Ellipses are different from dashes, but they share enough to need some clarification.
In dialogue, an ellipsis falters in confusion or creates a pause. The em dash interrupts abruptly.
Ellipses (singular = ellipsis)
…
MS Word and similar word processors will create an ellipsis when three consecutive periods (dots) are typed.
The Chicago Manual of Style prefers hard (nonbreaking) spaces (Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar for Windows, Option+Spacebar for Mac) between the three dots. The Associated Press inserts no spaces between the dots, which is what your word processor will probably do.
Within a sentence, both AP and CMOS prefer a space before and after the ellipsis, treating it and punctuating it as though it were the word(s) omitted.
Between sentences, if the end of the sentence was omitted, then the period goes before the three dots. If the beginning of a following sentence was omitted, then a period after the preceding three dots.
According to the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), an ellipsis indicates someone who is in a less-than-logical state of mind. They may be uncertain or frightened in an emergency or high-stress situation. They may hesitate or stammer, or their words may just trail off.
However, writers often use ellipses to indicate a pause in what is being said, which may be done for emphasis or hesitation.
If a phrase would require a comma, the comma goes before the ellipsis, just as it would if the missing word(s) were said.
If the sentence is complete, a separate ending mark goes after the ellipsis, which may make four periods in a row.
If the word is cut off, then the ellipsis attaches to the end of the word with no space between. Treat it as the rest of the word.
Examples:
- “I thought I would … might … perha… I could … maybe you would let me …”
- (The thought continues throughout.)
- (Space before and after the three consecutive dots [AP style], except at the end)
- (The word “perhaps” is cut off before it is finished, so the ellipsis has no space before it.)
- (No punctuation at the end because the thought is not complete)
- “Well, maybe … if you would finish your sentence, …
- (Again, the same thought continues through the sentence.)
- (Space before and after, but no space needed when the ellipsis ends the sentence)
- (No punctuation at the end of the incomplete thought)
- “Could I have an … increase in my allowance? … You know the cost of living? … It just keeps going up! … Maybe ten percent or …”
- (Normal punctuation for questions or exclamations when they are complete sentences.)
- (Ellipses for hesitation between sentences)
It is important to keep the meaning of the quotation intact.
An ellipsis is not needed at the beginning when the quotation begins mid-sentence. However, putting a capital letter in brackets may be required, depending upon for formality of the writing.
Short quotations may be included in the sentence/paragraph.
Example of short quotation inserted into the paragraph:
- In just 271 words, beginning with the now famous phrase “Four score and seven years ago,” referring to the signing of the Declaration of Independence …, Lincoln described the US as a nation “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, …”
- The first ellipsis replaces the words, “87 years ago,” which is followed by a comma.
- The ellipsis at the end indicates that this is not quoting the complete sentence.
- The first quotation, “Four score and seven years ago,” is the beginning of the sentence quoted from the Gettysburg address. “Four” is capitalized as in the quotation.
- The second quotation “conceived in Liberty, …” comes from the middle of a sentence. It does not not need to be capitalized.
- Quotation marks precede and follow the words quoted in the paragraph.
- This example is quoted from Wikipedia’s article about the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863.
Longer quotations should be indented in their own paragraph. The introduction may end with a period or a colon, depending on the context.
No quotation marks are used when the quotation is indented.
The amount of indentation is usually what would be for a first-line indent. It is appropriate to indent either both sides or only the left side.
Excerpt from Hon. Edward Everett‘s two-hour speech, “The Battles of Gettysburg”:
But they … will join us in saying … that wheresoever throughout the civilized world the accounts of this great warfare are read … in the glorious annals of our common country, there will be no brighter page than that which relates the Battles of Gettysburg.
Creating an ellipsis:
If the ellipsis replaces words at the end of a sentence, type the appropriate ending mark after the three dots.
Spaced:
- word . . . . (a space after the ellipsis clarifies the period as separate)
- word . . .? (no space needed after the ellipsis)
- word . . .! (no space needed after the ellipsis)
Unspaced:
- word … . (a space after the ellipsis clarifies the period as separate)
- word …? (no space needed after the ellipsis)
- word …! (no space needed after the ellipsis)
Special key combinations can be used to create an ellipsis.
- Spaced
- Most word processors will create the spaced ellipsis if you alternately type a space and a period (3 times), ending with a space.
- ( . . . )
- Unspaced
- Most word processors will create the unspaced ellipsis if you type a space, three periods, and a space.
- Some will treat the three dots as a single unit, but others will not.
- It will be shorter than the spaced ellipsis by two spaces.
- (…)
- MS Word has a shortcut (Ctrl + Alt + .)
- Windows creates an ellipsis with Alt+133.
- Mac offers an ellipsis with Option key plus a semicolon. (Yes, it works!)
- Some fonts, like Courier New, create the three dots in the space of a single character, making the spaced ellipsis a better choice.
- Most word processors will create the unspaced ellipsis if you type a space, three periods, and a space.
A final option is to use the special characters box in your word processor.
Spacing an ellipsis:
Incomplete sentence with no ending punctuation:
Options:
- space before and after each ellipsis (AP)
- (They … want … to …”)
- space before and and after and space between each dot (CMOS)
- (“They . . . want . . . to . . .”)
Complete sentence requiring an ending punctuation mark:
- space before and after each ellipsis, with a space before the ending mark (AP)
- (“They want to … eat an elephant … .”)
- (“Do they want to … eat an elephant … ?”)
- space before and after, space between each dot, and a space before the ending mark (CMOS)
- (“They want to . . . eat an elephant . . . .”)
- (“Do they want to . . . eat an elephant . . . ?”)
—
Em (Long) Dash
Unlike parentheses, no periods, commas, or semicolons are used with either the opening or the closing dash.
Generally, the dash has no space before or after. (For journalists, AP includes both spaces.)
An em or long dash, like parentheses, can insert an interruption in a sentence. It may be an explanation or an action.
Generally, the dash has no space before or after. (For journalists, AP includes both spaces.)
General examples:
- When she discovered the errors—words her spell checker missed—she retyped the entire document.
- It took her all day to recreate the story—all 62 pages of it.
- This time there were no errors—not a single one—in her document.
AP examples:
- When she discovered the errors — word her spell checker missed — she retyped the entire document.
- It took her all day to recreate the story — all 62 pages of it.
- This time there were no errors —not a single one— in her document.
The dash is also appropriate to begin a list of one or more items. A list need not have two or more items. One item will suffice.
Examples:
- He could not believe his good fortune as he spotted the treasure—an antique vase from the Revolutionary War period.
- My grocery list had five items—milk, bread, cookies, pudding, and ice cream.
- Only four gifts lay under the Christmas tree—a big one wrapped in red paper, a smaller one in green paper, and two tiny gift bags.
With most word processors (those in the MS Word style) will replace a double hyphen with the long dash.
One alternative is to use special key strokes.
Windows
- Windows with numeric keypad: Ctrl+Alt+”-“
- Windows without numeric keypad
- Together press Fn+NumLk
- Find the minus key (which will be on the colon/semicolon key, not on the top row)
- Together press Ctrl+Alt+”J” (for “1”), then “I” (for “5”) and finally “J” again (for “1”)
Mac
- With or without a numeric keypad, press Shift+Option+hyphen
OR you can cheat.
- Create a cheat sheet, a document that you use for little odds and ends and save it to your desktop. You will find other uses for it, I’m sure.
- Near or at the top, depending upon how often you use a long dash, type a word or a letter, then the double hyphen which will make a long dash, then another word or letter.
- Whenever you need the long dash, open your cheat sheet, copy just the dash, and paste it into your document.
- The primary advantage to this trick is that you don’t have to remember weird keystrokes.
No spaces before or after the dash, unless you are a journalist.
General examples:
- That dog has been barking—do dogs ever get hoarse?—for a half hour without stopping.
- Those people have a miniature zoo—three donkeys, four goats, two cats, ten chickens, and a pet raccoon.
AP examples:
- That dog has been barking — do dogs ever get hoarse? — for a half hour without stopping.
- Those people have a miniature zoo — three donkeys, four goats, two cats, ten chickens, and a pet raccoon.
Credits: Photo by Sangga Rima Roman Selia on Unsplash,
