E.g. versus i.e.

E.g.
Latin-exempli gratia (for example).

i.e.
Latin-id est (that is)

^_^

Hi Guest,
To give an example, you'd say
The USA has had several presidents, e.g. George Bush.

To give a definition, you'd say
George Bush is the leader of the USA, i.e. its President.

If you want to write very formal English, I suggest you avoid using these abbreviations and say it another way. Perhaps:

The USA has had several presidents, for example

Oh or you just say that George W Bush and his associates (mainly them) stole 2000's election, used 9/11 to produce a ****-like state of fear in the States, and is now using the dumbness of the American people to serve another term in office to bread more terrorists who in turn will blow up more American cities to produce more fear in order to give George more power, i.e. he's a heck of a man doin

Hi Someuser,
There may be Americans giving their time freely to help people on this forum with their English.
Clive

You are correct, Clive. Well, almost. "e.g." and "i.e." should always be followed by some type of punctuation, usually a comma. So, it should read:

The USA has had many presidents, e.g., George Bush.

I have to say, I prefer the non-comma version myself:

e.g. President Bush

Italicised versions can sometimes be found in magazines:

eg President Bush

eg, President Bush

And some people write

eg. President Bush

(None of which I much like.)

MrP