What is an ellipsis?

Grammar Toolkit

Ellipsis

Grammar Toolkit

Ellipsis

An ellipsis consists of three full-stops. It has two roles.

It shows that words have been deleted from a direct quotation.Salamanders, discussed in detail in Chapter 12 of this book,

usually live in or near water.Salamanders … usually live in or near water.

An ellipsis can also show a pause in speech, an unfinished thought, or a sentence trailing off into silence.“But … but … my pet salamander is very precious!” Lily protested.

Lily imagined something bad had happened. “Tell me you haven’t …”

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Ellipsis

Delete words from this quotation, so that it is only about temperatures in Antarctica.

Insert an ellipsis to show which words have been deleted.Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. The coldest natural temperature ever recorded on Earth was in Antarctica on 21 July 1983. The South Pole receives less than 10 cm per year of snow, and sunburn is a danger for visitors because of light reflecting off the snow. Temperatures can reach a minimum of −90 °C in the interior in winter.

Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. The coldest natural temperature ever recorded on Earth was in Antarctica on 21 July 1983 … Temperatures can reach a minimum of −90 °C in the interior in winter.

There it was again a soft, creepy sound. “Look out for the” Annie cried, as the door slammed shut.The victim whispered, “The diamonds are in ” and fell into a coma. Maybe just maybe we can find our way out of here.

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Ellipsis

Where could an ellipsis appear in each sentence?

There it was again … a soft, creepy sound.

“Look out for the …” Annie cried, as the door slammed shut.

The victim whispered, “The diamonds are in …” and fell into a coma. Maybe … just maybe … we can find our way out

of here.

Grammar Toolkit

Ellipsis

• Punctuation helps others to understand our writing.• An ellipsis (…), or points of ellipsis, shows that

words have been deleted from a direct quotation (e.g. The Prime Minister said, “We shall fight on the beaches … we shall never surrender”). • An ellipsis also shows a pause in speech, an

unfinished thought, or a sentence trailing off into silence (e.g. “Don’t tell me …”).

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Ellipsis

The End