Designer punctuation - Ellipses
I was tweaking my profile on my Web site and was listing the contributions made by the field of engineering to our development. I created a list, which read like this: buildings, roads, bridges, air-conditioning, computers, trains, cars, electricity...
Yes, as the list grew long, I felt like cutting it off by using three dots (known as ellipses) in the end. But before using it, I grew bit suspicious about my intention. Is it correct to use ellipses for such an application? Upon checking, it turned out that my suspicion was correct. You can't!
Ellipses, the three dots (...), can be used only with the following rules:
1. To show that some parts of a quoted material have been omitted. For example:
Normal sentence: He went on to say, "I am ready to learn about ellipses, though I know I am unlikely to use them."
With ellipses: He went on to say, "I am ready to learn about ellipses... unlikely to use them."
If the sentence ends with ellipses, add a period after the ellipses, like this:
He went on to say, "I am ready to learn about ellipses, though I know I am unlikely...."
2. To show a pause or hesitation. This type of use is very popular in scripts for videos and movies.
I have a good news for you, but...will tell you tomorrow.
Let me end here because grammar is such a... dull topic to deal with, read about and think about.
Atul
http://atulmathur.com
Yes, as the list grew long, I felt like cutting it off by using three dots (known as ellipses) in the end. But before using it, I grew bit suspicious about my intention. Is it correct to use ellipses for such an application? Upon checking, it turned out that my suspicion was correct. You can't!
Ellipses, the three dots (...), can be used only with the following rules:
1. To show that some parts of a quoted material have been omitted. For example:
Normal sentence: He went on to say, "I am ready to learn about ellipses, though I know I am unlikely to use them."
With ellipses: He went on to say, "I am ready to learn about ellipses... unlikely to use them."
If the sentence ends with ellipses, add a period after the ellipses, like this:
He went on to say, "I am ready to learn about ellipses, though I know I am unlikely...."
2. To show a pause or hesitation. This type of use is very popular in scripts for videos and movies.
I have a good news for you, but...will tell you tomorrow.
Let me end here because grammar is such a... dull topic to deal with, read about and think about.
Atul
http://atulmathur.com
posted by Atul Mathur | 7:24 PM
1 Comments:
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