This article explains when (and when not) to use ampersands (&).
The ampersand (&) is an often over-used abbreviation for the word and. Its use should be limited to a few situations.
We use an ampersand:
- in certain company names; e.g. Smith & Jones Consulting;
- if space is very limited; e.g. in a table with a lot of text;
- when artistic considerations dictate; e.g. a logo; and
- in some academic references; e.g. (Grant & Smith, 1998).
Do not use an ampersand in general writing simply to abbreviate the word and. For example, we write:
We need to reorder toner cartridges and paper.
We need to reorder toner cartridges & paper.
The strange shape of the ampersand
It is interesting to observe that the shape of the ampersand character varies from font to font. In some fonts, it looks like this:
With a bit of imagination, you can see the letters e and t. This is because the ampersand character is a stylised form of the Latin word et, which means and. Clever, yes?
If you'd like to be able to use this old-style ampersand in your writing, set a regular ampersand in italics. In a few fonts (e.g. Garamond) this produces an old-style ampersand like that shown above.