I’ve been doing a lot of editing documents lately and it has come to my attention that I never knew the difference between i.e. and e.g., and have therefore used them interchangeably. That’s probably not a great idea now that I’m writing for a wider audience than my friends who read this blog so I looked it up. Here’s what I found.
“I.e.” stands for the Latin phrase ‘id est’ or _that is_. “I.e.” is used in place of “in other words,” or “it/that is.” One uses i.e. when one wants to specify a previous point or re-phrase something to catch a different nuance of meaning.
“E.g.” is also Latin, though it stands for ‘exempli gratia’, which translates as _for the sake of an example._ One uses e.g. when an example is needed, but one wants to imply that the examples given are just some of the many possible examples.
Some examples:
* Her heart sunk as the ship disappeared into the water; i.e., she was devastated. _from_ “_WiseGeek.com_”:http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-ie-and-eg.htm
* I like citrus fruits (e.g., oranges and lemons). _from_ “_Daily Writing Tips_”:http://www.dailywritingtips.com/the-difference-between-eg-and-ie/