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# ellipsis

«ellipsis» in Mova's school dictionary: **The punctuation mark of three dots (…) that shows words…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (an ellipsis, ellipses)

### meaning for a pupil

1) The punctuation mark of three dots (…) that shows words are missing or that a sentence trails off. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/ellipsis/#m1)

2) (grammar) Leaving out words that are understood, as in «I can swim and so can Tom» (swim is left out). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/ellipsis/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In English lessons the ellipsis builds suspense in stories («She opened the door slowly…») or shows a pause or unfinished thought. In quotes it marks words cut out. Phrases: «use an ellipsis», «end with an ellipsis».

### examples

- She opened the box and saw… nothing! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/ellipsis/#x1)
- Use an ellipsis to make the reader wait. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/ellipsis/#x2)
- «Well… I'm not sure,» said Max. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/ellipsis/#x3)
- The writer used an ellipsis to leave out part of the quote. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/ellipsis/#x4)
- Don't put four dots — an ellipsis has three. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/ellipsis/#x5)
- «Want some?» «Yes, please» is an example of ellipsis. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/ellipsis/#x6)

### note

Plural: ellipses (el-IP-seez). Always three dots, not two or five. Do not confuse with «ellipse», an oval shape in maths.

### In the corpora

- [An ellipsis is exactly three dots; it shows suspense, a trailing-off voice, or missing words.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/36-brackets-dashes-colons-semicolons-and-hyphens/15/)
- [An ellipsis (...) can make the reader pause and wait.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/42-building-tension-and-suspense/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «ellipsis» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/ellipsis/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.