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Watch: What is an ellipsis?

How to use an ellipsis

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How to use an ellipsis

An ellipsis can be used for different purposes and can be very useful in your writing.

  1. It can be used to show a word or words that have been removed from a sentence or quote. For example:

‘The space station has a cracked window and if you open it, it is very dangerous.’ could become ‘The space station has a cracked window… it is very dangerous.’

Here, part of the sentence (and if you open it) has been removed and replaced by an ellipsis.

  1. When a character finishes a sentence in their head, or their thought trails off. For example:

If your grown-ups ask you if you have tidied your room, you might reply, “Well I was going to…”.

Here, the ellipsis has finished the sentence and replaced “but I haven’t”.

  1. To create suspense by adding a pause before the end of the sentence. For example:

‘The hero saved the day, for now…’

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Watch: Using ellipsis

How to use an ellipsis

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Activity 1

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Activity 2

An illustration of a young girl thinking.

Write a spooky short story (or story opening) using the picture below as inspiration.

In your writing, try to use an ellipsis for at least three of the following purposes.

To:

  • leave a cliffhanger
  • add suspense
  • show thoughts trailing off
  • introduce a character flashback
  • show where part of the sentence was removed
  • leave a cliffhanger at the end of a paragraph
An illustration of a young girl thinking.
A black and white image of a sloped attic - an empty wooden chair sits in front of a small window.
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Play our fun English game Crystal Explorers. game

Use grammar, punctuation and spelling skills to explore jungles, caves and tombs on your mission!

Play our fun English game Crystal Explorers
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More on Punctuation

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