We rarely speak in Latin today, although a few fragments and quotes have made their way into everyday English usage. Many of us will invoke carpe diem when setting out to seize our day, or at least have a second dessert. There are occasions, however, when an abbreviation, taken from Latin, is commonly used when writing in English. These abbreviations are important to know. It is equally important not to confuse or misuse them.

1. e.g.

This abbreviation of the phrase, “for example” comes from the Latin exempli gratia. Periods always follow each letter, with a comma following the abbreviation, unless the example is a single word. It is commonly used as part of a parenthetical statement.

I checked all the most authoritative news sources (e.g, The New York Times, The Guardian).

2. i.e.

Taken literally, this is short for “That is…”, and it comes to us from the Latin id est. I often rephrase it to mean, “In other words.”  As with e.g., periods follow each letter, but a comma following this abbreviation may not be necessary. We generally use i.e. when specificity is needed.

Hemingway was already smitten with future wife number three – i.e. Martha Gellhorn.

3. etc.

Derived from the Latin et cetera, it literally means “…and the rest”, and commonly can substitute for “…and so forth.” Or “…and so on”. It is used in a list of things. It is commonly spelled, in English, as a single word, etcetera, and is accepted in that form by many English dictionaries. Always put a comma before it if using it as part of a list of two or more items, but the comma is unnecessary if only one item is mentioned.

I assembled all the recipe’s ingredients, including the sugar, the spices, etc.

I assembled all the recipe’s ingredients, like the flour etc.

4. et al.

Okay, this gets a little complicated. As you may know, Latin has gender, and this phrase is not gender neutral because it is used to refer to a list of people. It can be an abbreviation for et alia (neuter plural). But it can also be an abbreviation for et alii (masculine plural), or et aliae (feminine plural). In any case, this phrase means “…and others.” The abbreviation period only follows al.

He ranks among the best actors of his generation, such as Marlon Brando, James Dean, et al.

And remember…

There are several other things to keep in mind when using these abbreviations. If an abbreviation is used at the end of a sentence, the period at the end is sufficient. There is no need to add any final punctuation. Also, remember that these are abbreviations, and are properly used near the end of sentences, never at the beginning.

Finally, while to do so would not actually be improper, we rarely use these abbreviations in speech. Otherwise, the common English meanings of the abbreviations are used.

“I checked all the most authoritative news sources – for example, The New York Times, The Guardian…”

“Hemingway was already smitten with future wife number three – in other words, Martha Gellhorn.”

“He ranks among the best actors of his generation, such as Marlon Brando, James Dean, and others”.

The notable exception, as stated earlier, is etcetera, which has come to be accepted in English dictionaries despite being Latin.

“I assembled all the recipe’s ingredients, including the sugar, the spices, etcetera”

Although, thanks to actor Yul Brenner and a famous scene from The King and I, many people can’t help but repeat etcetera three times.

 

Photo by Beinecke Library on Flickr