“e.g.” and “i.e.”

“e.g.” and “i.e.”

The abbreviations e.g. (from the Latin exepli gratia) and i.e. (from the Latin id est), both are used to clarify something previously mentioned in a sentence. However, they are not same.

“E.g.” means “for example”.

“i.e.” means “in other words”

e.g.

The abbreviation e.g. is used to provide example:

Examples:

👉 Since e.g. indicates a partial list, it is redundant to add “etc.” at the end of a list introduced by this abbreviation.

i.e.

The abbreviation i.e. is used to restate an idea more clearly or offer more information.

Examples:

Format of “e.g.” and “i.e.”

     

     1)   Comma before e.g. and i.e.

He plays a variety of instruments, e.g. guitar, piano, drum and keyboard

     2)   Semicolon before e.g. or i.e.

Arjun plays a variety of sports; e.g. he plays football, basketball and tennis.

(Note: A semicolon is appropriate when the text that follows is a standalone sentence.)

     3)   Brackets with e.g. or i.e.

He plays a variety of sports (e.g., football, basketball, tennis)

     4)   A new sentence with e.g. or i.e.

She watches a variety of TV channels. E.g. DD Sports, Discovery, National Geographic and Aashta.

Exercise

Use i.e./ e.g. in the blank space:

     

    1)   Riding bike without wearing helmet is punishable by law; i.e., you could end up paying heavy penalty.

    2)   Jumping rope while your shoes are untied is dangerous; i.e, you could severely injure yourself.

    3)   Cricket is one of the most popular sports in India (i.e., it earns billions of  of revenue each year in ticket sales).

    4)   Annie always eats fruit for breakfast, e.g., bananas, oranges, apples.

    5)   They always play card games on the weekend (e.g., poker, Uno).

    6)   Our pet, Squiggly (i.e., the snail we brought home after the lab experiments were finished), loves to curl up on his little patch of grass.

   7)   Our son, Vivek, loves sweets (e.g., kaju katli, peda, laddoo).

   8)   The marketing team will require only the basic presentation materials for the Atlanta trip (e.g., Product Benefits PowerPoint, Competitor Comparison Checklist). Be sure everyone receives full travel itineraries by tomorrow.

   9)   Mark needs gloves to handle live fishing bait (e.g., rag worm, lug worm, crab).

   10)    I bought that cute writing journal; i.e., the one with the beaded cover, so you don’t have to buy me a new one.

Choose the correct response:

The abbreviation i.e. stands for:

      1)   In effect

      2)   Id est (✓)

      3)   In extremis

The abbreviation e.g. stands for:

      1)   exepli gratia (✓)

      2)   Id est

      3)   In extremis

I love mango preparations, e.g., Mango ice-cream. Therefore, I love:

      1)   Just mango ice-cream

      2)   Many types of preparations, including mango ice-cream (✓)

      3)   Mango ice-creams and mango papad

I am a vegan, i.e. I do not eat any animal based products. Therefore, eat:

      1)   Vegetable products along with milk and honey

      2)   Only vegetable products (✓)

      3)   Both animal and vegetable based products

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