{"id":345,"date":"2022-09-02T10:17:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T10:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paperpal.com\/blog\/?p=345"},"modified":"2026-03-24T20:57:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T20:57:02","slug":"what-does-et-al-mean-how-to-use-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paperpal.com\/blog\/academic-writing-guides\/language-grammar\/what-does-et-al-mean-how-to-use-it","title":{"rendered":"What does &#8216;et al.&#8217; mean and How to Use &#8216;et al.&#8217; in a Research Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A majority of researchers wonder how to use et al. in a research paper. Et al. is one of the most commonly used Latin abbreviations, just like as,&nbsp;<em>etc.<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>versus<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>circa<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>ibid.<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>id.<\/em>, and often crops up in academic writing. While the English phrases of all these above mentioned words are acceptable, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paperpal.com\/blog\/academic-writing-guides\/language-grammar\/abbreviations-in-research\/\">researchers use Latin abbreviations<\/a> as they take less time and fewer characters to write. Yet it\u2019s not always easy to get these right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this article, we focus on one such abbreviation \u2013 et al. by explaining what does et al. mean and how to use et al. in a research paper correctly<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"simpletoc-title\">Table of Contents<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"simpletoc-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#et-al-definition-what-does-et-al-mean-in-academic-writing\">Et al. definition: What does et al. mean in academic writing?<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-use-et-al-in-a-research-paper\">How to use et al. in a research paper<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#how-to-use-et-al-in-a-research-paper-common-mistakes-to-avoid\">How to use et al. in a research paper: Common mistakes to avoid<\/a>\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"et-al-definition-what-does-et-al-mean-in-academic-writing\"><strong>Et al. definition: What does et al. mean in academic writing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The number of co-authors in an academic publication is, in principle, unlimited. Imagine having to write the names of all the authors in your bibliography. This is where et al. comes into play to indicate other authors in an academic work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Et al. is the abbreviated form of et alia (or et alii or et aliae, the masculine and feminine plural, respectively). According to the Cambridge Dictionary,<sup>1<\/sup> the synonyms for et al. are \u201calso,\u201d \u201cextra,\u201d and \u201cin addition.\u201d Et al. is mostly used to indicate more than two people; it can also simplify subsequent references to groups of co-authors already cited in full. For example, when citing the same group of authors multiple times in your paper, using et al. can simplify the citations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-use-et-al-in-a-research-paper\"><strong>How to use et al. in a research paper<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The number of authors to be listed before et al. can vary depending on the style guides. A few guidelines on the proper use of et al. in citations and references are given below.<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li><em>APA <\/em>Style Guide<\/li><li><em>Reference list<\/em>: Et al. is never used in the reference list in APA.<\/li><li><em>In-text Citation<\/em>: Use et al. only if citing at least three authors (seventh edition). Use the first author&#8217;s last name in the signal phrase or parenthesis, followed by et al. For example,<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parenthetical: (Smith et al., 2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nonparenthetical: Smith et al. (2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>MLA Style Guide<\/li><li><em>Reference list<\/em>: Use et al. when referencing work with three or more authors; include only the first author, followed by a comma, and the words et al, ending with a period.<\/li><li><em>In-text Citation<\/em>: Use et al. when citing a work with three or more authors. The author name is followed by the page number in place of the year. For example,<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parenthetical: &#8230;(James et al. 157-65).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nonparenthetical: James et al. (157-65)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Chicago Style Guide<\/li><li><em>Reference list<\/em>: When a source has more than 10 authors, list the first seven followed by \u201cet al.\u201d Otherwise, list every author.<\/li><li><em>In-text Citation<\/em>: When a source has four or more authors, give only the first author\u2019s name followed by \u201cet al.\u201d For example,<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(Bay et al. 2017, 465)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Vancouver Style Guide<\/li><li><em>Reference list<\/em>: When a source has more than six authors, list the first six followed by \u201cet al.\u201d Otherwise, list every author.<\/li><li><em>In-text Citation<\/em>: When a source has three or more authors, give only the first author\u2019s name followed by \u201cet al.\u201d Use et al. directly in the text, followed by the reference number. For example,<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doornbos et al. (5) agree that only one solution is viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-use-et-al-in-a-research-paper-common-mistakes-to-avoid\">How to use et al. in a research paper: Common mistakes to avoid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li><strong>Plural vs. singular:<\/strong> Wondering if et al. is a plural or singular verb? Whenever this confuses you, remember that because a phrase ending in \u201cet al.\u201d refers to a group of people, you will use plural verbs when the \u201cet al.\u201d phrase is the subject.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Incorrect: Smith et al. (2015) states that \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Correct: Smith et al. (2015) state that \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also, \u201cet al.\u201d is plural and indicates at least two people. So, you cannot use et al. to substitute for only one author. For example, if you are dealing with three authors and have typed out two names, the last author cannot be replaced with et al.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Punctuation:<\/strong> \u201cEt al.\u201d is commonly misspelled as \u201cet all,\u201d \u201cet. al.,\u201d \u201cet. al,\u201d or \u201cet-al.\u201d Remember, \u201cet al.\u201d is composed of two words, with the \u201cal\u201d always followed by a period. The period indicates that the term is an abbreviation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Using the incorrect style:<\/strong> Decide on the style guide to follow before you start your writing. The use of et al. in a sentence can vary if using APA, MLA, etc.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Possessive noun:<\/strong> When using a possessive noun, use \u201c<em>\u2019s<\/em>\u201d after \u201cet al.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Correct: In Smith et al.s&#8217; study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Correct: In Smith et al.&#8217;s study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, it&#8217;s best to avoid possessive phrasing when using et al. Instead, change it &#8220;Smith et al. (2015) found that . . .&#8221; or &#8220;In a study by Smith et al.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Italics: <\/strong>Italicizing is unnecessary when using \u201cet al.\u201d But this is more of a style guideline and can vary.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>\u201cEt Al.\u201d vs. \u201cEtc.\u201d and \u201cEt Alibi\u201d: <\/strong>\u201cEt al.,\u201d is sometimes confused with \u201cEtc.\u201d and \u201cet alibi\u201d but they mean different things and have other usages. \u201cEtc.\u201d meaning \u201crest,\u201d is used at the end when listing things rather than people. \u201cEt Alibi\u201d means \u201cand elsewhere\u201d and is used when listing places or locations.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/paperpal.com\/?utm_source=contentmarketing&amp;utm_medium=paperpal-blog&amp;utm_campaign=et-al-meaning\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.paperpal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03_WordBanner_780x200px-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-744\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paperpal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03_WordBanner_780x200px-3.png 780w, https:\/\/paperpal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03_WordBanner_780x200px-3-300x77.png 300w, https:\/\/paperpal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03_WordBanner_780x200px-3-768x197.png 768w, https:\/\/paperpal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/03_WordBanner_780x200px-3-585x150.png 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, remember that when you think of the meaning of et al. in research, it is a word used to indicate other authors in the list. It is not intended to highlight the first author\u2019s contribution as more important than the others, but simply to save space and time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>Cambridge Dictionary <a href=\"https:\/\/dictionary.cambridge.org\/dictionary\/english\/et-al\">https:\/\/dictionary.cambridge.org\/dictionary\/english\/et-al<\/a><\/li><li>Purdue Online Writing Lab. APA Formatting and Style Guide (7<sup>th<\/sup> edition) <a href=\"https:\/\/owl.purdue.edu\/owl\/research_and_citation\/apa_style\/apa_formatting_and_style_guide\/general_format.html\">https:\/\/owl.purdue.edu\/owl\/research_and_citation\/apa_style\/apa_formatting_and_style_guide\/general_format.html<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Paperpal is a comprehensive AI writing toolkit that helps students and researchers achieve 2x the writing in half the time. It leverages 21+ years of STM experience and insights from millions of research articles to provide in-depth academic writing, language editing, and submission readiness support to help you write better, faster.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Get accurate academic translations, rewriting support, grammar checks, vocabulary suggestions, and generative AI assistance that delivers human precision at machine speed. <\/em><strong><em>Try for free or <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/paperpal.com\/pricing?utm_source=contentmarketing&amp;utm_medium=paperpal-blog&amp;utm_campaign=what-does-et-al-mean-boilerplate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>upgrade to Paperpal Prime<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> starting at US$19 a month <\/em><\/strong><em>to access premium features, including consistency, plagiarism, and 30+ submission readiness checks to help you succeed.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Experience the future of academic writing &#8211; <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/edit.paperpal.com\/sign-up?utm_source=contentmarketing&amp;utm_medium=paperpal-blog&amp;utm_campaign=what-does-et-al-mean-boilerplate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>Sign up to Paperpal and start writing for free!<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A majority of researchers wonder how to use et al. in a research paper. Et al. is one of the most commonly used Latin abbreviations, just like as,&nbsp;etc.,&nbsp;versus,&nbsp;circa,&nbsp;ibid.&nbsp;and&nbsp;id., and often&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":1823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_ayudawp_aiss_exclude":false,"_ayudawp_aiss_summary":"","_ayudawp_aiss_summary_provider":"","_ayudawp_aiss_summary_hash":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[124,133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language-grammar","category-phd-pointers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What does &#039;et al.&#039; mean and How to Use &#039;et al.&#039; in a Research Paper | Paperpal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How to use et al. in a research paper can be confusing for researchers at times. 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She focuses on supporting researchers across disciplines, including technology, engineering, and social sciences, to prepare manuscripts for publication. Dhanya Alex holds a Master\u2019s degree in Social Science: Research Methods &amp; Statistics from the University of Liverpool and has contributed to research on Intelligent Recognition Systems. Leveraging her strong foundation in research design and statistical analysis, she helps researchers and early-career scientists communicate their findings clearly, improve manuscript quality, and navigate the publication process effectively. 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