Examples of elision are abundant in fast and informal speech: “gonna” for “going to”, “ain’t” for “are not”, “’im” for “him”, and “cats ‘n dogs” for “cats and dogs”, etc. The pronunciation of a word such as “family”, omitting the second vowel, also illustrates elision. These words are spelled normally in writing (i.e. without the elision) unless one is trying to reflect the dialect or the exact level of informality. For second language learners, elision is a challenging part of listening comprehension, especially when the learners have not had sufficient contact with native speakers.
Omission of one or more redundant words from a sentence is known as ellipsis. Examples of dropped verbs include sentences such as “We did ( )”, while examples of dropped nouns include “There were two ( )”. In a special phenomenon called “answer ellipsis”, omission may be extreme, as in answering a question such as “Who borrowed the book from the library yesterday?” with “Mary” instead of “Mary borrowed the book from the library yesterday.”
Another form of ellipsis can be very useful when you are
quoting lengthy texts. In such cases, you would want to skip unnecessary parts
of sentences – without changing the meaning. This is done simply by placing
three dots between the surrounding words or punctuation marks, as in “We must
finish … promptly”. Unlike elision, ellipsis may be used in both formal and
informal writing, and the Modern Language Association recommends putting square
brackets around the three dots if they are your creation rather than original
components of the quoted text.
In informal writing, such as email, some people use ellipsis
excessively, replacing other punctuation marks, such as full stops and commas,
with it. This is not advisable – nor is it proper grammar of course … unless
you are being very liberal with your grammar rules. And what are those last
three dots for, you may ask? You’ve guessed it: expression of hesitation or a
pause in thought. It is a legitimate use, to be used sparingly. The Chicago Manual of Style distinguishes
confident pauses, represented by dashes, from hesitant ones using dots:
“Ellipsis points suggest faltering or fragmented speech accompanied by
confusion, insecurity, distress, or uncertainty.” Still, Virginia Woolf, a
highly successful writer, was an ellipsis enthusiast. In “Phases of Fiction”
she points this out clearly: "Better it would be, we feel, to leave a
blank or even to outrage our sense of probability than to stuff the crevices
with this makeshift substance."Now it is up to you, the reader, to decide whether and when to use these punctuation choices and omissions … or not.
