What Do I.e. and E.g. Mean?

What Do I.e. and E.g. Mean?

I.e. and e.g. are both abbreviations for Latin terms. I.e. stands for id est and means roughly "that is." E.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means “for example.”

Great How am I supposed to remember all that Latin?

Fortunately you won’t have to, all you’ll need to remember is a simple memory trick.  

Don’t get hung up on what i.e. means in Latin, just concentrate on the letter i.e. starts with i and take this to mean “in other words.”

Use the same trick with e.g., which starts with e, means “for example.”

Another good trick is to use sound to help  your memory, e.g stands for  “egg sample” which sounds like “example.”  

How do I use i.e. and e.g. in a sentence?

E.g. means “for example,” so you can use it to introduce an example.

I like graphic novels, e.g., the walking dead and Y: the last man. I don’t have to provide an exhaustive list of every graphic novel I like, it’s a few examples.

I.e. means “in other words,” and is used to introduce  further clarification.

I love participating in triathlon sports, i.e., running, cycling and swimming. By using i.e., introduces a clarification, you know that these are the three sports in a triathlon.

Still confused? There’s no rule that says you must use the abbreviations. You can always write out “for example” or “in other words.”   

Dos and Don'ts

 

Do	Don’t
Use a period after each letter	Italicize i.e. and e.g., they’ve been used for so long that they’re consider English words, even though they are abbreviations of Latin words.
Put a comma after i.e. and e.g. (even if your spell checker disagrees) In British English a comma can be omitted after i.e. Fowler's Modern English Usage Speaking as Brit the comma seems to be gaining the upper hand, and using the comma is by far the safest option.