In APA style, “et al.” means “and others” and shortens in-text citations for works with three or more authors.
You’ve seen it in journals and textbooks: a first author’s surname, then “et al.” It looks simple, yet it’s an easy place to lose points on a paper. The rule isn’t hard. The tricky part is knowing when you’re allowed to shorten names, how to punctuate it, and what to do when two sources would shorten to the same form.
This guide gives you the meaning, the in-text patterns, and the reference list rules that go with them. Use the first table as your scan, then use the step list near the end when you’re doing a final edit.
If you came here asking what is et al in apa?, you’re in the right spot.
What Is Et Al In APA?
“Et al.” is a Latin abbreviation that stands for “and others.” In APA writing, it belongs inside citations, not as a stand-in for listing authors in the reference list. Its job is to keep repeated citations readable when a work has a long author line.
Write it as et al. with a space between the words and a period after al. since it’s an abbreviation. There’s no period after et. In citations, it stays in regular font.
Et Al In APA In Text Citations By Author Count
APA’s author–date system changes based on how many authors a source has. The patterns below assume you’re citing a work with a publication year. If you’re missing a date, APA uses “n.d.” in the date spot.
| Author count or case | Narrative citation | Parenthetical citation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 author | Garcia (2022) | (Garcia, 2022) |
| 2 authors | Garcia and Patel (2022) | (Garcia & Patel, 2022) |
| 3+ authors | Garcia et al. (2022) | (Garcia et al., 2022) |
| Group author, first use, name plus abbreviation | World Health Organization [WHO] (2023) | (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023) |
| Group author, later use, abbreviation only | WHO (2023) | (WHO, 2023) |
| Two sources shorten to the same “et al.” form | Add author names until they differ | Add author names until they differ |
| Multiple works in one set of parentheses | Use semicolons between citations | (Garcia et al., 2022; Lee, 2021) |
| Same author group, same year, two works | Add letters: 2022a, 2022b | (Garcia et al., 2022a, 2022b) |
For a work with three or more authors, APA tells you to use the first author’s surname plus “et al.” in each in-text citation, including the first time you cite it. See the APA Style author–date citation system for the full wording and extra patterns.
How To Place “Et Al.” In A Sentence
APA in-text citations come in two shapes: narrative and parenthetical. Narrative citations fold the author into your sentence. Parenthetical citations place the author and year in parentheses.
Narrative citations with et al.
In narrative form, the author part becomes part of the sentence, and the year sits in parentheses right after it.
- Garcia et al. (2022) found a link between sleep timing and test scores.
Parenthetical citations with et al.
In parenthetical form, the author and year sit together in parentheses. Put a comma between “et al.” and the year.
- Several studies back this pattern (Garcia et al., 2022).
Where the period goes
The period belongs to al. It stays even when you add a comma after it in parentheses: “et al.,” is correct in a parenthetical citation. In narrative form, the year goes right after the period: “et al. (2022).”
When “Et Al.” Is Not The Right Move
If your source has one or two authors, list each surname each time in the in-text citation. Don’t swap in “et al.” early just to save space.
Don’t use “et al.” in the reference list either. APA’s references handle long author lines with a name limit and an ellipsis rule, not with “et al.”
Tricky Cases That Cause Grader Comments
Most “et al.” mistakes come from edge cases: same-year works, similar author teams, and group authors. These are the spots where a citation can point to the wrong paper if it’s shortened too far.
Two works that both shorten to the same form
Say you cite two different works from 2020 that start with “Garcia,” and both have three or more authors. If you write “Garcia et al. (2020)” for each one, your reader can’t tell which source you mean. APA’s fix is to include more author surnames until the citations differ.
In practice, start with the first author, then add the second author’s surname, then the third, and so on. Stop once the two citations look different. Then keep that shorter form for the rest of the paper.
Same author group and same year
If the same author group published two works in the same year, APA uses letter suffixes: 2022a, 2022b. Those letters appear in both the in-text citations and the reference list entries. Your reference list order decides which work gets “a” and which gets “b.”
Group authors and abbreviations
Many sources are published by groups, not people. APA lets you introduce an abbreviation the first time, then use it later. The first citation includes the full group name, then the abbreviation in brackets. Later citations can use just the abbreviation, as long as it stays clear.
- First narrative citation: World Health Organization [WHO] (2023)
- Later narrative citation: WHO (2023)
- First parenthetical citation: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023)
- Later parenthetical citation: (WHO, 2023)
Citations with page numbers
When you quote or point to a single part of a source, APA lets you add a page number or section marker after the year. Keep the author part the same, then add the locator after a comma.
- (Garcia et al., 2022, p. 41)
- Garcia et al. (2022, pp. 41–42) describe the scoring method.
Et Al In APA Reference Lists
In the reference list, APA does not use “et al.” in place of author names. Instead, APA sets a cap on how many names you write out before an ellipsis appears. In APA 7, you list up to 20 authors in full. For 21 or more authors, list the first 19, then an ellipsis, then the final author. APA spells this out in “How many names to include in an APA Style reference.”
This format gives credit to a large author team while keeping references from turning into a block of names that’s hard to read.
What the author line looks like
Here’s the shape, using surnames and initials:
- Up to 20 authors: Garcia, M. L., Patel, R. J., Lee, S. K., … Wilson, T. P. (2022).
- 21+ authors: Garcia, M. L., Patel, R. J., Lee, S. K., … Chen, Y. Q. (2022).
Notice the ellipsis replaces the middle names, then you jump straight to the final author.
Common Et Al Errors That Cost Points
Most instructors grade citations fast. They spot patterns, and “et al.” has a few wrong patterns that stand out right away. Use the table below when you’re editing, then fix the whole paper in one sweep.
| Mistake | Why it causes trouble | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Using “et. al” or “et al” without the period | It breaks the standard abbreviation form | Write “et al.” with a period after “al.” |
| Italicizing “et al.” in citations | APA citations use regular font | Keep it plain text inside citations |
| Using “et al.” for a 2-author work | APA requires both surnames each time | Use “and” in narrative, “&” in parentheses |
| Adding a comma after the first author in narrative form | It creates a non-APA pattern | Write “Garcia et al. (2022)” with no comma |
| Forgetting the comma before the year in parentheses | APA parenthetical format uses a comma | Write “(Garcia et al., 2022)” |
| Using “et al.” in the reference list author line | APA references list author names, not “et al.” | List up to 20 authors, then use the 19 + ellipsis + last rule |
| Two different works shorten to the same “et al.” citation | Reader can’t tell which source you mean | Add more author surnames until the citations differ |
| Dropping letters for same-year works | It breaks the match between text and references | Use 2022a, 2022b in text and in the reference list |
Step By Step Check Before You Turn In The Paper
If you want a fast pass through your draft, run these steps in order. They catch the “et al.” errors that spread across a whole document.
- Search your draft for “et” and confirm it always appears as “et al.” with the final period.
- For each “et al.” citation, confirm the source has three or more authors in your reference list entry.
- Check parenthetical citations for the comma before the year: “et al., 2022.”
- Check narrative citations for the no-comma pattern: “et al. (2022).”
- If you cite two works that start with the same first author and year, make sure the in-text forms differ by added author names or letter suffixes.
- Scan your reference list for long author lines and apply the 20-author rule and the 21+ ellipsis rule.
- Read a few paragraphs out loud and switch between narrative and parenthetical citations where the flow feels stiff.
Using Citation Tools Without Losing Control
Word processors and reference managers can format “et al.” for you, yet they only do it well when the author fields are clean. A pasted author line can make the tool think a paper has one author with a long name.
Quick cleanup for author fields
- Confirm each author is entered as a separate person, not as one combined string.
- Check that surnames and initials look normal, not in ALL CAPS.
- Verify the year matches the source, since your in-text citation uses it each time.
One last human scan
Even when software formats your references, do a quick visual scan. If you can spot the author count in the reference entry, you can tell if “et al.” in the text matches the author rule.
Mini Rules You Can Save
These lines handle most student papers and most course citation checks.
Many classes ask you to define what is et al in apa? before you start citing.
- In text: 1 author, use the surname and year.
- In text: 2 authors, list both surnames each time.
- In text: 3+ authors, use first surname plus “et al.” each time.
- Parentheses need a comma before the year: “et al., 2022.”
- References list names, not “et al.” Up to 20 authors are written out.
- For 21+ authors, list the first 19, then an ellipsis, then the last author.
Once you set “et al.” correctly for each source, your citations stay consistent across the whole paper, and your reader can track each source with less effort.