When using complete sentences in parenthetical e.g. or i.e. situations, should the first word be capitalized?

Question

In a bulleted list of very technical sentences, where each bulleted item has one or two parenthetical examples or restatements which are complete sentences, should the first letter of each e.g. or i.e. sentence be capitalized or not?

Example:

• Here is my technical sentence. (e.g., Should the first word of this e.g. be capitalized like this?)
• Here is another technical sentence. (i.e., this really isn't a i.e. different example to highlight whether the first word should or should not be capitalized after a parenthetical i.e.)

Answer 1

A parenthetical statement that is a complete sentence should begin with a capital. Your examples are wrong, however, because you should begin by capitalizing the first letter of the abbreviation i.e. or e.g.:

Here is my technical sentence. (E.g., should the word of this example be capitalized like this?)

Here is another technical sentence. (I.e., this really isn't an i.e., I just want to know if the first word should or should not be capitalized and am providing an example of yes and no.)

Answer 2

First, as a matter of style, I would avoid using i.e. and e.g. altogether. These are Latin abbreviations whose actual meaning is lost on most native English speakers and almost all readers coming from another native language.

Second, they have similar meaning, but are not equivalent. See http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/e.g.html for a concise explanation.

Third, writers typically mean "for example" or "such as" when they use e.g. and i.e. Better IMHO to simply write what you mean and be done with it.

To answer the original question: in your last example, the answer is simple. Using e.g. or i.e. would be unnecessary and possibly grammatically incorrect in this construction. The passage is perfectly clear as:

"As we discussed, you will bring two items. (A sleeping bag and a tent are not optional.)"

Note that the period goes inside the parentheses. It does not add any information, though it is not incorrect, to say:

"As we discussed, you will bring two items. (For example, a sleeping bag and a tent are not optional.)"

"As we discussed, you will bring two items. (That is, a sleeping bag and a tent are not optional.)"

All that said, if either e.g. or i.e. begins a sentence, it should be capitalized.