Topic 5 : Abbreviations
The rule for punctuation of abbreviations is:
if last letter of word and abbreviation are the same: no full stop (for example Ltd)
if last letter of word and abbreviation are NOT the same: full stop (for example Co.)
1 A.G.M. Annual General Meeting (of company shareholders)
2 A.O.B. any other business (at the end of a meeting agenda)
3 a/c account, as for bank account [eg: a/c no. 123456789]
4 c.i.f. cost, insurance, freight
5 c/o care of [on an envelope eg: Mrs G Smith, c/o Mrs B Brown]
6 cc: copies to [at the end of a letter eg:
cc: TE, JMR, JSA]
7 Co. Company
8 e.g. for example [from the Latin exempli gratia]
9 E.G.M. Extraordinary General Meeting (of company shareholders)
10 f.o.b. free on board
11 f.o.c. free of charge
12 HQ headquarters (of a company or other organisation)
13 Inc.(US) Incorporated [after the name of a firm organised as a legal corporation]
14 Ltd(UK) Limited [after the name of a firm organised as a legal company]
15 O.H.P. overhead projector
16 P.A. personal assistant
17 PLC(UK) Public Limited Company [for a firm whose shares are sold on the open market]
18 p.t.o. please turn over [at the end of a page]
19 v.a.t. value added tax
20 WP word processing (or creation of text by computer)
The convention for punctuation of abbreviations (which is not rigidly observed) is:
- last letter of word and abbreviation same: no full stop (eg: Ltd)
- last letter of word and abbreviation not same: full stop (eg: Co.)
a/c account
a.m. before noon (ante meridiem)
a.s.a.p. as soon as possible
cc: copies to
c/o care of
Co. Company
e.g. for example (exemplii gratia)
enc. enclosed
exc. excluding
f.o.b. free on board
G.M.T. Greenwich Mean Time
HQ headquarters
i.e. that is (id est)
inc. including
Inc. Incorporated
Ltd Limited
Mr (pronounced Mister)
Mrs (pronounced Missiz)
Miss Miss
Ms (pronounced Miz)
no. number
p.a. per annum
P.L.C. Public Limited Company
p.m. after noon (post meridiem)
p.t.o. please turn over
Rd Road
re referring to
St Saint
St. Street
v.a.t. value added tax
Here are some of the most common abbreviations people use:
121 One-to-one (Person-to-person)
AFK Away from keyboard
AKA Also known as
ASAP As soon as possible
ASL Age/sex/location?
B4 Before
BBL Be back later
BRB Be right back
BTW By the way
CUZ Because
FAQ Frequently asked questions FYI For your information
IDK I don't know
J/K Just kidding
K OK
L8R Later
LOL Laugh out loud
M/F Male or female
MSG Message
OIC Oh, I see
P2P Person-to-person
PLZ Please
PM Private message
SYL See you later
TGIF Thank goodness it's Friday THX Thanks
TTYL Talk to you later
