Q&A for How to Use Et Al

You should be as specific as possible when naming people in a will, and "et al." is not very specific.

Where a formal signature is required, "et al." would not be used, because it refers to a group of people.

Yes, in the unlikely event that you're trying to shorten a long list of names.

If the "entities" are people, yes. Otherwise, "etc." might be more appropriate.

"Et al." would not be followed by a first-person pronoun, because it refers to several people at once.

A comma before "et al." is sometimes used but is not necessary. Always put a period after "al" whether it ends a sentence or not.

Remember that "et al" means "and others." It sounds as though you're referring to just one title, so you wouldn't use "et al." If in fact you're making reference to several businesses, "et al" might be appropriate.

It would be helpful to list all authors, but "et al" is acceptable in most cases.

Absolutely not. Take the little bit of time it takes to thank everyone properly.

Italics are never required, but you can use them if you want to emphasize the fact that they are non-English words.

Yes, as long as you are referring to multiple people, not multiple things. And make sure the email is formal.

No. Et al. is very formal, so it would appear kind of odd. You usually will use et al. in reports, work emails, etc.

Not really, "et al" is too impersonal to use on a greeting card.

No, "et al" ("and others") refers to more than one person at a time, so it doesn't really work for more than one name of a single person (unless, perhaps, you're trying to be funny....?).

Don't capitalize it unless you would capitalize "and others" in the same context.

In this case, it might be better to just say "and others." et al isn't the best to use in book titles, but it certainly can be done if you have a good reason for this.