U.S. vs. US

[Jack8rkin]

Hello everybody!

What is the right way to write the abbreviation "U.S."?

Should the periods be used or can it be written as "US"?
What about the article before this abbreviation?

Thank you.

[Mehrgan]

Hello everybody!

What is the right way to write the abbreviation "U.S."?

Should the periods be used or can it be written as "US"?
What about the article before this abbreviation?

Thank you.

Mostly in BrE you won't see those dots between letters. In your title you could have put Vs without that full stop. The same rule goes for such shortened form as the following ones:
Dr
Mr
Mrs,...etc.

I'm not sure, but I think the rule for the items above is, when you shorten a word, if the last letter is kept, then in BrE no full stop is needed. The example might be STREET which can be shortened as 'St' without full stop.


Hope somebody will give us some information about this.

***not a teacher***

[Rover_KE]

You are right, Mehrgan. This is common practice in BE.

When our AE speakers wake up in a few hours they'll tell you that they use full stops.

The article is used when US is a noun ('I returned from the US last week') but can be omitted when the use is adjectival ('Obama defended US involvement in the crisis').

Rover

[Tdol]

Yes, it's common to use:
Dr
Prof.

However, this is not universal- people often do things their own way with punctuation.

[Jack8rkin]

Thank you very much.

I see there is no strict rule again.
I asked an American guy about the dots in the "U.S." and he said both the ways are possible, I mean with and without dots.
A while ago I read in a certain source that "the USA" is always without dots, whereas "the U.S." should be ever with dots.

We Russians tend to have strict rules in our language.
It is my observation that it's a lot different in English.
In responses here on the forum I get a similar answer concerning the topics like the above one and it is "be consistent!"

Seems to be the major rule in the English language and I like it!

[SoothingDave]

This American is awake now. The use of periods (dots) in acronyms/abbreviations has faded away in AmE.

We get money from an ATM (Automated Teller Machine), not an A.T.M. We might ride a bus on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), not B.A.R.T. The news in our papers is from AP (Associated Press), not A.P.

[TheParser]

Hello everybody!

What is the right way to write the abbreviation "U.S."?

Should the periods be used or can it be written as "US"?
What about the article before this abbreviation?

Thank you.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) While reading my morning paper (supposedly one of the top

four newspapers in the United States), I thought of your post.

(2) I read an editorial that is full of such references. (As you know,

an editorial is an article in which the editor expresses an opinion.)

(a) Here are some examples from just that one article:

(i) [S]teep tariffs on U.S. exports to ....

(ii) U.S. labor groups may continue to ....

(iii) ... as a way for U.S. firms to ....

(iv) ... will help U.S. firms and families remain ....

(v) ... increase exports of U.S. goods by $1.1 billion.

(vi) The U.S. already has trade agreements with ....

(vii) ... products enter the U.S. without paying any tariffs.

NOTE: Some experts would suggest spelling out the complete

name "United States" when it is used as a noun, as in examples

(vi) and (vii). In fact, formal writing, I believe, requires "United States"

even when it is used as an adjective, as in examples (i) - (v).

P.S. Of course, there are always exceptions. For example,

one popular American newspaper is USA Today.

The title would not look "modern" and "cool" if it were

written: U.S.A. Today.

[SoothingDave]

Are you perhaps referencing the New York Times? I think their journalistic practices are more traditional (in terms of style, anyway). They always refer to people (on second or subsequent mentions in an article) with their titles (Mr., Dr., etc.) where most other papers simply use a surname as a reference.

[Mr_Ben]

These are good questions to consult a Style Guide about. Choose a writing style you like, such as the BBC, Guardian, New York Times, etc. and get a copy of their style guide to help you stay consistent with their abbreviations and hundreds of other topics. The BBC and the Guardian (or should I say guardian) publish theirs on the web, while the New York Times publishes theirs (its? Check the guide!) as a book (wow... hubristic title, much?).

[TheParser]

Are you perhaps referencing the New York Times? I think their journalistic practices are more traditional (in terms of style, anyway). They always refer to people (on second or subsequent mentions in an article) with their titles (Mr., Dr., etc.) where most other papers simply use a surname as a reference.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) No, I was not referring to the Gray Lady. I think that she would

feel hurt that you might consider her as one of the top 4 American

newspapers. Of course, she considers herself as the ("thee")

top newspaper in the United States (and in the world?).

Yes, you are 100% correct that it is very conservative in

grammar (although not in politics!!!), and that is wonderful,

isn't it? The Gray Lady insists on "James's house" instead of the

the more popular "James' house." And it's great to call people by

their titles. How absurd to refer to Secretary of State Clinton as

simply "Clinton." Surely, it should be Secretary of State/ Mrs./ Ms.

Clinton. Good manners are sorely missing in today's world. Oh, I

forgot: this is a language website. Better stop now.