E.g., i.e., or nothing at all

The other day, I was editing another writer’s work, and they used e.g. to further elaborate on a point they had made. To be honest, I don’t use e.g. or i.e. that often, so I had to double-check and make sure it was used properly, and at that moment, I felt like Ray Barboni (Dennis Farina) in this not safe for work (NSFW) scene from Get Shorty.

For those of you who are fluent in Latin or use e.g. and i.e. frequently, this may be unnecessary, but here is a breakdown anyway. “E.g.” is short for the Latin phrase, exempli gratia. and that means “for example.” “I.e.” is an abbreviation of id est, which is Latin for “that is.” A proper usage would be, “Han Solo was a criminal, i.e., he was a smuggler. However, he was also a heck of a pilot, e.g., he made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.”

Personally, I do not use either of these writing tools often because any time you do, you are disrupting the flow of your piece and forcing the reader to take a pause. Sometimes that is necessary, but I recommend using e.g. and i.e. judiciously. Otherwise, your use of Latin abbreviations could become as ubiquitous as Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) saying "Ok, ok..." in the Leathal Weapon series, or you will come across as an over-explainer like Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion) in this NSFW clip from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

If you enjoyed this piece, you might also like my earlier blog on curing a writer’s block.

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