04-29-2005, 10:42 AM
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#153
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Guest
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RE: Re: RE: Free grammar lessons!
I'd like to recommend a section on commonly misused phrases. I can think of a few.
"For all intensive purposes." This phrase does not exist. The correct spelling is "for all intents and purposes."
E.G. vs. I.E. vs. A.K.A.
Global rule: All of these acronyms always have a period after each letter. At the beginning of a sentence, all letters are capitalized. Anywhere else in a sentence, all letters are lower case.
E.G. is short for the Latin exempli gratis (a free example). It means "for example" and can be used anywhere that you could use the words "for example." It is a dependent clause, which means it should be separated by a comma from the main clause of a sentence.
Example: "I need you to write a paper on a natural science of your choosing; e.g., biology or physics."
I.E. is short for the Latin id est (it is). It means "that is" and can be used anywhere that you could use those words. It is typically used to give futher explanation to something. It is a dependent clause, which means it should be separated by a comma from the main clause of a sentence.
Example: "We didn't think he was doing a good job, i.e., we hated his guts and wanted him fired."
Example: "She was a lady of the night, i.e., a prostitute."
A.K.A. is short for "also known as" and should only be used literally, in that sense. Do not put a comma after it anywhere.
Example: "The place was known as Red Herring's Bar and Tavern, a.k.a Big Red's."
Example: "She was a lady of the night, a.k.a. a prostitute."
You'll notice that "a.k.a." and "i.e." can be used interchangably sometimes, but not all the time. The first examples for each of those cannot be interchanged. Take care to pay attention to what the acronyms stand for to differentiate the meanings.
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