It’s “E”asy: More Confusing Words

Now that we are all straightened out with lay and lie (last week’s blog post), let’s continue with confusing words/word pairs that begin with the letter E:

1). e.g/i.e – These abbreviations come from Latin, and you are always free to use the actual words rather than these abbreviations. If you do use the abbreviations, remember to put a period after each letter, and use commas before and after them. 

e.g. – Exempli gratia, meaning “for example.”  I did very well in the sciences in college, e.g., astronomy, chemistry, and physics.

i.e. – Id est, meaning “that is.” The shortest month of the year, i.e., February, usually has only 28 days.

2.) etc. – Etcetera is entirely different from both i.e. and e.g. and means “and the others.” It generally follows a list and can be avoided (and often should be) by just writing out all the items in the list. If you use etc., make sure you follow it with a period and put a comma before it. 

I have traveled to  many European countries, including France, Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany, Poland, etc.

3.) each other/one another – First, note that each other is two separate words. These two phrases are interchangeable. Some people say that each other should be used for two people, and one another should be used when referring to more than two people. However, this distinction is unnecessary and rarely used. In these examples, the distinction is made.

They really loved each other.

In this classroom, we are all kind to one another.

4.) Earth/earth – Should earth be capitalized or not?  The answer is sometimes. When Earth is used along with other planets (which are capitalized) and heavenly bodies that are capitalized, it, too, is capitalized. Otherwise, it is not (sun and moon are not capitalized). 

The two planets closer to the sun than Earth are Mercury and Venus. 

We need to make sure that climate change does not destroy our earth.

5.) elicit/illicit – These two words have very different meanings. Also, one has a double L and the other doesn’t. 

elicit (prefix e/ex meaning out) – To draw out or bring forth – She was so shy, it was difficult to elicit an answer to my question.

illicit (prefix in/il meaning not) – Not moral or lawful – The senator was sentenced to prison for his illicit business dealings.

6.) emigrate/immigrate – These words are opposite and once again, the prefix doubles the m in immigrate (and once again, we see the e prefix, meaning out).

emigrate – to leave a country: They emigrated from Ukraine to the United States.

immigrate – to go to a country – They immigrated to the United States from Ukraine.

7.) eminent/imminent – These two words have nothing to do with one another that is obvious, although they are probably opposites.

eminent – well-known or outstanding in one’s field (the e prefix meaning out, perhaps standing out) – She is an eminent virologist.

imminent – about to happen – I knew a big storm was imminent when I looked at the dark sky.

8.) every day/everyday – Every day is a noun/adjective pair. Everyday is an adjective.

every day – each day or daily – I walk two miles every day.

everyday – describes something that happens every day or regularly – Walking is an everyday activity for me. 

9.) every one/everyone  – Every one is an adjective/pronoun pair (usually followed by “of”); everyone is a pronoun.

every one – each of them – Every one of the children knows how to swim.

everyone – everybody – Everyone was gathered around the campfire.

10.) exceedingly/excessively – These words are  both adverbs, but with different meanings.

exceedingly – very, extremely – He juggled exceedingly well for a young child.

excessively – too much, more than necessary – The students chatted excessively during silent reading time.

 

Stay safe. Stay well.