You might have noticed the lowercase letter acronyms i.e. and e.g. while reading newpapers, novels, journals, or any other material. I.e. and e.g. are both Latin abbreviations. E.g. stands for exempli gratia and means “for example.” I.e. is the abbreviation for id est and means “in other words.” These two commonly used abbreviations in English which have different meaning and usage. For example, There are two types of games, i.e. indoor games and outdoor games, wherein Indoor games are played inside the home, e.g. chess, carrom, etc.
We use i.e. when we are talking or writing something in a general way, however, we can use e.g. to talk about something specific.
The term i.e. is used in the middle of the sentence, whereas one can use e.g. at the end of the sentence. We use i.e. when we are talking or writing something in a general way, however, we can use e.g. to talk about something specific. However, they are commonly juxtaposed, as they are used to clarify the statement further, in the first case by restating it in a better way and in the second case by giving examples.
Difference Between i.e. and e.g.
I.E.
- e. means ‘that is’. It is derived from the Latin term ‘id est’.
- e. is mainly used to give a descriptive statement, for the statement just said or written.
- e. is an acronym for the Latin term ‘id est‘, which in simple terms means ‘that is’, ‘in other words’, ‘in essence’ or ‘in effect’. We often use when we explain something further which is just said or written in a different and better way. Hence, it can be a definition, elaboration, or a metaphor, to provide additional information in support of the statement or give emphasis to it.
- i.e., clarifies; you are providing more precise information. Where e.g. opens up more options, i.e. narrows them down.
- Example: Twitter is a social media site, in which the users can read and share short messages, i.e. tweets.
E.G.
- g. means ‘for example’. It is derived from the Latin term ‘exempli gratia’.
- g. is used to give examples to the statement just said or written.
- g. is a shortening for, ‘exempli gratia’ which is a Latin origin. Basically, it means ‘for example’, and it can be used in a sentence when we want to introduce a few examples to the statement just said, but not a complete list, for the concept under discussion.
- g. is used to give one or more possible examples. It’s a signal that you’re seeing one or a few of multiple possibilities.
- Example: There are many social media sites to connect people, e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google plus.
