Latin Abbreviation Checker

How to Use the Latin Abbreviation Checker

1. Paste your text and pick a style. APA 7 applies the parentheses-only rule as a requirement, Chicago 18 applies it as advice, and Punctuation only checks periods, commas and redundancy but not placement.
2. Read the colours. Rose means APA wants the English here; amber is Chicago-style advice; blue is a punctuation problem; violet is a redundancy such as and etc.; green is correct as written. Hover over a highlight for the reason.
3. Use the table. Each row shows what you wrote, the issue, what to put instead, and the sentence it sits in. Outside parentheses the replacement is the English; inside them it is the correctly punctuated abbreviation.
4. Check quotations and titles by hand. A quoted passage, a title or a reference entry keeps the original wording even when it uses vs. or e.g. outside brackets. Quoted text is skipped unless you untick the option.

The APA 7 Rule

APA 7 (Publication Manual §6.29) treats cf., e.g., etc., i.e., viz. and vs. as abbreviations for parenthetical material only. In the running text of a sentence you write the English equivalent. The APA Style page on Latin abbreviations lists the pairs, and the checker uses the same ones:

Two more points come from the same section. Punctuate the abbreviation as if the English were spelled out, which is why e.g. and i.e. are followed by a comma, just as for example, and that is, are. And do not italicize or define a Latin abbreviation. Et al. is the exception to the parentheses rule: it belongs in narrative and parenthetical citations alike, with the period after al only, never et. al. and never et al with no period.

e.g. or i.e.?

E.g. (exempli gratia) introduces examples and implies there are more: tools (e.g., Zotero and Mendeley). I.e. (id est) restates or defines and implies nothing is left out: the smallest group (i.e., the 40 students in the pilot). If you could replace the abbreviation with for example, use e.g.; if that is or in other words fits, use i.e. The checker cannot tell which you meant, so it checks the punctuation, not the choice.

Etc. and the Redundancies Around It

Etc. (et cetera, “and the rest”) already contains the word and, so and etc. is redundant. It is also redundant at the end of a list that begins with such as, for example, including or e.g., because those words have already told the reader the list is partial. Put a comma before etc. at the end of a list (apples, pears, etc.), and write it once: etc.. at the end of a sentence is a typo, since the abbreviation's period doubles as the full stop.

Chicago 18 and Other Styles

Chicago also keeps e.g. and i.e. for parentheses and notes and prefers the English in running text, so choosing Chicago 18 applies the placement check as advice rather than a rule; confirm the wording in your edition if your instructor cares. Other manuals and instructors differ, which is what the Punctuation only setting is for: it still checks periods, commas and redundancy.

What the Checker Cannot See

• Italics. APA says not to italicize Latin abbreviations, but the text box has no formatting to inspect.
• Brackets across sentences. Parentheses are matched within a sentence, so a bracket opened in an earlier sentence is not seen.
• Titles and entries. vs. between two capitalised words (Cats vs. Dogs) is assumed to be part of a title and left alone; a title in lower case will be flagged.
• Tables and notes. Some manuals relax the rule in tables, figure notes and footnotes. If yours does, ignore the placement flags there.

How Accurate Is It?

The checks are pattern rules, so the test is whether they match what an editor would say. On 37 hand-labelled passages they did, and on 25 more, written afterwards and run before any tuning, 24 matched (the miss was eg. with a period, now read). The risk is context, not detection: on about 360 abbreviations in this site's own guides, the placement and period flags were almost all vs written without a period in running text, which APA does call for, but a handful sat in titles or quotations.

Worked Example

The Try an example paragraph has 56 words and 9 abbreviations. Under APA 7 the checker flags 8 of them: 4 for placement (e.g.,, i.e.,, etc. and vs. outside parentheses), 3 for periods (et al, vs and et. al.), 1 for a missing comma (e.g. with none after it) and 1 for the redundancy in and etc. Only the cf. in parentheses is clean. In Punctuation only mode the placement flags drop away and 5 remain.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use e.g. and i.e. in APA Style?

Yes, inside parentheses. APA 7 reserves cf., e.g., etc., i.e., viz. and vs. for parenthetical material and asks for the English in running text: for example, that is, and so forth, compare, namely, versus. So write (e.g., Zotero) in brackets and for example, Zotero in a sentence.

Is there a comma after e.g. and i.e.?

Yes. APA says to punctuate a Latin abbreviation as if the English were spelled out, so e.g., and i.e., take a comma, just as for example, and that is, do. The same goes for viz., (namely). Cf. and vs. take no comma.

What is the difference between e.g. and i.e.?

E.g. means “for example” and introduces some examples out of many. I.e. means “that is” and restates or defines what came before, with nothing left out. If you could say for example, use e.g.; if in other words fits, use i.e.

Is “et al.” allowed in running text in APA?

Yes, as part of a citation: Smith et al. (2020) found… and (Smith et al., 2020). The period goes after al only. Et. al. and et al without a period are both wrong. Outside a citation, write and others.

Is “and etc.” wrong?

Yes, because etc. already means “and the rest”, so and etc. says and twice. Write apples, pears, etc. in parentheses, or apples, pears, and so forth in the sentence. After such as, for example or e.g. you do not need etc. either.

Should I italicize e.g., i.e. and etc.?

No. APA says not to italicize Latin abbreviations or to define them. They are treated as ordinary English abbreviations.

Is my text uploaded anywhere?

No. The checker runs entirely in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to a server or stored.