The Proper Use of Ellipsis Points

Hi,

Issue # 010, 7th August, 2009

In This Issue:

1. Free Ebooks!!!
2. Proper Use of Ellipsis Points
3. Spread the Word

Free Ebooks!!!

Mid this month, I will send you links to two great down loads: Let Go and The Ultimate Short Story Writing Course.

I have decided to delay a bit to let as many people as possible subscribe. So go tell all your friends about it!

Now, I want to tell you in advance so that you are not caught unawares:

The links will be distributed in a top-secret issue of Writer Digest, possibly on the 16th of August. There will be no back-issues, so that only subsribers can lay their hands on them.

In addition, the links will last for only a week, after that they will go quite dead. So ensure that you get your secret issue of Writer Digest. Double check your spam folder if you can't see it on the 16th of August, because sometimes it has habits of landing there.

So, tell your friend about it while there is still time.

By the way, if you are interested in getting the hard copy of Let Go, follow this link:

http://www.writing-lovers.com/let-go.html

Proper Use of Ellipsis Points

Do you know what ellipsis points are?

They are three periods like this: …

They are used to indicate an omission of words in quotations or to indicate falter in speech.

So how do you use them correctly?

Firstly, let us talk of their use in quotations.

When you are quoting a passage or something somebody said, you may choose to leave out words or phrases that are not pertinent to what you want to bring to light. Ellipsis points will take the place of the omitted elements.

For example, say you want to quote Lord Acton who said:

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Here are examples of correct quotations, the missing elements being indicated by ellipsis points:

Lord Acton said, “Power corrupts…absolutely.”

Lord Acton once said, “Power…, and absolute power corrupts.”

Note the following about these quotations.

• The ellipsis points indicate missing elements within the quote. If the ellipsis points happen to follow a complete sentence within the quote, a period should be placed after them.
• Punctuation marks before or after the ellipsis points may or may not be show. 

Now the following quotations are wrong:

Lord Acton said, “…absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Lord Acton said, “Absolute power corrupts….”

They are wrong because it is not necessary to begin or end a quotation with ellipsis points. If you want to quote a word or phrase within a quotation, just use quotation marks.

In speech, ellipsis points are used to indicate hesitation:

“I missed… you… a lot, David,” Nancy breathed.

They may also be used to indicate unsaid words, especially if the speaker is interrupted.

“You are going to…” he mumbled, the words dying in his mouth when Aggie entered the room.

However, an omitted word in speech is usually indicated by an em dash.

Sometimes, ellipsis points are used at the end of a paragraph or chapter to indicated the more is coming or simply to indicate a hanging thought.

For a while, they were silent as they admired the scenery. Lewis usually ran out of things to say each time he was with Emmy, and he did not really know why, and each time she stared at him, he melted inside….

I am certain that now you know how to correctly use the ellipsis points.

Goody good!

Spread the Word!

Tell your friends about Writer Digest. Spread the Word! Forward this zine to them. If someone forwarded it to you, get your own subscription by following the link below:

http://www.writing-lovers.com/e-zine.html

Comments? Ideas? Feedback? I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this zine and tell me what you think!

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WD10