- write abbreviations with capital letters
- write full stops
- to use apostrophes
Words that are formed from initial letters of other words and pronounced as they are spelled. A few examples:
Aids
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation
SIM (Card)
Subscriber Identification Module
Note: Most acronyms can be written as capital letters or with an initial capital letter at the beginning of the word.
Some are well-established within society, so much so that they've become 'normal' words.
Laser
Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
Radar
Radio detection and ranging
Quango
Quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation
Scuba
Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
Contractions
A contraction is an abbreviation with letters removed from the middle of the word.
- Dr - Doctor
- St - Saint
- Ltd - Limited
- Revd - Reverend
For example:
- I'll - I will/I shall
- We've - We have
- Shouldn't - Should not
Initialisms are abbreviations consisting of initials (first letters) of words pronounced as separate letters when spoken.
For example:
- BBC - British Broadcasting Association
- MP - Member of Parliament
- UN - United Nations
- UK - United Kingdom
- CD - Compact Disc
Apostrophes aren't required when forming the plural of an initialism. Examples:
CDs - I bought some CDs last week.
MPs - MPs took a vote against the bill last night.
Shortenings
A shortening is an abbreviation where the end or beginning of a word has been dropped.
- Cello - violincello
- Flu - Influenza
- Ad - Advertisement
- Blog - Weblog
- Telly - Television
- Bike - Bicycle
Share this post with your friends!
No comments:
Post a comment
Tell me your thoughts.