English for Students

Pros and Cons

I used the expression Pros and Cons in an exam paper. I was told that I should not use abbreviations! What words should I have used?


You will find the phrase Pros and Cons in our larger dictionaries which do not mark it as informal or in any way restricted in use. The complete 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary explains that it is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase pro et contra meaning for and against and that it has been in use in the abbreviated form since the 16th century. In other words, it is a well established standard usage.


The alternative is the much longer arguments for and against.





Other Related Links:


• Should one say Unorganized or Disorganized?
• Is the word Snuck used as the past tense of the verb Sneak or not?
• When is it appropriate to capitalize University?
• What is the Correct Form when writing the time : A.M. or a.m. or am?

• Is the expression Pros and Cons informal?
• What is the distinction between Enquire and Inquire?
• Is it Backwards or Backward?
• How should the term Website be written in official documents?

• Do the seasons (summer, autumn etc.) require a capital letter?
• What is the distinction between Assume and Presume?
• Do you follow that phrase or the incorrect word with sic?
• What is the difference between These and Those?