Definition and Example Ellipsis, or elision, means missing out a word or phrase so that the text still makes sense. Instead of saying: Katie completed her homework but Martin didn’t complete his homework; you could say: Katie completed her homework but Martin didn’t. The ellipsis has left out the words ‘complete his homework’. Sometimes, three dots (…) can be used to show where the words are missing. When used in reported speech, unimportant parts can be left out using ellipsis. When attempting to duck a SPaG question for 10 and David Cameron said, “The whole point of these changes is to make sure our children are better educated than we are!” To use ellipsis in this sentence, it would be written: When attempting to duck a SPaG question for 10 and 11-year-olds, David Cameron said, “The whole point … is to make sure our children are better educated than we are!” The words ‘of these changes’ have been left out of David Cameron’s quote, and an ellipsis have been used in their place. Ellipsis can also be used to create suspense in writing. Hearing a noise downstairs in the middle of the night, Sophie got out of bed and crept to her bedroom door. She slowly turned the handle and peeked through the opening…
Definition and Example Ellipsis, or elision, means missing out a word or phrase so that the text still makes sense. Instead of saying: Katie completed her homework but Martin didn’t complete his homework; you could say: Katie completed her homework but Martin didn’t. The ellipsis has left out the words ‘complete his homework’. Sometimes, three dots (…) can be used to show where the words are missing. When used in reported speech, unimportant parts can be left out using ellipsis. When attempting to duck a SPaG question for 10 and David Cameron said, “The whole point of these changes is to make sure our children are better educated than we are!” To use ellipsis in this sentence, it would be written: When attempting to duck a SPaG question for 10 and 11-year-olds, David Cameron said, “The whole point … is to make sure our children are better educated than we are!” The words ‘of these changes’ have been left out of David Cameron’s quote, and an ellipsis have been used in their place. Ellipsis can also be used to create suspense in writing. Hearing a noise downstairs in the middle of the night, Sophie got out of bed and crept to her bedroom door. She slowly turned the handle and peeked through the opening…