✨ Capitalization Rules: Acronyms & Initialisms
Sometimes we use short forms instead of writing long names. These short forms are called acronyms and initialisms.
👉 The rule is simple: All the letters must be capitalized.
🟢 What Are Acronyms?
An acronym is made by taking the first letters of several words and reading them as a new word.
Examples:
- ✅ NASA → National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- ✅ UNESCO → United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
- ✅ OPEC → Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
- ✅ AIDS → Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
❌ Wrong: Nasa, Unesco, Opec, Aids
🟡 What Are Initialisms?
An initialism is also made from the first letters of words, but you say each letter separately.
Examples:
- ✅ BBC → British Broadcasting Corporation
- ✅ USA → United States of America
- ✅ FBI → Federal Bureau of Investigation
- ✅ O/L → Ordinary Level (school exam)
❌ Wrong: Usa, Bbc, Fbi, o/l
📚 More Examples
- ✅ WHO → World Health Organization
- ✅ UN → United Nations
- ✅ ATM → Automated Teller Machine
- ✅ SMS → Short Message Service
- ✅ IT → Information Technology
🧩 Practice Sentences
Fix the capitalization mistakes:
- wrong: I watched a program on bbc.
fix: I watched a program on BBC. - wrong: He works at nasa.
fix: He works at NASA. - wrong: My brother is sitting for o/l exams.
fix: My brother is sitting for O/L exams. - wrong: We live in the usa.
fix: We live in the USA.
🔄 American vs. British English Differences
The capitalization rules for acronyms and initialisms are the same in both American and British English.
The difference is only in the types of acronyms used in each country.
Examples:
- American English:
- ✅ FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
- ✅ NASA (space agency)
- ✅ NBA (National Basketball Association)
- British English:
- ✅ BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
- ✅ O/L and A/L (school exams: Ordinary Level, Advanced Level)
- ✅ NHS (National Health Service)
👉 Notice: Both use capital letters, but the acronyms themselves may be different depending on the country.
🎯 Summary
- Acronyms and initialisms are short forms made from first letters.
- Always write them in capital letters.
- Acronyms are read as words (NASA, UNESCO).
- Initialisms are read letter by letter (BBC, USA, O/L).
American and British English follow the same capitalization rules, but they use different acronyms for their organizations and exams.