Ellipsis

-In linguistics, ellipsis or elliptical construction refers to the omission from a clause of one or more words that would otherwise be required by the remaining elements

-the omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words that would complete or clarify the construction, as the omission of who are, while I am,  or while we are  from I like to interview people sitting down.

 

When to use ellipses

1. Use an ellipsis to show an omission, or leaving out, of a word or words in a quote. Use ellipses to shorten the quote without changing the meaning.

For example:

• "After school I went to her house, which was a few blocks away, and then came home."

Shorten the quote by replacing a few words with an ellipsis. Remember, the meaning of the quote should not change.

• "After school I went to her house … and then came home."

We removed the words "which was a few blocks away" and replaced them with an ellipsis without changing the meaning of the original quote.

2. Use an ellipsis to show a pause in a thought or to create suspense. (Suspense is when a reader is excited to know what is going to happen next.)

Examples:   

• She opened the door . . . and saw . . . a cake!
• I was thinking . . . maybe we should call home.

This use of ellipses is very common in informal (friendly) letters and emails.

3. Use an ellipsis to show a break, or trailing off, of a thought.

Examples:   

• I know I saw my keys somewhere . . .
• "I'm not sure what to do . . .," he said.
• I never thought . . .