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Using abbreviations

Using contractions and truncations

Guidelines
>
Orthography and grammar
>
Abbreviations and symbols
>
Using abbreviations
  • Truncated forms as codes or symbols

    Truncated forms used as codes or symbols do not take points.

    Exemple adequatEN (English)
    Exemple adequatkg (kilogram)


  • Contractions and truncations in Latin

    Latin forms that are full words do not take a point; Latin forms that are not full words do take a point.

    Exemple adequatsic (meaning as was written in the original)


    Exemple adequatet al. (short for et alii meaning and others)


    Exemple adequatno. (short for numero meaning number, with a point in this case to avoid confusion with the word no)


  • Abbreviating people’s names

    Abbreviate people’s first names with a single letter only, followed by a point and a space.

    Philippe Junot
    P. Junot
    Theodore Roosevelt
    T. Roosevelt


    Write multiple initials with points and spaces.

    Elwyn Brooks White
    E. B. White


    Represent compound first names by both initials.

    Joan Manuel Serrat
    J. M. Serrat
    Jean-Paul Sartre
    J.-P. Sartre


    Note, however, that in formal institutional texts like contracts or certificates you should avoid abbreviating people’s first names. For example, M. or M.a should be written out as Maria or María, while J. Ramon should be written out as Joan Ramon or Josep Ramon (for further details, see People in the section on translation).

  • Lower-case abbreviations

    Some common abbreviations are never written in upper case, even at the beginning of a footnote.

    Exemple adequatc. (circa)
    Exemple adequate.g. (for example)
    Exemple adequati.e. (that is)

    Exemple adequatl., ll. (line, lines)
    Exemple adequatp., pp. (page, pages)


    When possible, however, avoid beginning a note with an abbreviation. For example, not

    Exemple inadequat²¹pp. 125–132.


    but

    Exemple adequat²¹See pp.125–132.


  • Use of Article

    Note that the word Article may be abbreviated to Art. in footnotes or tables but should not be abbreviated in running text.

  • Use of etc.

    Only use etc. at the end of a series of examples and never at the end of a series introduced by the words like, for example or such as.
Recommended citation:
«Using contractions and truncations» [en línia]. A: Llibre d’estil de la Universitat de Barcelona. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics. <https://www.ub.edu/llibre-estil/criteri.php?id=2361> [consulta: 8 novembre 2025].
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