Ellipsis and Substitution

Level 6

English

Ellipsis and substitution

Task Structure

Unit 5 Entertain us

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Ellipsis and substitution

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Ellipsis

• Ellipsis is when we leave out parts of a sentence because they are understood from the context. The missing words or phrases are implied, so they don't need to be repeated.

Use of Ellipsis:

• To avoid repetition.
• To maintain the flow of conversation or text without unnecessary details.
• Common in casual conversation.

Types of ellipsis

With infinitives

After auxiliaries and modals

After and, but, or, and then

Examples

Examples

Examples

Substitution

Substitution is when we replace a word or a phrase with a substitute word (e.g., "do," "one," "so"). This avoids repetition by replacing the repeated word with a pronoun or a phrase.

Substitution examples

WITH ONE (S)

WITH NOT

WITH SO

Rememberto post!

Substitution with

NOT

I asked if he was coming, but he said he’s not.She wanted to go to the party, but I’m not sure if I do or not. He thought I would be angry, but I’m really not. Is he going to the meeting? I hope not. They were supposed to finish their work by now, but it seems they have not.

• This substitution is used to avoid repeating part of a clause, often negating what was previously stated.
• We usually use a positive verb + not with be afraid, assume, guess, hope, presume, and suspect.

Ellipsis after specific words

and, but, or and then

1. I enjoy reading and writing.(No need to repeat "I enjoy.") 2. She plays the guitar and (she plays) the piano. 3. You can have coffee or tea. (No need to repeat "you can have.") 4. They invited her to the party, but (they) didn’t invite me. 5. We studied all night, then (we) went straight to bed.

Ellipsis with:

Infinitives

Should we go for a walk?" "I’d love to (go for a walk).""Are you coming to the party?" "I’d like to (come to the party)." "Do you want to stay longer?" "No, I’d rather not (stay longer)." "Can you help me with this?" "I’d be happy to (help you)." "Would you like to join us?" "I’d love to (join you)."

• Most of the times, they are used as an answer for a question
• We use auxiliary verbs like would.

Ellipsis after:

auxiliaries and modals

1. I can’t swim, but my brother can (swim).
2. She hasn’t eaten yet, but I have (eaten).
3. They won’t be coming, but John might (be coming).
4. He’s been to Japan, but she hasn’t (been to Japan).
5. We should leave soon, and they should (leave) too.

Substitution with

SO

Will she be attending the event? I believe so.He says the project is almost finished, and I hope so too. Are you ready to leave? If so, let’s go. Did they fix the issue? I assume so. Do you think it will rain tomorrow? I don’t think so.

• This is commonly used to replace an entire clause or phrase, typically affirming something that has been mentioned before.

Substitution with:

One/ones

I like the red dress, but I think the blue one suits you better.Do you need a pen? I have an extra one. These cakes are stale; let’s bake some fresh ones. I broke my phone, so I’m going to buy a new one. Those shoes look uncomfortable. Why don’t you wear the ones you bought last week? [!]

• This substitution is often used to avoid repeating a noun that has already been mentioned. We use "one" for singular countable nouns and "ones" for plural countable nouns.