ellipsis

«ellipsis» in Mova's school dictionary: The punctuation mark of three dots (…) that shows words… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (an ellipsis, ellipses)

meaning for a pupil

1) The punctuation mark of three dots (…) that shows words are missing or that a sentence trails off. tree →

2) (grammar) Leaving out words that are understood, as in «I can swim and so can Tom» (swim is left out). tree →

sense in the lessons

In English lessons the ellipsis builds suspense in stories («She opened the door slowly…») or shows a pause or unfinished thought. In quotes it marks words cut out. Phrases: «use an ellipsis», «end with an ellipsis».

examples

• She opened the box and saw… nothing! tree →
• Use an ellipsis to make the reader wait. tree →
• «Well… I'm not sure,» said Max. tree →
• The writer used an ellipsis to leave out part of the quote. tree →
• Don't put four dots — an ellipsis has three. tree →
• «Want some?» «Yes, please» is an example of ellipsis. tree →

note

Plural: ellipses (el-IP-seez). Always three dots, not two or five. Do not confuse with «ellipse», an oval shape in maths.

In the corpora

• An ellipsis is exactly three dots; it shows suspense, a trailing-off voice, or missing words.
• An ellipsis (...) can make the reader pause and wait.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «ellipsis» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.