Et Al. Meaning: What It Means and How to Use It Correctly

"Et al." is one of the most commonly used abbreviations in academic writing, yet many writers are unsure exactly what it means, when to use it, and how to format it correctly. This guide explains the meaning of the abbreviation, when to apply it in your citations, and how the rules differ across APA, MLA, and Chicago style. We also provide an article on using et al. in academic writing.


What Does Et Al. Mean?

"Et al." is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase et alii (masculine), et aliae (feminine), or et alia (neuter). All three translate to "and others" in English. In academic and scholarly writing, the abbreviation appears in citations, reference lists, and bibliographies to represent multiple authors without listing every contributor individually.


The phrase is most commonly used when a source has three or more authors. Rather than repeating a long list of names every time you cite a source, the abbreviation lets you acknowledge all contributors efficiently while keeping your text readable.


For example, imagine a study co-authored by four Ohio State University researchers: Anong, Johnson, Anderson, and Brown. Listing all four names every time you reference their work would clutter your text quickly. Using the abbreviated form after the first citation solves that problem cleanly.


Et Al. in a Sentence: Basic Examples

Before getting into style-specific rules, here is what correct usage looks like in practice. The examples below use a 2022 study by Ohio State researchers Anong, Johnson, Anderson, and Brown:


Narrative citation (author as part of the sentence):

  • Anong et al. (2022) found a significant relationship between financial literacy and household savings behavior.

Parenthetical citation (author in parentheses):

  • Financial literacy was found to be a significant predictor of household savings behavior (Anong et al., 2022).

In both cases, only the first author's last name appears, followed by the abbreviation and the year. The remaining three co-authors are understood to be included in "et al."


How to Use the Abbreviation in Citations

The standard pattern is to list the first author's last name, followed by the abbreviation and the year of publication. The exact point at which you switch from listing all authors to using the abbreviated form depends on which citation style you are following and how many authors the source has.


Here is a comparison using a three-author paper by Ohio State researchers Williams, Clark, and Fisher (2010):


  • First citation under older style rules: Williams, Clark, and Fisher (2010)
  • Subsequent citations: Williams et al. (2010)

And for the four-author Anong, Johnson, Anderson, and Brown (2022) paper:

  • First citation under older style rules: Anong, Johnson, Anderson, and Brown (2022)
  • Subsequent citations: Anong et al. (2022)

Note that APA 7th edition has simplified this further. See the APA section below for the current rules. Always check the specific guidelines for your institution or target journal before finalizing your citations, since conventions vary across style guides.


Some journals do not require a specific citation style but ask only that reference formatting be applied consistently throughout the manuscript. The Journal of Economic Psychology, for example, states that references can be in any style or format as long as the style is consistent throughout.


Using the Abbreviation in Reference Lists

In a reference list or bibliography, some style guides allow the abbreviation to indicate that a source has more authors than are listed. Not all style guides permit this in the reference list, so check the rules for your specific citation style carefully.


Here is an example of a reference list entry for the Ohio State study by Anong, Solis, and additional co-authors:


Anong, S., Solis, O., et al. (2022). Title of the article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Page range.


In this entry, the first two authors are listed, followed by the abbreviation to indicate that additional authors contributed. How many authors you list before switching to the abbreviated form depends on the style guide you are following.


Rules in APA Style (7th Edition)

APA (American Psychological Association) style has specific rules for in-text citations and reference lists. APA 7th edition simplified the rules compared to earlier editions, making the abbreviated form the default for three or more authors from the very first citation.


In-Text Citations with Three or More Authors

Under APA 7th edition, you use the first author's last name followed by the abbreviated form and the year from the very first citation — even when citing the source for the first time. You no longer need to list all authors on the first mention.


Using the Ohio State Anong, Johnson, Anderson, and Brown (2022) paper as an example:

  • First citation: (Anong et al., 2022)
  • All subsequent citations: (Anong et al., 2022)

This is one of the key changes in APA 7th edition. In APA 6th edition, sources with three to five authors required listing all authors on the first citation. The 7th edition removed this requirement, applying the abbreviated form from the start for three or more authors.


In-Text Citations with Two Authors

With exactly two authors, you always list both names. They are connected by an ampersand (&) inside parentheses or by "and" in running text.

  • (Anong & West, 2022) — parenthetical citation
  • Anong and West (2022) — narrative citation

What to Do When Two Sources Abbreviate the Same Way

Sometimes you may be citing two different sources that would both shorten to the same abbreviated form in the same year. For example, if you were citing both a 2022 paper by Anong, Johnson, and Anderson and a 2022 paper by Anong, Johnson, and Williams, both would appear as (Anong et al., 2022), which would confuse your reader.


In this case, include enough additional author names to distinguish the two sources. For example:

  • (Anong, Johnson, Anderson, et al., 2022)
  • (Anong, Johnson, Williams, et al., 2022)

APA Reference List Rules

APA 7th edition requires listing up to 20 authors in the reference list. For sources with 21 or more authors, list the first 19 authors, insert an ellipsis (...), and then add the final author's name. The abbreviated form does not appear in a standard APA reference list entry for sources with up to 20 authors.


For example, a paper with 22 authors would appear in an APA reference list as:

Anong, S., Johnson, A., Anderson, B., Brown, C., Williams, D., Clark, E., Fisher, F., Solis, G., West, H., North, I., South, J., East, K., Davis, L., Evans, M., Foster, N., Green, O., Hall, P., Ingram, Q., Jones, R., ... Smith, T.


For complete guidance on APA citations, consult the official APA Publication Manual (7th edition) or the resources provided by the American Psychological Association at apastyle.apa.org.


Rules in MLA Style

MLA (Modern Language Association) style, commonly used in the humanities, handles multi-author citations differently from APA. In MLA 9th edition, the rules depend on whether the source has two, three, or more than three authors.


MLA In-Text Citations

For sources with three or more authors, MLA allows you to use the first author's last name followed by the abbreviated form from the first citation onward:

  • Three or more authors: (Anong et al. 47)

Note that MLA in-text citations use page numbers rather than years, and there is no comma between the author name and the page number. For two authors, list both names separated by "and":

  • Two authors: (Anong and West 47)

MLA Works Cited List

In the MLA Works Cited list, list the first author's name followed by the abbreviated form if there are three or more authors. The first author's name is inverted (last name, first name), and "et al." follows directly:


Anong, Sonia, et al. "Title of Article." Journal Name, vol. 12, no. 3, 2022, pp. 45–67.


Rules in Chicago Style

Chicago style is used in history, the arts, and some social science fields. It has two systems: Notes-Bibliography (commonly used in humanities) and Author-Date (similar to APA). The rules for multi-author sources differ between the two systems.


Chicago Notes-Bibliography System

In footnotes and endnotes, Chicago style allows you to list the first author followed by the abbreviated form when a source has four or more authors. For sources with one to three authors, list all names.


In the bibliography, Chicago style generally requires listing all authors regardless of how many there are, though some style manuals permit the abbreviated form for sources with more than ten authors. Check the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style for current guidance.


Chicago Author-Date System

In the Author-Date system, Chicago follows rules similar to APA for in-text citations. For sources with four or more authors, use the first author's last name followed by the abbreviated form and the year:

  • (Anong et al. 2022)

Quick Reference: Formatting Rules

Regardless of which citation style you're using, a few formatting rules apply consistently:

  • Always place a period after "al." The word "al" is an abbreviation, so it always takes a period. "Et" is a complete Latin word and does not need one.
  • Do not italicize the abbreviation. Most modern style guides, including APA 7th edition and MLA 9th edition, do not require italics.
  • No comma between the abbreviation and the year in APA parenthetical citations. The correct form is (Anong et al., 2022) — the comma follows "et al.", not precedes the year.
  • Distinguish ambiguous citations by adding more names. If two sources shorten to the same abbreviated form in the same year, add enough additional author names to tell them apart.
  • Check your target journal or institution's guidelines. Style rules vary, and some journals override standard style guide conventions with their own author guidelines.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even experienced academic writers make formatting errors with multi-author citations. Here are the most common mistakes and how to avoid them:


  • Writing "et. al." or "et al" without the period. The period belongs after "al" only. "Et" is a full word and never takes a period after it. The correct spelling is always "et al." with a single period.
  • Italicizing the abbreviation. Current editions of APA, MLA, and Chicago do not require italics. If you see older examples with italics, they likely follow an outdated edition.
  • Using the abbreviated form when the source only has two authors. Two-author sources always list both names in full, regardless of how many times you cite them.
  • Forgetting to distinguish ambiguous citations. If two sources by the same first author in the same year would produce identical abbreviated citations, you must add additional author names to differentiate them.
  • Applying APA 6th edition rules when using APA 7th edition. The 7th edition changed when the abbreviated form is first applied. Under APA 6th edition, sources with three to five authors listed all names on the first citation. Under APA 7th edition, three or more authors use the abbreviated form from the first citation onward.

When Not to Use the Abbreviation

The abbreviation is used for human authors and editors. It is not used for organizational or institutional authors (such as a government agency or university press), even when multiple organizations are listed as authors. In those cases, list the organization names in full as they appear on the source.


The abbreviation also does not appear in the reference list under APA style for sources with 20 or fewer authors. Every author must be listed individually in the reference entry, even if the abbreviated form was used in every in-text citation. The two parts of the citation — in-text and reference list — follow different rules.


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