Asked • 02/19/21

What is an ellipsis?

Some people say you should never use an elipsis.

Kate K.

tutor
An ellipsis is this: ... Three little dots. They are used to show that some words have been left out. They are very useful when you have a long quotation, but not all of it is relevant to the point your are making with the quotation. Be careful when you see one being used. Sometimes people use them to indicate that something has been left out, but that something that has been left out is critical to the meaning of the original quotation. They should not be used to change the meaning or imply a meaning that was not intended. People tend to use them in emails for reasons that are new. As with anything new, there are people who accept the new usage and people who find the new usage unacceptable. Some of the more commonly accepted new uses for ellipses are: - you want to show that some time has passed - there is a longer list, and you have just given a few items from the original list - you want to indicate something that you don't want to say outright Be prepared to have some people tell you these are not good reasons to use an ellipsis. These are new uses, and some people take some time to get used to new things.
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02/19/21

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