Periods are used to:
-
indicate the end of a sentence.
-
organize information or ideas into separate sentences.
-
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:
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 |
e.g. |
for example (exempli gratia*) |
UN |
United Nations |
etc. |
and so on (et cetera*) |
VPN |
Virtual Private Network |
adj. |
adjective |
FYI |
For Your Information |
misc. |
miscellaneous |
SPF |
Sun Protection Factor |
Contractions |
Contractions in British English |
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Mr. |
Mister** |
Mr |
When the contraction uses |
Mrs. |
Missus** |
Mrs |
|
Dr. |
Doctor |
Dr |
|
Jr. |
Junior |
Jr |
|
Shortened forms |
Measuring units & technical abbreviations |
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Prof. |
Professor |
cm |
centimetre |
Jan. |
January |
kg |
kilogram |
Inc. |
Incorporated |
ml |
millilitre |
Initials in names |
dB |
decibel |
|
J. R. R. Tolkien |
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien |
kHz |
kilohertz |
Philip K. Dick |
Philip Kindred Dick |
ppm |
parts per million |
Alfred E. Neuman |
Alfred Enigma Neuman |
fps |
frames per second |
*Latin phrases
**Only used in contraction form
Used both with and without periods |
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Days of the week |
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Mon. |
Mon |
Monday |
Wed. |
Wed |
Wednesday |
Fri. |
Fri |
Friday |
Sat. |
Sat |
Saturday |
Time |
||
a.m. |
AM |
before noon (ante meridiem*) |
p.m. |
PM |
afternoon (post meridiem*) |
Geographical abbreviations |
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P.E.I. |
PEI |
Prince Edward Island |
U.K. |
UK |
United Kingdom |
U.S.A. |
USA |
United States of America |
N.Y.C. |
NYC |
New York City |
Imperial units of measurement |
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in. |
in |
inch |
ft. |
ft |
foot/feet |
mi. |
mi |
miles |
lbs. |
lbs |
pounds (libra pondo*) |
*Latin phrase