Common English Blunders

“i.e.” versus “e.g.”

Abbreviations, Common English Blunders, Foreign Languages

I often see mistakes with “i.e.” and “e.g.” when writers are trying to give examples or trying to elaborate.

The term “i.e.” is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase “id est” and means “that is” in English.

The term “e.g.” is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase “exempli gratia” and means “for the sake of example” (more simply, “for example”) in English.

One should follow either abbreviation immediately by a comma and a space before one gives the elaboration (in the case of “i.e.”) or the example (in the case of “e.g.”).

Examples:

“The mountain summit (i.e., the peak of the mountain) ….”

“Felines (e.g., lions, tigers, and cats) ….”

“Premise Installer”

Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Nouns

I have seen this repeatedly in telco documents.

Problem:
The noun “premise” does not refer to location.

Explanation:
Dictionary.com has the best explanation about why we call a single building the premises and NOT the premise.

Here is a simple way to remember which noun to use when: premise is a logic term, whereas premises is usually a location term (unless you’re talking about a multiple of premise).

I also believe that use of “premise” instead of “premises” helps to prove my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to say “premise” (two syllables) than to say “premises” (three syllables).

Solution:
“Premises Installer”