In the 21st century, brevity has become the closest sister not only to talent, but also a close friend to most Internet users. Brevity is sometimes a close relative of saving time and money. If Pushkin had been alive, he would have gone broke sending SMS, writing every time “I remember a wonderful moment, you appeared in front of me...” instead of the modern “ILY” (I Love You).

Be sure when sending the next “SY” (see you) that the interlocutor will understand you correctly. We also advise you not to write such messages to older people and do not forget that in oral speech such words sound, at a minimum, strange, and even intimidating for your grandmother.

How not to get lost in the world of abbreviations and acronyms, read below and right now!

The most common and short ones do not need a long introduction. For those whose eyes are bothered by “many letters,” Anglomaniacs have adapted the following spellings of common words:

b- be
asap- as soon as possible
b4-before
bout- about
C- see
day- they
idk- I don't know
l8er-later
gr8- great
str8- straight
ttyl- talk to you later
wht- what
w8 - wait
U, Y- you
u2- you too
cnt- can't
gd- good
luv- love
n- and
r- are
1t- want
2 - too, to
2day- today
4 - for

IMHO and FYI
Do you still think that IMHO is a brutal “I have an opinion, you can’t argue with it”? Then we come to you with clarifications. The Russian “IMHO” has become an echo of the English “IMHO”, which is not at all distinguished by pretentious insolence, but politely reminds that it is only “in my humble opinion” - “In My Hummble Opinion”. The abbreviation "FYI" (For Your Information) means "for your information."

TNX or THX
This is not a clothing or car brand. There is no brand of anything here at all: the familiar expression of gratitude “thank you” from childhood is reduced by Russian-speaking abbreviation lovers to “SPS”, while English-speaking “thanks” is most often converted to “tnx”, “thx” or “thanx”. “Thank you” is often written with the acronym “ty”, which has nothing in common with the Russian “you”.

LOL
“LOL” has nothing in common with the similar-sounding Russian word. This is just an acronym for “laughing out loud” or “lots of laughs,” which literally translates as “laughing out loud.” Be careful, because some may interpret an innocent “LOL” as a stupid laugh like “gee-gee-gee” or a skeptical “ha-ha, how funny.”

NP and YW
Polite people respond to “thank you” with “please.” In the whirlpool of events, the solemn “You"re welcome” is shortened to “yw” - “you’re always welcome” or “contact.” “NP” has nothing to do with what you had time to think about in Russian - just a light and carefree “no problem" - "you're welcome", "no problem".

PLZ and PLS
Let's continue the lesson of English computer-sms politeness: “PLZ” and “PLS” stand for “please” / “please”.

What does XOXO mean?
“XOXO” is not the laughter of good Santa. Use as much imagination as you need to understand Malevich’s “Black Square”. “XOXO” is a symbolic image of the action “hugs and kisses,” which in Russian sounds like “kiss and hug.” Where is the logic? The letter “X” resembles lips folded in a bow and means a kiss. Some people consider the “X” to be a symbol of two people kissing, then the left and right halves are represented as separate lips. The letter "O" symbolizes an embrace between kissers.

ROFL
Do you know what it's like to laugh until your abdominal muscles hurt? Figuratively speaking, rolling on the floor laughing. In English "ROFL" means the same thing: Rolling On the Floor Laughing.

WTF
You don’t understand what’s happening, you’re taken aback by what you see, you’re sincerely perplexed? "WTF" to help you! The phrase “What the fuck?” translates as “what the hell? ” or even “what the hell?”, having a compact version of “wtf”.

OMG
This phrase can accommodate a huge range of emotions from joy to disgust. "OMG" stands for "Oh, my God!" or “Oh my God!” in Russian.

BRB
Is your lively conversation interrupted by a phone call? And “no time to explain, I’ll be there soon” is packaged in three letters “brb” - short for the phrase “be right back”. Thus, the interlocutor reports that he left, but promised to return. Usually after “brb” they write the reason for absence, for example: “brb, mom's calling” or “brb, someone at the door.”

RLY
The already short word “Really”, meaning “truth”, “really”, began to be shortened in messages to “RLY”. Perhaps, so as not to once again make a mistake in the number of letters “l” in a given word?

BTW
By the way, the acronym “BTW” stands for “By The Way” or “by the way” :)

AFK or g2g
Are you facing a temporary separation from your favorite computer? Need to look up from your keyboard? Hurry up to communicate this in 3 characters "AFK" (Away From Keyboard) or "g2g"/"GTG" (Got To Go) - it's time to go.

AFAIK
Do you want to express your opinion with some uncertainty? Then feel free to use the tactful acronym “AFAIK” (As Far As I Know), which in Russian sounds like “as far as I know.”

AC/DC
The hard rock band AC/DC and the official physics abbreviation “alternating current/direct current” can go rest for now. In slang the expression " AC/DC" means bisexual. The reduction added scandalous rumors about the members of the famous group. If you're interested in another slang expression for the word "bisexual" in America, here it is - "each way."

BYOB
Is there an incomprehensible “BYOB” at the bottom of the party invitation? The owners politely warn: the appetizer is at their expense, but take care of the drink yourself. "Bring Your Own Bottle" means "bring your own bottle."

XYZ
Do you see a friend with his trousers unzipped? Tell him "XYZ" and he will understand. "XYZ" - instead of a thousand words. Translated as “Examine Your Zipper” or “check the zipper on your fly.”

S.Y.
“SY” is not “si” or “su”, but a farewell phrase “See you!” or in English “See You”. Why bother with the whole 6 characters? “SY” or “CYA” or even “CU” is just right!

We hope the article clarified for you what you have long wanted to ask the all-knowing Google, but did not dare to spend a couple of minutes. Abbreviations and acronyms, like everything in this world, are good in moderation. THX, GTG, SY!

PHRASAL VERBS (PHRASAL VERBS)

Phrasal verbs are often used with the following words: on, off, in, out, up, down, away, back, over, about, round, forward, through, along. And often the meaning of the verb changes. For example:

Look! - Look!
Look out! - Be careful!

Here are some of them:

SHORT FORMS OF VERBS

1. In spoken English, shortened forms of auxiliary verbs are commonly used. They are also often used in informal writing. When using the abbreviated form, an apostrophe is placed instead of missing letters ( " ):

2. Shortened forms of verbs with particles not:

do not = don"t;
does not = doesn’t;
did not = didn"t;
have not = haven"t;
has not = hasn't;
had not = hadn't;
cannot = can't;
could not = couldn't;
will not = won't;
shall not = shan’t;
would not = wouln"t;
shouldn't = shouldn't;
must not = mustn"t;
need not = needn"t;
might not = mightn"t (rarely);
dare not = daren"t (rarely);
is not = isn't;
are not = aren't ;
was not = wasn"t;
were not = weren't;
ain"t = is not, are not (rarely);

3. Some of these shortened forms are used after question words:

who"s = who is;
who"ll = who will (or who shall);
who"d = who would, who had;
what"s = what is, what has;
what"ll = what will;
how"s = how is, how has;
where"s = where is, where has;
when"s = when is;
here"s = here is;
that"s = that is;
that"ll = that will;
there"s = there is, there has;
there"ll = there will.

Sometimes short forms (especially "s) are used after a noun:

John's coming. = John is coming.
Her sister "s just left. = Her sister has just left.

Abbreviated forms Not are used if the corresponding verb is at the end of the sentence:

Yes, you are. (You can't say Yes, you"re.)
Do you remember how old he is? (You can't say Do you remember how old he"s.)

English abbreviations- these are abbreviated forms of some parts of speech ( don"t, I"m, etc.), which are widely used in colloquial and informal speech and writing.

Abbreviations in English

The table below shows abbreviations in English and examples of their use.

Notes:

1. There is a non-standard form in spoken English ain"t, which may be an abbreviation of the forms am not, are not, is not, have not or has not(however, this form has a strong informal connotation):

He ain"t going to come. = He is not going to come.
He will not come.

Don"t talk to me like that – you ain"t my master. = You are not my master.
Don't talk to me like that, you are not my master.

I ain"t got anything to read. = I have not got anything to read.
I have nothing to read.

2. Abbreviations daren"t And shan"t very rarely used in American English.

3. Short for am not is the form aren't(which, unlike the form ain"t, is not colloquial and informal):

I am late, aren't I? (and NOT... amn"t I?)
I'm late, right?

Not a single written speech, be it business correspondence or, especially, informal correspondence, is complete without abbreviations and acronyms. Abbreviations in English are also found in colloquial speech - acronyms (abbreviations that have become independent words) such as NASA, NATO, USA or Radar are used. In this article we will talk about the most common abbreviations that you may encounter in English texts.

Table with abbreviations of verb constructions

While studying English tenses, you may have noticed that verb constructions are very rarely written in their full form; abbreviations are much more common. Full forms can most often be found in official texts (legal or scientific literature). Abbreviated forms have the auxiliaries and , as well as the verb be.

Abbreviations of the verb have

Abbreviations of the verb be

Shortened forms of other modal verbs

Slang abbreviations

During informal communication with native speakers, you can often get lost in abbreviations and acronyms, or even completely stop understanding what the interlocutor is talking about. We hope our table will make it easier for you to communicate with English-speaking friends:

Free lesson on the topic:

Irregular English verbs: table, rules and examples

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Common abbreviations

We have long been accustomed to abbreviations in the Russian language and different, etc., singular, p.s., husband. and scientific do not cause any difficulty while reading texts. To make English texts just as easy to read, we have prepared for you a table with the most common written abbreviations and abbreviations:

Abbreviations for Weights and Measures

As in Russian, in English there are a number of abbreviations for measuring weight, time and distance:

Video about abbreviations in English:

Verb to be means "to be/to be". This is the initial form, the infinitive. This verb is inflected for persons and numbers, and each person/number has its own form:

Typically, reference books give pronouns as examples - this is done for ease of explanation. Verb is used with words denoting an animate/inanimate object in the singular.

Forbidden fruit is sweet. - The Forbidden fruit is sweet.

Verb are used with words denoting an animate/inanimate object in the plural.

Two heads are better than one. - Two heads are better than one.

Form am used only with a pronoun I.

I am ready. - I'm ready.

Notes

In dictionaries, verbs are in the initial form (go t, a game t, would t) are given along with the particle to: to be, to go, to play. This shows that the verb is in the infinitive form and is not a person or tense form. But when using verbs in speech and writing, the particle to is not used.

Pronoun you translated as "You" and "You" (respectful address) and "You" (plural), depending on the context. In any case with you used Are.

Short forms/abbreviations

Short forms arise

when merging a verb (its part) with a noun (pronoun), which denotes the subject (performing the action);

when merging verbs with a negative particle not

The short form does NOT change the meaning of the statement. Short forms are not distortions of the grammatical norms of the English language and obey the rules. They are most characteristic of fluent oral informal speech and are widely used in informal written speech.

Affirmative / Affirmative form

Negative / Negative form

Also, short forms of the verb to be can be formed by merging the question words What, Where, When, Who, How, Why with the verb Is.

With other forms of to be and question words, short forms are usually not formed.