Ellipsis Mark ( ... ) Punctuation Rules: How to Use Ellipses / Suspension Points in English
Ellipsis Mark ( ... ) Punctuation Rules: How to Use Ellipses / Suspension Points in English
Learn how to use the ellipsis mark in English ( … ). In this punctuation lesson, you’ll learn about ellipses (ellipsis points and suspension points) and how we use them. We use ellipses in formal writing to replace words that we omit from a quotation. We also use the ellipsis mark to indicate hesitation, pauses, or trailing off in sentences. This is very common in informal writing (emails/texts) and especially in novels.
I will also teach you about different style guides and how they use spaces with ellipsis marks. The Chicago Manual of Style requires spaces before and after the ellipsis and between each ellipsis point ( … ). However, the AP stylebook requires spaces only before and after the ellipsis ( … ).
Many authors have different preferences when using ellipses, but the most important thing is to be consistent in your writing. Use one style and stick to it.
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Content
5.28 -> Hello, everyone, and welcome back to my channel
Sparkle English where I teach you how to improve
10.4 -> your level of English. This is a new video
in my English Writing Essentials series.
16.56 -> Today, I am going to teach you all about ellipses.
If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to
22.88 -> my channel for more videos like this one teaching
you how to improve your writing skills and use
28 -> punctuation marks. So what is an ellipsis? An
ellipsis is a set of three periods. So this here
37.04 -> is an ellipsis. Ellipses is the plural form
of ellipsis. So here we have ellipses. There
46 -> are three different ellipses. Sometimes you
hear people say, "dot, dot dot," and they mean
54.48 -> an ellipsis. One is called an ellipsis point.
Ellipses are also known as suspension points.
66.08 -> So when do we use an ellipsis? There
are multiple uses for ellipses.
73.28 -> We use ellipses to indicate words have
been omitted or removed from a phrase or
80.72 -> paragraph. We can also use ellipses to indicate
a pause in speech or trailing off into silence.
91.28 -> So first of all, let's talk about using ellipses
to replace omitted words. This is very common
98.96 -> if you have to write an essay in school or
university. Or if you are writing an article.
107.2 -> Ellipses are often used to reduce the length
of a quoted sentence, speech, or paragraph.
114.96 -> The portion replaced by an ellipsis must
not change the meaning of the quote.
122.72 -> So for example, here is a quote by Martin Luther
King Jr. "Five score years ago, a great American
130.72 -> in whose symbolic Chateau we stand today signed
the Emancipation Proclamation." Now, let's say
138.56 -> you want to quote this, but you don't want to
quote the entire paragraph. We can use an ellipsis
147.84 -> to replace a portion of the quote that we don't
want to include. So a shortened quote could be:
157.28 -> "Five score years ago ... a great American signed
the Emancipation Proclamation." And this ellipsis
167.2 -> right here replaces "in whose symbolic shadow we
stand today." Removing this does not change the
177.92 -> meaning of the quote. So we can use an ellipsis to
reduce the length of a quote and make it shorter.
188.08 -> Here is another example Winston Churchill, in
one of his famous speeches said this quote.
195.84 -> We could use ellipses to shorten this: "We
shall go on to the end ... we shall defend
202.4 -> our Island ... we shall never surrender." So
in this one, we use two different ellipses to
210.16 -> replace this ... is the first one. And
this ellipsis replaces the second part.
221.44 -> Now this is very important, the portion replaced
by an ellipsis must not change the meaning of
228.88 -> the quote. For example, here's a quote by Marilyn
Monroe. "I don't forgive people because I'm weak.
236.32 -> I forgive them because I am strong enough to know
people make mistakes." If I shorten this and said,
244.4 -> "I don't forgive people ... because I ... know
people make mistakes." This implies that Marilyn
254.88 -> Monroe doesn't forgive people. And that is not
what she said. So this would be incorrect. It is
262.4 -> not correct to use ellipses in this way. However,
if we said "I ... forgive people because ... I am
275.2 -> strong enough to know people make mistakes."
This is correct because it does not change the
282 -> meaning of the quote. So you cannot use ellipses
to manipulate the real meaning of the quote.
291.52 -> We also use ellipses to indicate
hesitation, pauses, or trailing off.
298.4 -> Now, this is very common in informal
writing or writing in novels, poetry,
305.68 -> when you're text messaging your friends or
writing emails. For example, we use an ellipsis
312.72 -> for hesitation or pauses. "Umm ... I'm not sure
what he said." "Hmm ... shall we go to the beach?"
324.24 -> "I think ... we should break up." So here we have
hesitations. And here is a pause. I think, pause,
335.36 -> we should break up. If we don't use an ellipsis
here, the sentence is read like "I think we
343.12 -> should break up." But the ellipsis indicates a
pause. We can also use an ellipsis for trailing
352 -> off. "I love you, but ... " and that means our
sentence is trailing off. We're not finishing
360 -> the sentence. "I can't do this anymore, I
just ... " We're not finishing the sentence.
367.84 -> It is incomplete, or we have more to say and
we just don't say it. We can use an ellipsis.
375.84 -> You will see many uses of ellipses
in novels. Now if the sentence is
382.64 -> considered grammatically complete, we
use a period and the ellipsis at the end.
389.68 -> If the sentence is not grammatically complete,
use only the ellipsis. So I'm going to show you
395.52 -> some examples from novels I found in my house of
how these authors use the ellipsis. So these two
404.64 -> quotes are taken from the Golden Compass by Philip
Pullman. "And she mumbled, I just play sort of
412.64 -> around the college. Just...play...really."
Here, you can see that this author
418.88 -> has decided not to use spaces on either side
of the ellipsis. And this is not very common.
426.4 -> I'm going to talk about ellipses and spaces next,
but the most important thing is to be consistent.
434.4 -> And this other quote from the novel, The Golden
Compass. "Take it off at once, and come help check
440.88 -> these glasses...." And here you can see that this
is the end of a sentence, the sentence is trailing
448.96 -> off, but it is a complete sentence. So the author
has used an ellipsis plus a period at the end
459.04 -> because the sentence is complete. If this
sentence ended right here with these.
465.92 -> "And come help check these..." that wouldn't be
a complete sentence. So it would just have an
473.2 -> ellipsis at the end. Here's some other examples
from the novel Rachel's holiday by Marian Keyes.
481.36 -> "Long hair? Huge pair of . . . er . .
. eyes?" Here you can see in this book,
488.24 -> this author decided to have a space between every
ellipsis point and before and after the ellipsis,
498.24 -> whereas Philip Pullman has decided not to use any
spaces. "What the . . . ? I thought in surprise."
508.16 -> "She just tried to play God with the lives
of the people around her . . . " Again,
514.88 -> you can see the difference between
Philip Pullman's style and Marian Keyes'
520 -> style. Because with him, he decided to use a
period after the ellipsis because this was a
528 -> grammatically complete sentence. Now Marian Keyes
has decided just to use the ellipsis. Even though
536.24 -> this is a complete sentence, she has not added a
period after the ellipsis. So with ellipses, it's
545.36 -> very important to stick to one style guide in all
of your writing. That is the most important thing.
553.44 -> So as you saw in the last example, different
style guides have different rules on how to use
561.04 -> spaces with ellipses. The most
important thing is to be consistent.
567.12 -> I'm going to compare two different style guides
and show you how the spacing is different. First,
573.68 -> I'm going to show you an example in formal writing
when you are omitting words from quotes. This is a
581.2 -> quote by Michelle Obama. "A President's words have
the power to move markets, they can start wars
588 -> or broker peace." Now using the Chicago Manual
of Style, we could shorten this quote and say,
596.4 -> "A president's words . . . can start war or broker
peace." And with the Chicago Manual of Style,
605.76 -> we have a space before the ellipsis and a
space between each ellipsis point. So space
617.36 -> point, space, point, space, point, space. And in
the AP Stylebook, "A president's words ... can
629.04 -> start wars or broker peace." We have a space
and then the ellipsis with no space between
637.36 -> each ellipsis point and then a space. Now let's
look at an example with hesitation and a pause.
646.24 -> "I think . . . we should move to a different
country." So here again, with the Chicago Manual
653.04 -> of Style, we have a space, ellipsis point,
space, ellipsis point, space, ellipsis point,
661.36 -> space. And with the AP Stylebook, "I think
... we should move to a different country."
667.92 -> We have a space, then the ellipsis with
no space, as if it's one word all together
676.08 -> and then space. So again, the most important thing
is to be consistent with your style when you are
684.16 -> using ellipses. If you have to do an essay or
something where you will be getting a grade,
691.68 -> ask your teacher or your professor
which style guide you have to follow.
696.4 -> But in general, we use ellipses to omit words
from quotes and in informal writing for hesitation
704.64 -> or pauses or trailing off in our writing. Okay,
thank you guys very much for watching this lesson.
711.36 -> If you have any questions, feel free to ask me
in the comment section. Make sure to check out my
717.28 -> full series on English writing essentials where
I talk about all the other punctuation marks.
723.36 -> You can click on the link in the description below
to watch my other videos on punctuation marks.
728.88 -> Thank you guys for watching, and
I will see you in my next lesson!
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4lpFzzk2wI