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Punctuation

An ellipsis consists of three periods and indicates omitted words or an incomplete thought, treated as a three-letter word with spaces. Guidelines include avoiding ellipses at the beginning or end of quotes and using proper punctuation before an ellipsis. Parentheses can add explanatory material but should be used sparingly, and when necessary, can be offset with commas or dashes for clarity.

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8 views2 pages

Punctuation

An ellipsis consists of three periods and indicates omitted words or an incomplete thought, treated as a three-letter word with spaces. Guidelines include avoiding ellipses at the beginning or end of quotes and using proper punctuation before an ellipsis. Parentheses can add explanatory material but should be used sparingly, and when necessary, can be offset with commas or dashes for clarity.

Uploaded by

mansourals.school
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Punctuation: Ellipsis

An ellipsis ( ... ) consists of three evenly spaced


periods and is used to indicate the omission of
words or suggest an incomplete thought. In general,
an ellipsis should be treated as a three-letter
word, with a space, three periods and a space.

Never delete words that are central to the original


meaning. Do not use ellipses at the beginning or
end of direct quotes when writing a news story.

Other guidelines and examples

When the words before an ellipsis make up a


complete sentence, place a period before the
ellipsis.

When the phrase preceding an ellipsis calls for a


question mark, exclamation point, comma or colon,
the correct order is: phrase, punctuation mark,
space, ellipsis, space, next phrase. (What is a
healthy university? ... The ability to think beyond
our individual and limited view.)

Parentheses ( ( ) ) can be used to insert


explanatory or qualifying material that you want to
de-emphasize, or information that doesn't fit
naturally into the flow of your text. Because they
are so jarring to the reader, parentheses should be
avoided whenever possible.

Parenthesis Offset with Commas


 Paul, on the other hand, is considered extremely
trustworthy.
 House prices in Alton, which is only 25 minutes from
London, are soaring.
 Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth but
supreme beauty. (Philosopher Bertrand Russell)
lso, if a parenthesis itself contains a comma or commas, it is
advisable to avoid commas to offset it. For example:
 Dave Bellamy, like his father, Peter Bellamy, last year,
was victorious in this year's regional pie-making finals.
(This could be confusing.)
 Dave Bellamy (like his father, Peter Bellamy, last year)
was victorious in this year's regional pie-making finals.
(This version is clearer.)

parenthesis Offset with Dashes


 They roasted the winning brisket — the size of a pillow
— in a mighty clay oven.
 If mankind minus one were of one opinion, then mankind
is no more justified in silencing the one than the one — if
he had the power — would be justified in silencing
mankind. (Philosopher John Stuart Mill)

When dashes are used to offset a parenthesis, it increases the


focus on the parenthesis.

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