Periods are used to:
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indicate the end of a sentence.
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organize information or ideas into separate sentences.
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avoid long and confusing sentences.
The period at the end of a sentence indicates a pause, when reading or speaking.
Any word following a period is always capitalized.
To indicate the end of a sentence
The period at the end of a sentence indicates a pause, when reading or speaking.
To avoid long & confusing sentences
Separating a long sentence into shorter ones makes the message clearer and easily understandable.
Some abbreviations have periods. Here are some guidelines for general use:
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Abbreviations with periods |
Abbreviations without periods |
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All lower-case abbreviations |
All CAPS abbreviations & acronyms |
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i.e. |
in other words or that is (id est*) |
NASA |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
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e.g. |
for example (exempli gratia*) |
UN |
United Nations |
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etc. |
and so on (et cetera*) |
VPN |
Virtual Private Network |
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adj. |
adjective |
FYI |
For Your Information |
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misc. |
miscellaneous |
SPF |
Sun Protection Factor |
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Contractions |
Contractions in British English |
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Mr. |
Mister** |
Mr |
When the contraction uses |
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Mrs. |
Missus** |
Mrs |
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Dr. |
Doctor |
Dr |
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Jr. |
Junior |
Jr |
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Shortened forms |
Measuring units & technical abbreviations |
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Prof. |
Professor |
cm |
centimetre |
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Jan. |
January |
kg |
kilogram |
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Inc. |
Incorporated |
ml |
millilitre |
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Initials in names |
dB |
decibel |
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J. R. R. Tolkien |
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien |
kHz |
kilohertz |
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Philip K. Dick |
Philip Kindred Dick |
ppm |
parts per million |
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Alfred E. Neuman |
Alfred Enigma Neuman |
fps |
frames per second |
*Latin phrases
**Only used in contraction form
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Used both with and without periods |
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Days of the week |
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Mon. |
Mon |
Monday |
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Wed. |
Wed |
Wednesday |
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Fri. |
Fri |
Friday |
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Sat. |
Sat |
Saturday |
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Time |
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a.m. |
AM |
before noon (ante meridiem*) |
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p.m. |
PM |
afternoon (post meridiem*) |
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Geographical abbreviations |
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P.E.I. |
PEI |
Prince Edward Island |
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U.K. |
UK |
United Kingdom |
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U.S.A. |
USA |
United States of America |
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N.Y.C. |
NYC |
New York City |
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Imperial units of measurement |
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in. |
in |
inch |
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ft. |
ft |
foot/feet |
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mi. |
mi |
miles |
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lbs. |
lbs |
pounds (libra pondo*) |
*Latin phrase