Scribd
Upload
296 views

Ellipsis

Ellipsis occurs when expected grammatical items are left out of sentences to make them more concise. There are two main types of ellipsis: textual ellipsis, where context allows the reader to understand the implied meaning, and situational ellipsis, where context from the immediate situation provides understanding. Examples include leaving out repeated subjects, verbs, objects, and other expected words in coordinated clauses, questions, and fixed expressions. Ellipsis is a common feature of informal spoken language that reduces unnecessary repetition without affecting comprehension.

Uploaded by

luthais
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
296 views

Ellipsis

Ellipsis occurs when expected grammatical items are left out of sentences to make them more concise. There are two main types of ellipsis: textual ellipsis, where context allows the reader to understand the implied meaning, and situational ellipsis, where context from the immediate situation provides understanding. Examples include leaving out repeated subjects, verbs, objects, and other expected words in coordinated clauses, questions, and fixed expressions. Ellipsis is a common feature of informal spoken language that reduces unnecessary repetition without affecting comprehension.

Uploaded by

luthais
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Ellipsis

Ellipsis happens when we leave out (in other words, when we dont use) items which we
would normally expect to use in a sentence if we followed the grammatical rules. The
following examples show ellipsis. The items left out are in brackets [ ]:
I am absolutely sure [that] I have met her somewhere before.
A:
[Have you] Seen my gloves anywhere?
B:
Theyre in the kitchen.
She sang and [she] played the violin at the same time.
A:
[Are] You ready yet?
B:
Yes. [Im] Ready now. [Im] Sorry to keep you waiting.
In fact, when we use ellipsis appropriately, no one thinks we have left out anything, and
ellipsis is normal and very common, especially in informal conversation.

Textual ellipsis
When we can easily understand everything in the sentence because of the surrounding
text, we use textual ellipsis. For example, we know that certain verbs and adjectives can
be followed by a that-clause, so if we see a clause without that after such verbs and
adjectives, we assume that the writer or speaker wants us to understand the same
meaning as a that-clause:
I knew [that] something terrible had happened.
Maureen was glad [that] we had called in to see her.
Are you afraid [that] you wont get a job when you leave college?
The same happens when we do not repeat words in clauses connected
with and, but and or (coordinated clauses). We understand what the missing items are:
We went for a walk and [we] took some lovely photographs.
He wrote to [everyone he could think of who might help] and [he] phoned everyone he
could think of who might help.
I can remember his face but [I] cant remember his name.
Do you want to stay in or [do you want to] go out tonight?
We can also leave out the complement of a verb when it is obvious what the complement
is:
A:
Why dont they move to a bigger place?
B:
They dont want to [move to a bigger place]. Theyre happy where they are.

A:
Have more coffee.
B:
Id better not [have more coffee]. I wont be able to sleep later.

Situational ellipsis
Subject pronouns
When we do not need to mention someone or something because it is obvious from the
immediate situation, we use situational ellipsis. Situational ellipsis often means we do not
need to use the subject pronoun I, especially at the beginning of a clause. This is quite
informal:
[I] Wonder where Joe Healey is these days?
Bye! [I] Hope you have a nice holiday.
We can also omit a third person pronoun (he, she, it, they) at the beginning of a clause in
informal conversation when it is obvious who or what we are referring to:
A:
I saw Janice in town. [She] Said shes getting married next year.
B:
Really?
A:
Yeah. [She] Met some guy and got engaged to him after only a couple of weeks,
apparently.
Theres something wrong with the car. [It] Started making a funny noise on the way home.
(once the noun is mentioned even as an object- there is no need to repeat the noun in
the following sentence if it is the noun, and then, if it is in the object position.)

Questions with question tags


In questions in informal conversation, we can leave out a subject pronoun, or a subject
pronoun and an accompanying auxiliary verb, when we use a question tag:
[He] Gave up his job, did he? I thought he would. (subject explicit in the question tag)
[You] Wrote to the local newspaper, did you? Good idea. (subject explicit in the question
tag)
A:
He was asked to leave the room.
B:
Yes. [He] Didnt like it, did he? (contextualised)
A:
No. He wasnt at all happy.
A:
Pat and Cathy certainly had a long break from work.
B:
Yeah. [They] Went away for a month, didnt they?

Subjects and auxiliary verbs


In informal conversation, we can leave out both a subject pronoun such asI or you and an
accompanying auxiliary verb at the beginning of a clause when the meaning is obvious.
This is most common in questions:
[Have you] Finished with the newspaper? (question)
[Ive] Lost my car keys again. Have you seen them? (question)
A:
[Do you] Want some coffee? (question)
B:
Is there any?
A:
Yeah. [Ive] Just made some.

Auxiliary verbs
In questions in informal conversation, with the second person pronounyou, we can leave
out the auxiliary verb only:
[Have] You finished your essay yet? (question)
[Are] You going to the match on Saturday? (question)
We can also do the same in informal conversation in questions with third person noun
subjects:
[Is] Richard coming tonight? (question)
[Has] Claire bought a new car yet? She said she was going to. (question)
We dont normally do this with the first person pronoun I:
Am I making too much noise?
Not: I making too much noise?

Articles
In informal conversation, we can sometimes omit articles (a/an, the) when they are
obvious from the context and when we use them at the beginning of a sentence:
[The] Dog wants to go out. Can you open the door for him?
A:
What are you looking for?
B:
[A] Pen. Can you see one anywhere?
[The] Postmans just been. Theres a letter for you.

Fixed expressions
We often leave out the first word of a fixed expression in informal conversation because
we know the listener will understand the expression:
Id love to go with you. [The] Trouble is, Ive got to work on Saturday this week.
I cant read that. Im [as] blind as a bat without my glasses.

Substitution
Substitution is similar to ellipsis in many ways, because both enable the speaker to reduce
what they are saying. Ellipsis is simply leaving something out that is usually obvious.
Substitution involves using words such as do and so and not instead of a clause.
Compare

ellipsis

substitution

A:
She could sleep in the study on
the sofa.
The Chairman threatened to resign,
B:
and he finally did so in 2008. (did
Yes, she could [sleep in the
so =resigned)
study on the sofa].
A:
Will you have another cake?
B:
Id better not [have another
cake]. Im supposed to be on a
diet.

A:
Is Charlie coming too?
B:
I hope not. Theres only enough food
for three. (not = Charlie isnt coming)

You might also like