Giving Example 
Giving Example
1. What you say when giving an example

for example  used when giving  an example  of the kind  of  thing that you  have just
mentioned:
 People watch huge amounts  of television.  In  the  United States,	for example, many 
children spend more hours watching television than they do attending school.
 A lot of English words come from Latin. For example 'homicide' comes from the Latin 
words 'homo' (=man) and 'cidium' (=killing).

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 
In essays, for example is often used later on in a sentence, rather than at the beginning: 
The influence of Eastern music can be heard in Western classical music, for example in
the piano works of Debussy.
The abbreviation of for example is eg. In formal essays you usually use the full phrase
for example.

for instance means the same as for example, but it is slightly less formal:

 Our climate is already showing signs of change. Last year, for instance, was one of
the hottest summers on record. 
 There is a great deal we  can do to reduce the amount of pollution we  produce.  For 
instance, we can use our cars less, and use public transport instead.

particularly / in particular adverb used when saying that something is especially
true about someone or something:
 Tourism is very important for the economy, particularly in the south of the country.
 His work had a big influence on Picasso in particular.

be a good / typical / classic / obvious etc example: 

 The United Kingdom is a good example of a country that consists of several smaller
states. 
 Her case is a classic example of this kind of problem.

be a case in point  used when saying that something  is a very  good and relevant
example of the kind of thing that you have just mentioned:


 Many native English plants and animals are under threat. The red squirrel is a case in
point.
 The government has consistently ignored basic human rights. A case in point is the
recent killing of 10 political prisoners.

take / consider verb  [transitive] used when you are about to talk  about a particular 
situation that you want to show as an example: 
 Science has yet to answer some important questions. Take, for instance, (=consider 
the following example) the theory that the universe started with the 'big bang'.  What
came before the big bang?
 Many students are bored with their studies. Consider the case of Christina. She is a 
hard-working student who plans to go to college. Yet she says of her education, "It's not 
like I'm thinking a lot here."

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 
Take and consider are always used at the start of a sentence.

by way of illustration a formal phrase, used especially when you are going to give
a long example that shows what you mean:
 Revolutions often lead to dictatorships.	By  way of illustration, consider the  events 
that followed the French Revolution. 
 Plants have  been  used  in Cambodia  in many ways for many centuries.	By  way of 
illustration, of the 2,300 species of plants in Cambodia, approximately 40 percent have
a traditional use, primarily as food and medicine. 

be shown by used when giving an example which shows that what you are saying is 
true:
 The people who live there are quite rich. This is shown by the size of their houses. 
 Metal tools were  produced here  for thousands  of  years,	as is  shown by  weapons 
discovered in ancient tombs.

this is true of / this was true of used when giving an example which shows that 
what you are saying is true: 
 Many writers have suffered from discrimination.	This  was true of  Oscar Wilde, and
also of Andr Gide.



2. What you say when there are a lot of other examples of something

such as used when giving one or two typical examples of the kind of thing or person 
that you mean, when there are many other examples: 
 The factory produced electrical goods such as washing machines and cookers.
 Girls do better than boys in subjects such as English. 

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 
Such as does not usually have a comma before it, whereas for example and including
usually do. 

including preposition used when you want to give examples of the kinds of thing that 
something includes:
 She has many interests, including opera and ballet. 
 The  company produces 340 drugs and  cosmetic products,	including  penicillin, 
antibiotics and aspirins.

to name but a few  used after examples of something, when  saying  that there are
many more that you could mention: 
 He wrote several famous books: '1984', 'Animal Farm', and 'The Road to Wigan Pier',
to name but a few.

etc / et cetera	adverb  used when you want  to say that there are many other
examples of other things of the same kind: 
 It is best to avoid tea, coffee, alcohol etc.

STUDY NOTE: Grammar 
In formal essays it is better not to use etc, and to rephrase the sentence using such as:
It is best to avoid drinks such as tea, coffee, or alcohol.
Do not use eg and etc in the same sentence. 



3. To give something or someone as an example

give the example of something / give something as an example: 

 The  writer	gives the example of  Johnny  Saxon  who, three  years after winning  the
world boxing title, was charged with burglary.
 He gives as an example the island of Aru in southeast Indonesia, where the number
of turtles has decreased dramatically.

cite verb [transitive] a formal word meaning to give something or someone an example:
 She	cites  a survey last  year, which showed  that  84 percent of  shoppers would be
prepared to return containers to retailers if supermarkets set up a suitable system.
 Sendak cites Tolstoy as an example of an author who needs no illustrator.
