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Definition
 An
abbreviation is a letter or a shortened word which is used instead
of the full word.
Abbreviation |
Full expression |
Latin term |
|
e.g.
|
for example |
exempli gratia |
|
i.e.
|
that is |
id est |
|
N.B.
|
please note |
nota bene |
|
Mr
|
Mister |
— |
|
US
|
United States |
— |
Use
Abbreviations
are used to save space - or to avoid repeating common terms.
They
are often used in dictionaries, encyclopedias, and bibliographies.
Some
organisations abbreviate their titles to the initial capital
letters of their names.
Abbreviations
are very useful when taking notes.
Many
traditional abbreviations are shortened forms of words from Latin.
Notice
that a full stop is placed after an
abbreviation, but not when the full word is used. Sometimes the full stop may be omitted in order to avoid double punctuation.
You
should never begin a sentence with an
abbreviation. Either spell out the word, or re-arrange the words in the sentence.
Companies
and organisations often drop the full stops from
their abbreviated titles.
ICI |
Imperial Chemicals Industry |
BBC |
British Broadcasting Corporation |
WHO |
World Health Organisation |
Some
abbreviations are spoken as if they were complete words: for instance,
NATO ('NayTow').
Others
are spelled out. For instance VIP [very important person] is usually
spoken as three separate letters - "Vee-Eye-Pea".
Abbreviations
are very useful when taking notes, but you should not use them
in the main text of any formal writing.
If
you wish to use any of these expressions, they should be written
out in full. That is, don't use e.g., but write out for
example.
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