[sic], (sp.?), i.e., e.g., etc.

How about that then, Folks?

I love abbreviations like that. Some are Latin, but they’re all cool.

Want to know how to use them properly?

Here goes: [sic]

Have you ever seen this one? It’s one of my favourites. When I was a kid, I would read it and think: sick. As a matter of fact, I still do. What’s it all about?

You use it when you are quoting from a source that has made a mistake. It could be a spelling mistake, a grammatical error, or other. When you quote, you want to make sure your reader doesn’t think it’s your mistake, that you typed it up wrong. When you put [sic] like that in square brackets, it means it’s someone else’s mistake, that that’s how it appeared in the original.

Here’s an example:

As part of this essay on dogs and astronomy, here is an apt quote:

“When we speak of dog days and such, we are referring more to the starlit sky then [sic] to actual dogs.”

This is in fact the origin of dog days….

Blah blah blah.

Got it? I don’t want my reader to think that I typed up “then” instead of “than” mistakenly. And technically, I can’t go and correct someone else’s quote that was published elsewhere. So I retain the original mistake, and add [sic] in brackets.

I’m sure now that you’re aware of it, you’ll see it in all sorts of places, and maybe even have a chance to use it yourself.

Here’s my next one: (sp.?)

This is when you are unsure of how something is spelt and so you put this in brackets. It stands for “spelling”. Let’s say you’ve only heard a word or name but never seen it spelt. So you write:

George and Axelle (sp.?) volunteered to clean the windows.

It could be Axle, Axel, Axelle, or another possibility. You are not sure, so you put (sp.?) in brackets. Simple and fun!

Next one: i.e.

It means: in effect.

How to use it and when? It’s used when you want to elaborate on something. You’ve given an explanation, and you want to add a little bit more, to clarify something that might not be completely clear.

Let’s try an example: Joan wished to pursue other studies, i.e. the fine arts.

Here’s another one: He left her for her best friend, i.e. my cousin.

The use of the i.e. in these sentences allows you to lengthen the sentence without being a run-on. If you didn’t use i.e., you would have to break it up into two sentences or else change them around, like so:

Joan wished to pursue other studies. She was interested in the fine arts.

He left her for her best friend who happened to be my cousin.

There’s nothing wrong with these sentences. And you can’t use i.e. too often without it looking strange in your writing. But once in a while, it will do just fine. If reading out loud, you say the letters: i.e.

Next up: e.g.

E.g. is Latin, and it means for example. But if, like me, you always want to know what things really are, it stands for exempli gratia.

So you would use it when you want to supply your reader with examples.

They need to prepare many things for the camping trip, e.g. food, clothing, fishing supplies.

Similar to the i.e. examples, e.g. allows you to lengthen your sentence while retaining it as a proper sentence. It doesn’t have to be a list, but it often is. Think of it when you want to give an example. If reading out loud, you pronounce the letters: e.g.

And last but not least: etc.

This is also from Latin and stands for et cetera. It means “and so on”. It is used for continuing a list that is obvious and would be boring to write out in its entirety.

Let’s go back to the camping trip sentence under e.g.

They need to prepare many things for the camping trip, e.g. food, clothing, fishing supplies, etc.

By tacking on etc. at the end, I give the reader an idea that they need more than food, clothing, and fishing supplies, and that the reader can imagine that they are other camping-related items.

Simple enough?

We will be travelling in England this summer, visiting London, Oxford, Southampton, etc.

The etc. here implies that the list would go on with other city or town names in England.

One more thing about etc.: when you see it written, if you are reading out loud, you would read it as: et cetera, pronouncing every letter. /etsetera/

Well, folks, that’s a wrap.

Hope you have fun this week peppering your writing with [sic], (sp.?), i.e., e.g., and etc.

Write me back in the comments if you have a good example to share.

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