posted
Just a question about english vocabulary for my job.
Do you use and understand the latin initials i.e. ? And if you don't, somebody can tell me what is used ?
Posts: 1189 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
It stands for the Latin "id est" and is usually translated into English as "that is" or "that is to say."
Posts: 4077 | Registered: Jun 2003
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I always misuse i.e. and e.g., but I figure that's excusable, since Latin is not my first language.
Posts: 1002 | Registered: Feb 2005
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I find that remembering what e.g. stands for (exempli gratia--sure I spelled that wrong!) helps me a lot. Exempli = example = for example.
Posts: 4077 | Registered: Jun 2003
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quote:I find that remembering what e.g. stands for ... helps me a lot. Exempli = example = for example.
But this only helps if you actually know the latin phrases. If I were to try to remember which one was which, I can see myself going "i.e. -- in exempli -- for example!"
Posts: 1002 | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
I humbly propose that anyone who can't keep them straight simply refrains from using them. Since most of our sentences are not in Latin, there's no reason we shouldn't all be saying "that is" and "for example" anyway.
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
I swim on the fog ! All the last post here are incredibly obscur... Especially Christopher Colombus and the devil... Posts: 1189 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
They're just messing with common ways to remember things Choo... ignore them.
quote: stands for the Latin "id est" and is usually translated into English as "that is" or "that is to say."
quote: Common usage problem with "i.e.": It is often used incorrectly instead of "for example" or "e.g."
I do that!
Okay, so I'm wicked dumb, but I can think of several examples of where "that is to say" and "for example" could be interchangable... Can I have an example of proper usage?
Posts: 3420 | Registered: Jun 2002
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I might read types of writing, e.g. a book, a magazine, or a newspaper.
i.e. provides an opportunity for restatement of what you just said. i.e. is for clarification of a concept.
e.g. provides an opportunity to list examples of the thing you just said. e.g. is for giving examples of a thing or concept.
Posts: 4077 | Registered: Jun 2003
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Megan
