Pimp my English | Latin expressions in English

By Anna Malczyk
The English language is actually an amalgamation of many different influences, dialects and cultures – everything from native Celtic to French, German and Latin. Most of the time, we can still see traces of these influences in modern speech. Here’s a quick guide to some essential Latin terms and the correct ways of using them.

Ad hoc
“Ad hoc” is a Latin term that means “for this”. If something is ad hoc, it means that it exists for some single, specific and non-routine purpose. People also often use it in the sense of “as something comes up”. Ad hoc is usually used as an adjective to describe a specific thing or occasion:
•    Let’s have an ad hoc meeting about the new course.
•    We’ll decide who does the laundry on an ad hoc basis.

e.g.
An abbreviation of the Latin phrase “exempli gratia”, which means “example given” in English. It has the same meaning as “for example”. Unusually, e.g. is always written in lower case, even if it is the first word in a sentence – so it’s best to avoid this and keep it in the middle.
We write e.g. in lower case with periods after each letter.
•    We have several courses that would suit you, e.g. Business Writing.
•    Some of the things we bought, e.g. tomatoes and toothpaste, were on special.
•    There are lots of chores you can do around the house, e.e. vacuuming, washing windows.

i.e.
An abbreviation for the Latin phrase “id est”, which means “that is”. You can think of it as meaning “in other words”. We use i.e. when we want to clarify a statement already made. The same punctuation and grammar rules for e.g. apply to i.e.
•    We’re going to our favourite spot, i.e. the beach.
•    Please fill out all the documents, i.e. the registration form and insurance confirmation.

Per se
Per se is the Latin term for the expression “in itself” or “on its own”. It’s commonly misspelled as “per say”. It’s easiest to understand the usage by looking at the examples below.
•    Dedication per se (on its own) doesn’t lead to success, but it does help.
•    Your statement isn’t wrong per se (in itself), but you could have expressed it better.
•    I’m not interested in fantasy books per se (in themselves), but I loved the Harry Potter series.

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