Dashes and Ellipses

Ellipsis and Dashes

Ellipsis (a.k.a dot dot dot)

• Often indicates an omission from a larger piece of text (omit text that is irrelevant)

• Indicates a mysterious or unfinished thought, a pause, or silence.

• Full quote: Today, after many hours of debate, the new bill was vetoed.

• With Ellipsis: Today... the new bill was vetoed.

Analyze the Ellipsis

• How does the meaning of the sentence change with and without an Ellipsis?

• Think about the tone and/or meaning.

• I thought the party was nice.

• I though the party was... nice.

Multiple Choice

A(n) series of three dots, that is used to when omitting a word, phrase, or line from a quoted passage.

• Period

• Comma

• Dash

• Ellipsis

Dashes (not a hyphen)

• To show a pause or a break in meaning in the middle of a sentence.

• ex: My brothers - John and James- are visiting England.

• To show an afterthought.

• ex: I turned in my essay- at least I hope I did!

Dashes continued.

• To start a list (same use as a colon)

• ex: Don't forget to buy supplies for the party - cups, plates, and napkins.

• To bleep out inappropriate words.

Multiple Choice

What is used to signal an interruption in dialogue And used to emphasize breaks in thought & changes in tone.

• Comma

• Ellipsis

• Dash

Multiple Choice

Which sentence uses dashes to separate commas?

• All four of them—Bob — Jeffrey— Jason — Brett—did well in college.

• All four — of them Bob, Jeffrey, Jason, and Brett—did well in college.

• All four of them—Bob, Jeffrey, Jason, and Brett—did well in college.