59 Ellipsis

Ellipsis takes place when there are cases in which some words can be left out.

1. Given information
   • ‘What time is your friend going?’ ‘Around 11.’ (Instead of: He is going around 11.)
   • ‘Who got off the plane?’ ‘Jack.’ (Instead of: Jack got off.)
   • ‘How many luggages do you need to collect?’ ‘Five.’ (Instead of: I need to collect five luggages.)
2. With and, but and or
   • I have got a sleeping bag and (a) blanket.
   • He is very nice but (he is) shy.
   • Would they like a boat or (a) canoe?
3. Omission of that in indirect speech
   • Rupert said (that) he wanted to go on safari.
   • Her mum suggested (that) we go for a walk.
   • He thought (that) the hostel was closed.
4. Omission of that after adjectives
   • I’m happy (that) you took a break.
   • He was sad (that) she went away for a long weekend.
   • It wasn’t funny (that) he forgot my name while we were talking on the phone.

Ellipsis is the omission of some words which do not change the meaning of a sentence when they are omitted. We can do this omission also to prevent repetitions. We can use an Ellipsis:

1. For given information: When we answer a question and certain information is already given (there is no need to repeat it);
2. With and, but and or: In co-ordinated structures (we do not have to repeat words);
3. Omission of that in indirect speech: In informal style we can leave out that;
4. Omission of that after adjectives.

There are cases where we can omit words, normally when we can understand the meaning of the sentence without needing the words or when we want to avoid repetitions. The examples of when we can omit words include when certain information is already given, with “and”, “but” and “or”, in indirect speech (we can omit “that”) and omitting “that” after adjectives.

For example:
— “I want to buy a boat and (a) canoe.” = We can omit “a” after “and”.
— “He thought (that) I was in Ibiza.” = We can omit “that” in indirect speech.

Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. Take a look at the [Example] section that shows its use within a context.