Et Al.: Meaning and How to Use It in Citations
Et al. is short for the Latin et alii, meaning "and others". In citations it replaces the names of co-authors after the first author, for example (Nguyen et al., 2023). Only "al" is abbreviated, so the full stop goes after "al", not "et".
Updated 21 October 2026 · EssayWriting.com editorial team
- Et al. means "and others" and replaces co-authors after the first.
- APA 7 and MLA 9 use et al. for three or more authors from the first citation.
- Write et al. with one full stop, after al.
Et al.: the difference at a glance
| Style | In-text: when to use et al. | Reference list |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | 3 or more authors, from the first citation | List up to 20 authors; for 21+, first 19, ellipsis, last author |
| MLA 9 | 3 or more authors | 2 authors: both; 3+: first author, et al. |
| Harvard (most versions) | 4 or more authors (some universities: 3+) | Usually all authors, check your guide |
| Chicago author-date | 4 or more authors | Up to 10 authors; 11+: first 7, et al. |
| IEEE | in reference list for 7+ authors | First author et al. for 7+ authors |
How to write et al. correctly
Write et al. with a full stop after al only, no full stop after et, and normally not in italics (APA and MLA both use roman type).
- Correct: (Lee et al., 2022)
- Wrong: (Lee et. al., 2022), (Lee et al, 2022), (Lee et al., 2022) in APA
Et al. in a sentence
Et al. is plural, so use a plural verb: "Lee et al. (2022) argue…", not "argues". If a full stop from et al. ends the sentence, do not add another.
- Lee et al. (2022) found that sleep predicts grades.
- The finding was replicated (Ortiz et al., 2024).
How to remember the difference
Et is a full word (and), al. is an abbreviation (alii), so only al. gets the dot.
Tricky cases and exceptions
Two first-author clashes. In APA, if two sources shorten to the same "Lee et al., 2022", add as many names as needed to tell them apart. Et al. vs etc.: et al. is for people; etc. (et cetera) is for things. Possessive: "Lee et al.’s (2022) model" is accepted in APA.
Et al. in academic writing
Most errors are about thresholds: when to start using et al. Check the table above against your style. See our full guides to APA, MLA and Harvard.
Practice quiz
Choose the correct option, then open each answer to check your reasoning.
1. Correct the punctuation: (Patel et. al, 2021)
(Patel et al., 2021).
2. APA, three authors, first citation: (Kim, Park, & Lee, 2020) or (Kim et al., 2020)?
(Kim et al., 2020): APA 7 uses et al. from the first citation for 3+ authors.
3. "Smith et al. (2019) ___ that…" (argues / argue)
argue: et al. is plural.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What does et al. stand for?
Et alii (and others), or et aliae/et alia.
Is et al. italicised?
Not in APA or MLA. Some other styles italicise it.
Is there a period after et?
No. Only al. is abbreviated.
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