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Greetings fellow forum users.
I am now going to teach a small lesson in the proper usage of the Latin phrases id est (i.e.) and exempli gratia (e.g.).
id est (i.e.) that is "That is (to say)" in the sense of "that means" and "which means", or "in other words", or sometimes "in this case", depending on the context; may be followed by a comma, or not, depending on style. He did not answer, i.e., he remained quiet.
exempli gratia (e.g.) 'for the sake of example' or simply 'for example' ...a basketball player (e.g., Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan)
Both reference words synonymous with the preceding statement. Both are always punctuated as shown, sometimes in parentheses. Their usage is quite different and they are oftentimes confused with each other.
Here is the example from a recent post in the general forum that finally pushed me over the edge, i.e., i was thereafter compelled to write this post.
Can i make the background music myself, IE guitar?
Substituting i.e., with "that is to say" we get the following run-on gibberish: "Can i make the background music myself, that is to say guitar."
Here the gentleman's intention is to inquire whether or not his own guitar will be acceptable for producing the required background music. The guitar in question is provided as a possible example to his previous inquiry and so the abbreviation e.g. is more suitable:
"Can i make the background music myself, e.g., with guitar?"
Substituting e.g. with "for example" and adding one word we get a slightly more comprehensible question: "Can i make the background music myself, for example, with guitar?"
These two abbreviations are seldom used in questions, however. The above examples are only used to provide the strict explanation of how the words function in the sentence.
Of course, he should have just written "Can I make the music myself with guitar?"
What follows are some TL/SC themed examples to hopefully illustrate the difference between these two often confused Latin phrases:
"With all the offensive memes being thrown around the SC forum-scene these days, e.g., rickroll, fail, hwaiting,1a2a3a, I'm glad to be in the presence of such proactive and ban-happy moderators, i.e. I love TL mods"
"At the start of the 09/10 Proleague season Zerg was arguably the dominant race with two of its strongest members, e.g., Jaedong and Calm, having won the recent OSL and MSL tournaments respectively.
+ Show Spoiler [trick question] +both e.g. and i.e. can work here. i had it as i.e. originally but changed it. e.g. is more appropriate since JD and Calm are not the only strong zerg users. e.g. is more correct since i am listing merely listing examples of strong Zerg players and not trying to identify THE definitive strongest two. trick question!
"Certain builds are better or worse depending on your opponent's style and the map, (e.g. 14 Nexus on Python can catch a Terran opponent off-guard if he scouts it too late and is unprepared for a counter) i.e., "the optimal build order" varies from game to game.
"The recent trend of high-level players, e.g., Lzgamer, Ret, and Kawaiirice, broadcasting their live streamed games is a windfall for all noobs who take the time to watch and learn.
"Bobby is not a fan of the high-money BGH style maps, i.e., he only plays Iccup maps on the ladder."
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Just felt i should post here
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i always mix these up :C
thanks!
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lol Izzy...
I didn't really know how to use these properly tbh.
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Hey thanks for that, apparently I've always been using i.e. wrongly. We don't have those two abbreviations in German and I've always assumed i.e. meant in exemplo.
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This isn't taught in schools that I know of and is usually something picked up unconsciously. I think of them as "as in" and "for example".
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On October 19 2009 15:35 Orome wrote:
Hey thanks for that, apparently I've always been using i.e. wrongly. We don't have those two abbreviations in German and I've always assumed i.e. meant in exemplo.
glad to help. interestingly, i learned the meanings of these as well as the 3rd most often used latin abbreviation from reading translations of German philosophy
videlicet (viz.) "namely", "that is to say", "as follows".
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Please do another one of these for your/you're because I notice an embarrassingly large amount of people don't know the difference.
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Sweden4353 Posts
i understand the difference! but remembering which one is which is harder :D but thanks.
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Nice one, i.e. I liked your post and am now 100 percent sure that I am using these abbreviated phrases correctly.
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On October 19 2009 15:41 KrAzYfoOL wrote:
Please do another one of these for your/you're because I notice an embarrassingly large amount of people don't know the difference.
i see "would of" instead of "would have" so frequently it makes me wanna cry.
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For the longest time, I thought 'i.e.' stood for 'In English'. This notion took a very long time to dispel since it barely changes the usage.
It's/its is also bizarre, because normally 'apostrophe s' indicates property, whereas "it's" is a contraction of 'it is', and 'its' is the possessive.
On October 19 2009 15:56 pangshai wrote:Show nested quote +On October 19 2009 15:41 KrAzYfoOL wrote:
Please do another one of these for your/you're because I notice an embarrassingly large amount of people don't know the difference. i see "would of" instead of "would have" so frequently it makes me wanna cry.
"Would've" is a contraction of 'would have', but is pronounced like 'would of'. Hence the confusion.
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On October 19 2009 15:56 pangshai wrote:Show nested quote +On October 19 2009 15:41 KrAzYfoOL wrote:
Please do another one of these for your/you're because I notice an embarrassingly large amount of people don't know the difference. i see "would of" instead of "would have" so frequently it makes me wanna cry.
those guys dont know that their gonna go theyre for there lunch break.
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On October 19 2009 15:21 omninmo wrote:Here is the example from a recent post in the general forum that finally pushed me over the edge, i.e., i was thereafter compelled to write this post. Hahaha I read IE as an abbreviation for Internet Explorer and thought it had some kind of guitar app.
On October 19 2009 15:21 omninmo wrote:
"At the start of the 09/10 Proleague season Zerg was arguably the dominant race with two of its strongest members, e.g., Jaedong and Calm, having won the recent OSL and MSL tournaments respectively."
Pretty sure the "e.g." here should be an i.e., i.e., "At the start of the 09/10 Proleague season Zerg was arguably the dominant race with two of its strongest members, i.e., Jaedong and Calm, having won the recent OSL and MSL tournaments respectively."
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On October 19 2009 16:04 29 fps wrote:Show nested quote +On October 19 2009 15:56 pangshai wrote:On October 19 2009 15:41 KrAzYfoOL wrote:
Please do another one of these for your/you're because I notice an embarrassingly large amount of people don't know the difference. i see "would of" instead of "would have" so frequently it makes me wanna cry. those guys dont know that their gonna go theyre for there lunch break.
I see what you did their.
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On October 19 2009 16:04 29 fps wrote:Show nested quote +On October 19 2009 15:56 pangshai wrote:On October 19 2009 15:41 KrAzYfoOL wrote:
Please do another one of these for your/you're because I notice an embarrassingly large amount of people don't know the difference. i see "would of" instead of "would have" so frequently it makes me wanna cry. those guys dont know that their gonna go theyre for there lunch break.
Haha my eyes are bleeding now.
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Weird. I remeber my Latin teacher telling us that "e.g." is an abbreviation for "ex gregis", something like "out of the many".
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oh they are latin phrases? i figured out what they imply from reading experience, but didn't know what they actually stood for
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I always thought i.e. meant In Example, but I guess that works.
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Hong Kong20321 Posts
lol thansk , very informative ! :D:D
oh and i absolutely detest "of" being substituted for " 've " -_-;;;;;;;;
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EPT
