Updated April 2023
Have you seen or heard others use the abbreviations i.e. and e.g. and felt envious or bewildered?
At Writer’s Relief, we sympathize with your confusion! Many people have only a vague understanding of e.g. and i.e.—enough familiarity to gather what is meant by it, but not enough to use it confidently themselves. Read on for a simple, straightforward explanation that answers when and how to use the Latin abbreviations i.e. and e.g. in a sentence.
e.g. is an abbreviation of exempli gratia, which means “for example.”
Use e.g. before listing examples of the previous statement.
I write poetry and prose in my journals, but they also serve other purposes; e.g. calculating gratuity.
i.e. is an abbreviation of id est; translation: “that is.”
Use i.e. before clarifying or adding to the previous statement.
When I went on vacation last week, I brought my favorite writing journal; i.e., the one with the beaded cover.
Our preferred reference manual, i.e. Gregg Reference Manual, suggests:
“Use the abbreviated forms e.g. and i.e. only in informal, technical, or ‘expedient’ documents (such as business forms, catalogs, and routine e-mail messages, memos, and letters between business offices).”
NOTE: Do not italicize i.e. and e.g. Although they are abbreviations for Latin words, they are considered standard English because they’ve been in use for so long.