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Home > Ellipsis

This article is not about ellipses, the flattened circle shape.

In printing and writing, an ellipsis (plural: ellipses) is a row of three dots (…) or asterisks (* * *) indicating an intentional omission. This punctuation mark is also called a suspension point.

An example is, “She went to … school.” In this sentence, “…” might represent the word “elementary,” or the word “no.” The use of ellipses can either mislead or clarify, and the reader must rely on the good intentions of the writer who uses it. Omission without indication by an ellipsis is always considered misleading.

An ellipsis can also used to indicate a pause in speech, or be used at the end of a sentence to indicate a trailing off into silence.

1 Typographical rules

There are differences in typographical rules and conventions of using ellipsis between languages.

1.1 Ellipsis in English

The Chicago Manual of Style suggests the use of an ellipsis for any omitted word, phrase, line or paragraph from within a quoted passage. There are two commonly used methods of using ellipses: one uses three dots for any omission, the second makes a distinction between omissions within a sentence (using three dots: …) and omissions between sentences (using a period followed by three spaced dots: ....).

Although some write ellipses without spaces, some institutions, such as the Oxford University Press, place spaces before the ellipsis. Thus: “I have seen something ...” (instead of “I have seen something...”) The exception here is when a word has been cut off in the middle; that is, when the ellipsis stands for a part of one word: “‘He said he realized he was wro...’ I stopped mid-word, awestruck.” (In English it is often written as “‘He said he realised he was wro—’ I stopped mid-word, awestruck.”)

Sometimes 4 dots are used in an ellipsis, often to represent a period following an ellipsis.

When quoting, an ellipsis is used enclosed in brackets ([ ]) or, more often, slashes (//) if one wishes to omit a part of an original quotation. For example, if the original is the following: “I am reluctant, for no one has convinced me otherwise, to make this decision,” one may quote it by leaving out a part thus: “I am reluctant /.../ to make this decision.”

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Topics: Ellipsis Word Dots Space Ellipses Rules Character Ktos Omission...

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EllipsisThis article is not about ellipses, the flattened circle shape''. In printing and writing, an ellipsis (plural: ellipses is a row of three dots or asterisks ( ) indicating an intentional omission. This punctuation mark is also called a suspension point .