et al.

Meanings

1. 1abbreviationformal

   Used after a person's name to show that there are other people involved whose names are not listed.

   Grammar: It follows the name of the first person and is usually set off by a comma: Smith, et al.

   Patterns

   • Name et al.
   • Name, et al.

   The study by Johnson et al. found that the treatment was effective.

   In the reference list, the entry reads: Brown et al., 2019.

   According to Lee et al., the results were inconclusive.

2. 2abbreviationformal

   Used in formal writing to refer to a group of people without naming each one.

   Grammar: It can also stand alone after a list of names, but this is less common.

   Patterns

   • et al.

   The committee (Smith, Jones, et al.) approved the proposal.

   Several researchers (e.g., Chen et al.) have explored this question.

Common combinations

Smith et al.

Smith et al. published their findings in a leading journal.

et al. (2019)

The paper by Garcia et al. (2019) is often cited.

use et al.

In APA style, you use et al. when a work has three or more authors.

see et al.

For more details, see Brown et al.

write et al.

Always write et al. with a period after 'al'.

Synonyms and how they differ

and others

This is the plain English equivalent and is used in everyday writing; et al. is more formal and mainly for citations.

and colleagues

This is used in more general formal contexts, especially when referring to people you work with; et al. is more impersonal and academic.

Commonly confused: et al. or etc.? et al. or et al?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “et al.”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words