Abbreviations

 What is an Abbreviation?  

• An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word.  
• We use it to make words smaller and thus make smaller sentences.  
• They make sentences easier to read.  

Acronyms and Initialism  

Acronym  

• We combine the initial letter of each word into a longer name with all capital letters.  

Example  

• NASA – National  Aeronautics and Space  Administration.  
• RADAR– Radio Detection And Ranging 
• Laser – Light Amplification by  Stimulated Emission of  Radiation

Initialism 

• Initialisms are similar to acronyms. They are also formed using the first letter of each word in a longer phrase.  
• Unlike acronyms, however, initialism are pronounced as a series of letters.   
• NFL (National Football League)  

Abbreviations for Courtesy Titles and Academic Degrees  

• Mister – Mr  
• Miss – Ms  
• Mistress – Mrs  
• Junior – Jr  
• Senior – Sr  
• Bachelor of Arts – BA  
• Master of Arts – MA  
• Doctor of philosophy –PhD   
• Master of Business Administration -MBA  

Abbreviations derived from Latin  

e.g.: exempli gratia It means “for example.”  

etc.: et cetera It means “and so forth.”  

i.e.: id est It means “that is.”  

Places  

• U.K. (United Kingdom)  
• E.U. (European Union)  

Times and dates  

• Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, Jun., Jul., Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec.  
• I was born on Nov. 24, 2011.  
• Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., Sun.  
• The show will run Mon.-Fri. next week.  
• p.m. (post meridiem) = after noon  
• a.m. (ante meridiem) = before noon  
• The mall opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m.  
• U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates)  
• U.S. (United States)  
• Units of Measurement  
• in. (inches)  
• ft. (feet)  
• lbs. (pounds)  
• mm. (millimeters)  
• cm. (centimeters)  
• m. (meters)  
• mg. (milligram) 
• g. (gram)  
• kg. (kilogram)  

I weigh 110 lbs., which is about 50 kg.