question for the english majors (or latin majors)

[indy_azcat]

Is it proper form to include a comma after i.e. &/or e.g.?

For exmaple:

Many people post silly things in the Lounge (e.g., copycat threads).

Comma or no comma :shrug:

thanks!

[Ron Green]

1. I vote no comma.

And I'm not even comfortable with the parentheses.

[democrat in Tallahassee]

2. both have commas after them; per Chicago manual of style 5.202

[indy_azcat]

4. Jack Lynch's style guide agrees

Which I just ran into:
E.g. versus i.e.
The abbreviation e.g. is for the Latin exempli gratia, "for example." I.e., Latin id est, means "that is." They're not interchangeable. Both abbreviations should be followed by a comma.

http://www.andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/e.html

Much appreciated Demo in Talla!

[mcscajun]

8. Absolutely, commas.

All the style books will tell you that. What happens in common usage isn't necessarily correct. Even newspapers are slipping editorially these days.

From the Chicago Manual of Style
Q. Would you please explain when to use “e.g.” and when to use “i.e.?” Thank you.

A. Certainly. Both are abbreviations for Latin phrases: id est (“that is”) and exempli gratia (“for the sake of example”). So use “i.e.” when you want to rephrase something you’ve already said, and use “e.g.” when you want to offer an example. Put a comma before and after; avoid using both in the same sentence; and try not to use either in formal prose. And (a bonus tip) if you start a list with “e.g.,” there’s no need to put “etc.” at the end.

If the applicant is currently one of our tuition-paying clients, i.e., a student, the fee may be waived.

The best ingredients for pizza are green, e.g., spinach, artichokes, and green peppers.

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/cmosfaq.html

[indy_azcat]

11. VERY handy link - thanks

who knew a style guide had a sense of humor (Although it kills me that they spelled it PhD and not Ph.D. Arrrgh.):

Q. We have a new employee who holds two PhDs. She insists on having her name listed as “Jane Doe, PhD, PhD.” We are in a university environment and agree that degrees are important, but doesn’t this seem a bit much?

A. Yes. It’s probably immodest and certainly irrational and superfluous. Maybe modesty must be cast aside in today’s competitive, promotional environment, but there’s no question about irrational and superfluous: Jane Doe can only be one doctor of philosophy (a PhD following someone’s name doesn’t mean “I have one and only one PhD degree,” it means “I’m a doctor of philosophy”—having achieved that status in one or more than one field). Moreover, now that PPL Therapeutics, the company that cloned Dolly, has announced that it is selling its assets and closing its doors, it is not very likely that Dr. Doe will become Drs. Doe any time soon.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. Thanks for posting that they are not interchangeable

Too few people seem to understand that these days. I have too much Latin training to forget it!

[SeveneightyWhoa]

3. I'm not an english major..

..but I've never seen the comma used in any book or publication, from what I recall.

I'd say 'no comma', definitely.

[indy_azcat]

6. 'no commas' valid only in Canada

;)

j/k

[CJCRANE]

5. no comma

[democrat in Tallahassee]

7. et al. on the other hand does not take a comma when it follows

a single item; but does take one if it is in a series like any other item. Also the al. has a period because it is an abbreviation for the Latin alia, alii, and aliae (others) Chicago, 6.23

[indy_azcat]

14. that was a perfect setup for an ibid.

and ya missed it :D

[Liberal In Texas]

10. Comma, yes. Strunk & White.

"The abbreviations etc., i.e., and e.g., ...are parenthetic and should be punctuated accordingly."

-Strunk Jr. and E.B. White - The Elements of Style, Third Edition 1979 (I don't have a newer one).

Strunk & White is the editor's bible.

[indy_azcat]

13. and a ding for parenthesis! yea!

wow, a book only a year younger than me :P

[crispini]

12. How I love both i.e. and e.g.

but my absolutely FAVE abbrev. from the Latin is "viz" :P

[indy_azcat]

15. Ad nauseam

almost as much fun as the snobby colon "viz."

[tjwmason]

16. Fowler says either way, but himself employs the comma.

"e.g. is short for exempli gratia, & means only 'for instance'. Non-latinists are apt to think that it does mot matter whether e.g. or i.e. is used; so Mr --- took as the theme of his address the existence of what he called a psychic attribute, e.g., a kind of memory, in plants. Italics, & a following comma, are unnecessary, but not wrong."

Sir Ernest Gowers's revision reproduces the original exactly, but adds to the end "Both abbreviations should be reserved for footnotes or very concise writing; in open prose it is better to write for example or for instance; namely or that is to say.

But Fowler speaks in favour of the split-infinitive in most humerous tones no less.

I always comma, myself.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Comma, Yes

Sorry, i couldn't resist putting a comma in my post title.
The Professor

[marions ghost]

18. e.g. and i.e. are very handy ...

OK I KNOW the commas are correct but it looks better without. I just prefer sparse punctuation and lately am using only the most necessary of commas. If enough of us don't use commas, then someday it will be OK.

[RebelOne]

19. From Garbl's Editorial Style Manual

e.g., i.e. Quickly, what are the Latin words for the abbreviation e.g.? Don't know? Then don't use e.g. Use English instead. Same for i.e. Both abbreviations are overused and often confused. The first is the abbreviation for exempli gratia, a Latin phrase meaning "for example." The second is the abbreviation for id est, a Latin phrase meaning "that is." It introduces a clarification of the words that come before it. But even if you know Latin, simplify when writing in English! Unless you must use Latin instead of English in pompous scientific or academic documents, use for example and that is. Commas or semicolons usually go before both, and commas usually follow both. Phrases containing these abbreviations may be contained in parentheses.

[indy_azcat]

21. This is for my pompous Ph.D. dissertation in chemistry

chock full of passive tense, too :P

[supernova]

22. Passive construction?!?

For shame, indy_azcat!! :spank: :spank: :spank:

[supernova]

20. Here at work, latin phrases

are verbotten.