An ellipsis (three dots) replaces words left out in conversation, usually indicating confusion.
…
One ellipsis … two ellipses … three dots (AP style—no spaces between, but space before and after).
One ellipsis . . . two ellipses . . . three dots (Chicago—non-breaking spaces, with space before and after)
Either way, a space before and after unless followed by a different ending punctuation or following an incomplete word.
An ellipsis without a space before indicates a word cut off in the middle (mid…).
If you’re wondering, the em dash serves the same purpose, but conveys a stronger message, an actual change of direction in the thought process. The key is always consistency in your use.
Overuse of ellipses slows down the reader and may portray the speaker as indecisive or hesitant.
The Chicago Manual of Style puts a space between each dot as well as before and after, with non-breaking spaces inside and out (to keep the ellipsis from breaking at the end of a line.
To simplify life, Chicago suggests that authors may use the word-processor ellipsis (three connected dots with a space before and after) which the editor will replace with the Chicago spaced dots, if desired.
Most other styles (including the autocorrect feature of MS Word) omit the spaces between dots, creating a single character, but include a space before and after.
If the sentence is complete before the ellipsis,
- Chicago style uses four spaced dots
- AP style puts a period at the end of the sentence, then a space, then the three dots
- “He was heading east on … no, I think he … I don’t remember.”
- “You could say … perhaps … Or maybe it would be better to …”
- “When do you want to … I’m not ready to do anything right not.”
- “How can we …?”
- “Did you know we could …?”
- “He said he would. … I believe him.”
- “He was heading east on . . . no, I think he . . . I don’t remember.”
- “You could say . . . perhaps . . . Or maybe it would be better to . . .”
- “When do you want to . . . I’m not ready to do anything right not.”
- “How can we . . .?”
- “Did you know we could . . .?”
- “He said he would. . . . I believe him.”
Care must be taken to not change the meaning of the quotation by leaving out critical words, such as “not.” Leaving out a negative would completely misrepresent the original quotation.
Note: Related punctuation is included before the ellipsis in either style.
The Chicago style uses a space, three spaced dots, and another space ( . . . ), using hard spaces* (which did not take on my WordPress).
The AP Style uses a space, three dots together, and a space ( … ), using hard spaces (which did not take on WordPress). MS Word will automatically create the three dots together if you type the space, three dots, and the final space.
If the spoken words or the quotation end with a period, insert a space and then the three dots. In the Chicago style, that will give you four spaced dots (. . . .) with hard spaces between the ellipsis three. In the AP Style, you will have one dot, a space, and then the three connected dots (. …).
*hard spaces are also called non-breaking or no-break spaces. To create one for a spaced ellipsis,
- Windows: Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar
- Mac: Option+Spacebar
- All great things are simple, … freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. (Sir Winston Churchill from “Quotationspage.com”)
- (If the missing words are in the middle of the sentence, the non-spaced three dots may be preceded by a non-ending punctuation mark from the quotation.)
- Anyone who stops learning is old. … Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing you can do is keep your mind young. (Mark Twain from “Quotationspage.com”)
- (If the sentence in the quotation is complete, but more will follow the missing words, the appropriate ending mark follows the sentence as usual. A space then separates the completed sentence from the ellipsis. Another space precedes the rest of the quotation.)
- Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speech was given at Gettysburg. “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth … a new nation … dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. … Now we are engaged in a great civil war …”
- (“are created equal” ended a sentence earning it a period and the three unspaced dots of an AP ellipsis)
- (“great civil war is not the end of the sentence, but it is the end of the quotation here. AP style ends with an ellipsis, but not a period before it, as it is not the end of the quotation.)
- All great things are simple, . . . freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. (Sir Winston Churchill from “Quotationspage.com”)
- (If the missing words are in the middle of the sentence, the spaced three dots may be preceded by a non-ending punctuation mark from the quotation.)
- Anyone who stops learning is old. . . . Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing you can do is keep your mind young. (Mark Twain from “Quotationspage.com”)
- (If the sentence in the quotation is complete, but more will follow the missing words, the appropriate ending mark follows the sentence as usual. A space precedes and follows the three spaced dots.)
- Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speech was given at Gettysburg. “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth . . . a new nation . . . dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. . . . Now we are engaged in a great civil war …”
- (“are created equal” ended a sentence earning it a period and the three unspaced dots of an AP ellipsis)
- (“great civil war is not the end of the sentence, but it is the end of the quotation here. AP style ends with an ellipsis, but not a period before it, as it is not the end of the quotation.)
Examples:
- “[D]edicated to the proposition that …” confused my students. They thought he meant “preposition.”
- They knew that their fathers had not been at Gettysburg, so “[O]ur fathers brought forth … a new nation” equally confused them.
Examples:
- My students snickered when they heard the phrase “conceived in liberty,” but my teacher glance quieted them.
- They heard the next phrase, “dedicated to the proposition” as “dedicated to the preposition,” having just been in their English class.
It is important to keep the meaning of the quotation intact.
An ellipsis is not needed 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. Longer quotations should be indented in their own paragraph. The introduction may end with a period or a colon, depending on the context.
The amount of indentation is usually what would be for a first-line indent. Either both sides or only the left side may be indented. (Depending on the size of the screen you are using, the line in these quotations may break in the middle.)
Example from Hon. Edward Everett‘s two-hour speech, “The Battles of Gettysburg” (left-only indentation):
Example from Hon. Edward Everett‘s two-hour speech, “The Battles of Gettysburg” (indented both left and right).
When a word is cut off, the ellipsis completes the word, so there is no space before the three dots.
Examples:
- “As I was saying before I was so rudely inter…”
- “I didn’t interrupt you. I was simp…”
- “What would you call it when my sent…”
- “So you’re do…”
- “Never mind. It’s not worth fight…”
- “Well, what were you go…”
- “I don’t remember. … But at least, I finished this thought.”
There is another use for the word “ellipses”—the plural of a shape in mathematics.
An ellipse is a geometric figure used in astronomy, engineering and physics. More commonly called an oval, the name is used for the variations of the shape, including a circle. The shape of planets going around a sun is an ellipse, hence the term elliptical orbit.
Credits: Photo by Bianka Csenki on Unsplash