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Common English Abbreviations

Do you know some common English abbreviations?

Today we are going to learn 16 of the most common abbreviations of everyday life in the United States.

A fan of my YouTube channel has noticed that the abbreviation for pounds is lbs, and he tells me that it looks like Spanish: pounds.

Why?

Well, it comes from Latin more than Spanish, and it is also reflected in the symbol they use for the pound sterling: £.

I suppose that there are many things that are still done in Europe (and by extension the United States, Canada, Australia, etc.) that are like that simply because the Romans decided 2 thousand years ago.

That's the story!

Well, let's see the abbreviations.

If you prefer something more colloquial, you may be interested in textspeak and internet slang, which talks about the proper abbreviations for text messages and online forums.

We continue…

16 common abbreviations in English

Here you have the video, and then you can see all the common abbreviations in English (we call them abbreviations, by the way) and a little explanation of their use and meaning.

I hope you liked it. Now, we can see all of them in writing. The abbreviations are divided by categories: street types, titles, units of measure, etc.

Common abbreviations for streets and more

Ave = Avenue (avenue)

St = Street (calle)

Blvd = Boulevard (boulevard)

Rd = Road (street or road, rather in the field)

titles for people

Dr = Doctor (used for doctors and people with doctorates)

Mr = Mister (honorific title for a man)

Mrs = Missus (a married woman or of a certain age)

Miss … It has no abbreviation. It is used for miss: a young or unmarried woman.

Ms = a woman regardless of her marital status. It is not an abbreviation of anything, but it is written as if it were.

Common abbreviations for units of measure and distance

In the United States we don't use a lot of kilos or centimeters or kilometers. So we have our own system of measuring things, which is somewhat more complex. But hey, we're used to it.

oz = ounces (onzas)

lbs = pounds (libras)

ft = feet (ft. also singular, foot)

in = inches

yds = yards (no idea… a yard is three feet, a little less than a meter)

mi = thousands (miles)

not = number (number)

And also… ambiguous abbreviations

St = We saw it as “street”, but it can also be Saint.

Dr = We saw it as a Doctor, but it can also be a drive (another type of street)

Here the position in the sentence tells us the meaning.

He moved to St Paul. (Saint Paul.)

He lives on Washington St. (Washington Street.)

To put points or not to put points?

The only thing it says about that in Practical English Usage is that in British English they are written without a period and in American English it is typical to put periods.

On the other hand, it seems to me that titles in American English would rather be put a period, but I don't see something like oz with a period.

In any case, don't worry. Put it on or not, chances are no one will notice.

You should also mention that when the abbreviation is a title or part of a proper name, it should be capitalized.

So: Go down the street and it's on your left. (An abbreviation would not be used in such a sentence and it is lowercase because it is not a proper noun.)

But: The post office is on Lincoln St, next to the town hall. (There St. is part of the proper name and is capitalized.

Click here for more on capital letters and when to use them.

English acronyms – acronyms

Another topic is the acronyms in English – acronyms.

Acronyms are formed from the first letters of several words. They are usually written in capital letters and without periods.

the FBI = the Federal Bureau of Investigation

the UN = the United Nations

the WHO = the World Health Organization

NAFTA = the North American Free Trade Agreement

the USA = the United States of America

the EU = the European Union

We also have acronyms for common expressions. The acronym should be capitalized, technically, but in text messages anything goes.

Here some examples...

BTW = by the way

ETA = estimated time of arrival

DIY = do it yourself

ASAP = as soon as possible

Etc.

Some acronyms are pronounced as one word (such as NAFTA) and others are pronounced letter by letter. Listen and you will learn...

Note that some acronyms have the same letters as in Spanish, but in a different order.

This is due to the difference that in English we put the adjective before the noun, while in Spanish it goes after.

NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization

DNA = deoxyribonucleic acid