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Punctuation Rule: Use of Ellipses
Friday February 16th 2007, 9:30 am
Filed under: Grammar
Filed under: Grammar
For our “left-brain” activity this week, let’s talk about ellipses . . . the three little dots that I used in this sentence.
Here’s what The Chicago Manual of Style says about ellipses:
“An ellipsis—the omission of a word, phrase, line, paragraph, or more from a quoted passage—is indicated by ellipsis points (or dots), not by asterisks. Ellipsis points are three spaced periods (. . .), sometimes preceded or followed by other punctuation. They must always appear together on the same line, but any preceding punctuation may appear at the end of the line above.”
Notice that you add a space before the ellipses begin.
Have a great weekend!
Robin
I know that there are specific rules for the use of ellipsis in writing. I had referenced Webster’s Pocket Grammar, Speech & Style Dictionary of the English Language (2002 Edition - Revised) regarding the use of ellipsis. It also mentioned that ellipsis can be used between short groups of words in advertising, but should NOT be used in formal writing.
Would you agree with Webster’s statement? Is advertising “excused” from refrain of use of ellipsis?
~Mark G.
Comment by Mark Garcia 03.28.08 @ 1:01 pmEllipses can be used in formal writing, but I would certainly use them sparingly.
They are often used in formal writing to indicate the omission of parts of a quotation.
Webster’s is definitely a trusted source, so it’s hard to dispute what they say!
Robin
Comment by robin 04.01.08 @ 11:43 amLeave a comment
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