Capitalisation of e.g. and similar at the start of a sentence

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James Harris - 01 Feb 2010 23:15 GMT

Sometimes it's convenient to say "e.g." at the beginning of a
sentence. Is there an accepted capitalisation for this? Similar issues
exist for other such abbreviations. So is it:

E.g. this?

E.G. this?

e.g. This?

Or is it always wrong to use such an abbreviation at the start of a
sentence so requiring "For example"?

James

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Mark Brader - 01 Feb 2010 23:17 GMT

James Harris:

> Sometimes it's convenient to say "e.g." at the beginning of a
> sentence. Is there an accepted capitalisation for this?

It can only be "E.g."; but I would avoid it in that position;
e.g., by replacing the preceding period with a semicolon.

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Mark Brader | "When I was 10 years old, all I gave my sweetheart was
Toronto | a pair of projections that turned the group of rotations
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Don Phillipson - 02 Feb 2010 13:59 GMT

> Sometimes it's convenient to say "e.g." at the beginning of a
> sentence. Is there an accepted capitalisation for this? Similar issues
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Or is it always wrong to use such an abbreviation at the start of a
> sentence so requiring "For example"?

Formal style includes that every complete sentence must
display a main clause (verb and subject.) As the meaning of e.g.
suggests, this usually occurs in subordinate clauses. E.g. cannot
(or hardly ever) begin a sentence, unless for special rhetorical
effect (labelled as special by its conscious breach of the
traditional rules of speech or writing.)

When it appears "convenient" to introduce a sentence with e.g.,
we may be prompted to reconsider the relation between formal
rules (of speech or writing) and whatever special purpose
inclines us to break a rule. No rule of English obliges us to use
some particular phrase (for example) or its learned abbreviation
(e.g.) or to locate it at some particular place in our sentence.
English has its rules, but they are not this sort of rule.

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Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

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James Harris - 02 Feb 2010 23:52 GMT

> > Sometimes it's convenient to say "e.g." at the beginning of a
> > sentence. Is there an accepted capitalisation for this? Similar issues
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> When it appears "convenient" ...

I chose the word carefully. It is convenient to begin a sentence with
e.g. in informal texts - such as e-mails and Usenet postings. In these
circumstances a more formal construction may seem pretentious.

> ... to introduce a sentence with e.g.,
> we may be prompted to reconsider the relation between formal
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> (e.g.) or to locate it at some particular place in our sentence.
> English has its rules, but they are not this sort of rule.

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010

Capitalisation of e.g. and similar at the start of a sentence