'I have left out at least one more sentence.'.

When a quotation ends with an original sentence, but you want to show other sentences have been omitted, your options are as follows: When an ellipsis is used at the end of a sentence, your options are as follows: Your options, in our assessed order of popularity, are as follows: The formats offered in style guides vary. When using ellipses, be consistent with your formatting.

With the Lord's Prayer mumbling across our lips, we climbed the ladders.'.

When an ellipsis ends a sentence, use four dots (three for the ellipsis and one for the period (full stop)).Įxamples of Ellipsis to Show a Trail Off into Silence NB: It is possible to use a dash to create a pause for effect.Įxamples of Ellipsis to Show an Unfinished Thought

Gleaming through the sludge in the U bend was my earring.

Square brackets are not used with an ellipsis for a pause for effect.

A credit card stolen in London was used to pay for a Chinese meal five hours later.

The brackets also differentiate the omission from the later pause for effect.)Įxamples of Ellipsis to Create a Pause for Effect

(The square brackets around the ellipsis tell us that the ellipsis was not in the original, making it clear that the author has removed some text.

He would eat jam, ham, spam, lamb, and cram.berries by the tram load.

Square brackets are useful to make it clear that the ellipsis did not appear in the original text or to differentiate it from a pause for effect. (Original: 'Houston, Tranquillity Base here. (Original: 'A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life – nothing looks more stupid than a hat.')

A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off nothing looks more stupid than a hat.

(Original: 'Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.')Īn ellipsis that replaces missing words is sometimes placed in square brackets. (Original: 'I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.')

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when.Examples of Ellipsis to Show an Omission of a Word or Words from a Text

Insert ellipsis in word