An ellipsis (plural: ellipses) is a punctuation mark consisting of three periods (or dots) in a row: ‘...‘.
It serves several purposes in writing:
Omission: The ellipsis can indicate the omission of words in a quoted passage. This is especially useful when shortening quotes or making them more concise while retaining their essential meaning.
- Original: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
- With ellipsis: “The quick brown fox… over the lazy dog.”
Suspension or Pause: In creative writing and informal contexts, an ellipsis might be used to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought, or a trailing off into silence.
- Example: “I thought I saw something, but…”
Intentional Vagueness: Ellipses can be used to suggest that there’s more to the story or that something is left unsaid.
- Example: “She gave him that look… and he knew he was in trouble.”
In Dialogue: In written dialogues or scripts, it can show when a character’s speech trails off or is interrupted.
- Example: “But I thought you said…”
In Mathematics and Computing: The ellipsis can represent a range of values or the continuation of a sequence or pattern.
- Example: 1, 2, 3, …
It’s worth noting that while three dots are the most common form of an ellipsis, some style guides and publications use a spaced version: . . . or use special characters that display the three dots as a single glyph.
When using ellipses in formal writing or academic work, it’s essential to consult the specific style guide relevant to your work (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago) to ensure proper use. Incorrect or overuse of ellipses can make a piece of writing seem disjointed or unclear.