.

In American English, we always put a period after an abbreviation; it doesn’t matter whether the abbreviation is the first two letters of the word (as in Dr. for Drive) or the first and last letter (as in Dr. for Doctor).

British writers, however, make a distinction: abbreviations that are written with the first and last letter of the word (as in Dr. for Doctor and Mr. for Mister) do not get a period.

Here are examples of how the abbreviations differ:

Sources

“Personal Names with ‘Saint’ or ‘St.’” The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition. 10.27 opens in a new windowClick this (subscription required, accessed September 17, 2014)

“Punctuation in Abbreviations.” Oxford Dictionaries. Click this (accessed September 17, 2014)

 

Mignon Fogarty
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Mignon Fogarty is the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips and the author of seven books on language, including the New York Times bestseller "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing." She is an inductee in the Podcasting Hall of Fame, and the show is a five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. She has appeared as a guest expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Today Show. Her popular LinkedIn Learning courses help people write better to communicate better. Find her on Mastodon.


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