I love language, and I am in awe of those who have the ability to converse in a language that isn’t their native one. Heck, some folks are comfortable in several languages!
I speak, write, and understand only English — American English at that. Yes, I can puzzle through a few words in French, Italian, and Spanish, largely because our roots are similar. But beyond that, and beyond the few phrases most of us learn so we don’t sound 100% dumb, I know very little of what I learned in high school.
That said, we English users are often faced with terms that have jumped / hitched a ride / leaped (leapt? lept?) into our language that we haven’t learned perfectly. There are terms in Latin, especially, that many of us are confuzzled about … (my made-up word)
Here’s your chance on this fine Monday morning to check out some of these and see if you’re right about them! Which word goes with which definition? (I would have had trouble without seeing possible definitions, myself. And even then …)
ad hoc one thing in return for another
de rigueur as by itself
e.g. something done for a special need
i.e. for example
per se necessary according to society
pro bono an equal proportion
pro rata for the good
quid pro quo that is to say
Answers:
ad hoc something done for a special need
de rigueur necessary according to society
e.g. for example (Latin = exempli gratia)
i.e. that is to say (Latin = id est)
per se as by itself
pro bono for the good
pro rata an equal proportion
quid pro quo one thing in return for another
While most of us won’t or don’t use all of these, many DO use e.g. and i.e., too often in error. Since e.g. (with periods, please, and a comma after it) means “for example,” we’re better off if we actually use the English version so our reader will understand what we mean.
I see NO reason to ever use i.e., which is a restatement of what we already wrote. If we can’t write it correctly in the first place, we need to stop and think.
How did you do with this short quiz? Did one or more of the terms surprise you?
Are there other terms that you see often misused? What would they be? Let’s all learn together!