An ellipsis is an omission of words from a clause, or the punctuation mark "..."
14
votes
2answers
432 views
Ellipsis that results in one word serving as both subject and object
Quoting from Jeff Atwood's blog:
[I expanded the team] by adding Kevin, who I didn't know, but had built amazing
stuff for us without even being asked to, from Texas. And again by adding ...
11
votes
5answers
778 views
How do you write an ellipsis following an abbreviation?
Consider the following sentence (off of the top of my head just to illustrate an example):
I hate the N.C.A.A....but I understand that it's a necessary evil.
When following an abbreviation with ...
10
votes
3answers
2k views
Why is there omission of subject in sentences like “Thought you'd never ask.”
Another example is "Hope this helps."
"Thought you'd never ask." is the omission of "I thought you'd never ask."
"Hope this helps." is the omission of "I hope this helps."
In English grammar, ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
Which is correct, “yes, they do” or “yes, they have”?
My daughter is in an 5th grade English class in Germany with a teacher who teaches British English.
The teacher asked what is the correct response to
Do they have some?
My daughter, who has ...
8
votes
2answers
117 views
Is there a term for authorial name expurgation?
In 19th century English texts, but also seen elsewhere (e.g. Heller's Catch-22) there is a practice of omitting part of a name such as:
I was going to visit Mrs. P___, but decided to remain at ...
7
votes
3answers
6k views
If I quote only the middle part of a sentence, do I use ellipses?
For example, if Peter is my source, should I say:
Peter mentioned his '... unquenchable thirst, a fatigued body...' as being part of the reason for his actions.
Or would I have to leave out the ...
6
votes
3answers
5k views
Capital letter after ellipsis
I was talking to a friend of mine over Skype, and I typed this:
Ok... Now I want more pork pie.
I'd like to know, should there be a capital letter after the ellipsis …? Should it be written the ...
6
votes
2answers
310 views
What's the rule for writing sentences with parallel clauses?
I've sometimes seen very nicely written sentences that have 2 clauses: the first is a full sentence, while the second, which is supposed to have a similar structure, was shorten into a special ...
6
votes
1answer
455 views
Ellipses at the end of unfinished lists
After reading a question wrongly posted on programmers.SE and especially the post at PR Daily quoted in one of the answers, I have some doubts about the usage of ellipses.
In French, ellipses are ...
6
votes
2answers
437 views
When a phrase ends with a period, do you put … or .. after it?
I was just reading this question: When "etc." is at the end of a phrase, do you place a period after it?
And it brought to mind something similar. If a phrase ends with a . (such as e.g. or ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Name of 3 dots to indicate a pause in speech
Answers to this question show that it is quite common to use the 'ellipsis' (three dots) in English writing to indicate a pause in speech for reasons of "confusion, insecurity, distress, or ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
Usage of double dots (..) Is it formal?
I am sure that this wouldn't have much meaning, but still want to get acknowledged whether usage of double dots is formal.
I have observed people using double dots in business Emails. Usually while ...
5
votes
3answers
234 views
Is an ellipsis a distinct punctuation mark?
The ellipsis looks like three consecutive periods, but many type faces have a distinct glyph for an ellipsis. Is this an aesthetic distinction, or is the ellipsis actually a different punctuation ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
What are the uses of ellipses in essays? [closed]
I’m wondering about how ellipses are used in essays. Are there any examples that I could see?
4
votes
2answers
315 views
“I will do” or “I will do that”
I have come across the phrase I will do used as a response. Somehow, it seems incomplete. Shouldn't it be I will do that?
4
votes
1answer
150 views
Is it appropriate to omit “will not be”?
Often, someone will say:
I'm not living in a senior's home!
When the intended meaning is:
I will not be living in a senior's home!
Is this acceptable?
4
votes
2answers
457 views
What is the proper way of using triple dots and spaces before/after them?
... part of a sentence ...
...part of a sentence ...
... part of a sentence...
Notice the spaces before/after the dots. Which usage is the correct one ?
4
votes
1answer
82 views
Is there a verb that means “the act of replacing a word or phrase with an ellipsis”?
Is there a verb that means "the act of replacing a word or phrase with an ellipsis"?
"Ellipsize" doesn't seem to be in the dictionaries. Is there a word for this?
4
votes
1answer
146 views
Is it acceptable to omit “I” when it's the subject? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is it acceptable to begin a declarative sentence with “Am”?
Is it correct English to omit I from the beginning of a sentence when it's clearly implied?
For example...
...
4
votes
2answers
237 views
Can I replace “that is/are (supposed) to” with just “to”?
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
[This method] binds a handler to one or more events to be executed once
for each matched element.
source
Is it just a contraction of the following ...
4
votes
1answer
762 views
How are bracket ellipsis […] used in quotations?
I see this type of syntax often, but I do not know how, when or where they should be used.
"It is the case that [...] the inconvenience is altogether imaginary."
Is it okay to use if I need to ...
3
votes
1answer
274 views
Omitting “by” after “impressed”
Which is correct?
You may be impressed how often the technique is being used in
industry.
You may be impressed by how often the technique is being used in
industry.
The first one is ...
3
votes
3answers
198 views
Is “ .. the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won.” correctly punctuated?
The quote in the title of this post is an extract from the official report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, authored among others by Kofi Annan. To me the comma is clearly misplaced. But is ...
3
votes
3answers
122 views
“I like number 2 and 3” or “I like numbers 2 and 3”?
What is the correct form and what is the exact name of this phenomenon. I tried looking it up myself but I could only find a German explanation that might also explain the English problem.
An example ...
3
votes
2answers
877 views
Can I use an ellipsis before a comma?
On a particular piece of dialogue and I wasn't sure if this was correct or just a matter of style.
"[...] your shield, you don’t deserve..., nor how can I put into the line?”
My question is the ...
2
votes
1answer
348 views
Is the use of ellipses… rude? [closed]
Coming from the UK and in my experience in writing to people on-line, it seems that some cultures that use the English language do not understand that ellipses in communication can come across as ...
2
votes
3answers
686 views
Is an ellipsis interchangeable with an em dash?
I know than an ellipsis can be used to show a broken sentence, the same way an em dash can be used. What I don't know is that if the two are interchangeable and it is writer preference or if different ...
2
votes
1answer
286 views
Changing verb tense in a quote after ellipsis
I am using a block quote in my manuscript. The sentence starts off something like this:
Our approach provides a general procedure to deal with this problem by
using...
The block quote is a bit ...
2
votes
2answers
148 views
Is it correct to omit this verb?
Can I omit the "are" in this sentence?
Instead, a linear combination of these two priors gives the maximum
success rate, the optimal weightings for which [are] given by the
values of lambda at ...
2
votes
2answers
373 views
'to'-infinitive without the verb
I seem to recall reading somewhere that using a to-infinitive with the actual verb omitted (because it's clear from context) — as in
He asked me to go, but I don't want to. (1)
— is ...
2
votes
1answer
109 views
Omission of 'to'
Arnold King, while writing a blog in econlib, wrote:
The last thing he meant to do was call attention to the coercion behind the insurance function.
Should it not be:
The last thing he meant ...
2
votes
4answers
263 views
When phrases with the same words are combined by “and”/“or”
How are phrases with the same words joined by the conjunctions "and" and "or" to avoid repeating the same ones? If I intend to say sentence 1 below, which of sentences 2 to 5 has/have the same ...
1
vote
1answer
287 views
Space before three dots? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the proper way of using triple dots and spaces before/after them?
Should there be a space before three dots?
Examples:
I don't know if this is good...
...
1
vote
3answers
192 views
Meaning of “just about everybody else has” in this context
— I ever tell you how much she depends on you?
— I ever tell you what an asshole you are?
— Nah. But that's okay, just about everybody else has.
They both laughed.
Is it "...everybody else ...
1
vote
1answer
151 views
Ellipsis at the end of a quote [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Punctuation of direct speech, edge cases
Space before three dots?
"I don't think so," she stated.
"I don't think..." her voice trailed off.
Is this second ...
0
votes
4answers
290 views
Use of ' to indicate missing letters/text
You can write
this ol' man 'ere
when you mean
this old man here
But can the ' be used to indicate whole missing sentence parts?
For example:
'been a pleasure!
for
It's been a ...
0
votes
2answers
352 views
When to use ellipsis (suspension points)
Continuing this thought:
Learning English as a second language I was taught that suspension points meant uncertainty, omission of words or interrupted thoughts. There are plenty of threads ...
0
votes
3answers
115 views
When is it allowable to elide “is”?
In an article in The Economist, I have observed the following sentence:
The less positive point out that human rights are routinely abused, freedom of speech is restricted and corruption endemic.
...
0
votes
2answers
66 views
Is a comma appended to an ellipsis in the middle of a quotation?
Digging through every ELU question I can find on the matter, I still can’t locate a specific answer to this question of punctuation. Which of these is correct?
“Maybe...” I said, injecting an ...
0
votes
1answer
122 views
“Hope” versus “I hope” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why is there omission of subject in sentences like “Thought you'd never ask.”
Is it correct to use hope without subject? I have seen may times something ...
0
votes
1answer
164 views
Ellipsis or semantically incomplete sentence? [closed]
I've got a resource, say a web-page. The page represents a product that belongs to one of the categories. For instance, Toys(category) -> Robocop (product).
There's a link on the page that takes user ...
0
votes
0answers
134 views
Do people truly notice ellipses in computer applications? [closed]
Following a question on user experience stack exchange which discussed the ellipsis in the context of computer applications, I was asked whether there's any research indicating that users actually ...
0
votes
4answers
293 views
Using an ellipsis to show omission, when we skip complete sentences. 3 or 4 dots? [duplicate]
Imagine I want to quote this text (the parts in bold):
If there were such a thing, I think I'd be a champion. You know, baking under dangerous conditions, high-speed frosting... all hypothetical ...
-1
votes
1answer
32 views
When ellipsis happens, can which of these be dropped?
“I warned you,” was his friend’s answer; “I said—be on your guard when
you go near her. Besides, you might have waited till to-morrow,
and had me with you: it was mere folly to attempt the ...
-1
votes
2answers
109 views
Can I use a gapping comma in this sentence?
Could you please help me correct this sentence? Thank you very much.
"The first thing I do in the morning after getting up is brush my teeth and wash my face, but the first thing he does is go on to ...
-1
votes
1answer
164 views
'Evening' and 'morning' in use as greetings [closed]
This is more a historical question than one on the usages themselves. I'm interested in the history of the truncated forms of "Good morning" and "Good evening..." specifically, when people started ...
-1
votes
0answers
78 views
Skipping the words 'you' and 'did' in spoken English
Do sentences 1 and 2 mean the same thing? Are they when speaking? If yes, is the first sentence also acceptable in written English?
1) Don't see anything?
2) Don't you see anything?
How about ...
-2
votes
2answers
79 views
Is this ellipsis grammatical?
Which of these sentence constructions is correct? The only difference is the last word.
Sometimes questioning others' assumptions is not the hardest part of being an activist; the hardest part ...
