Cohesive Devices - Ellipsis

The word "three" is also elliptical. It is part of a noun phrase: three children. We, as readers, supply the missing word children which we saw in the previous sentence. "one" in the next sentence is also an example of ellipsis. In this case, because it is singular the complete noun phrase is "one child" (i.e. one of the three children).

Peter has been hurt in an accident and he is having a argument with Bobby about his behaviour. He says that if it had been Bobby who was injured his behaviour would have been unbearable ("I couldn't have stood it."). "shouldn't" and "wouldn't" are both elliptical. They are part of the verb phrase "shouldn't (or wouldn't) have been lying on the sofa looking like a sufffering angel ......". The word "Quarrreling" is the lexical verb of the question "Are you quarreling again" or "You're not quarreling again"? which we can reconstruct from the previous exchange between Peter and Bobby. So quarreling is ellipsis because it is an incomplete verb phrase which we can reconstruct from the context.

1. And Phyllis and Bobbie got near to Peter. All three had been TAUGHT French at school. How deeply they now wished that they had LEARNED it! 2. When the 9.15 came out of the tunnel that morning the old gentleman in the first-class carriage put down his newspaper, and got ready to wave his hand to the three children on the fence. But this morning there were not three. There was only one. And that was Peter.

The word "awfully" is an adverb. It is an adverb which describes how much Peter misses his father. He misses him a lot - awfully. So "awfully" is ellipsis because what is missing is a whole clause: "I miss my father awfully".

The word "can" is an example of ellipsis. This means that something is missing. "can" is an auxiliary verb so what is missing is the lexical verb. We can reconstruct the whole verb phrase looking at the previous sentence. The full verb phrase is "they can help to mend engines". This is typical of conversational exchanges where only the auxiliary verb is used in a response rather than repeating the whole question form.

“Do you miss your Father very much?” Mother asked, rather coldly, Peter thought. “Awfully,” said Peter, briefly.

Ellipsis Ellipsis means means the omission of a word or phrase when the meaning can be retrieved from earlier in the text. Like substitution, there are three types of ellipsis: nominal ellipsis (a noun is missing), verbal ellipsis (a verb or part of a verb phrase is missing), and clausal ellipsis (a clause is missing).   Ellipsis is not so common in academic or technical writing (for reasons of clarity, precision, and avoidance of ambiguity). It is found more frequently in spoken (conversational) English and in fiction. Nominal substitution requires us to find a noun in order to complete a noun phrase. Verbal substitution requires us to find a verb or part of a verb phrase in order to complete a verb phrase. Clausal substitution requires us to find a missing clause. Mouse over the examples to see how these cohesive devices work. Mouse down to pause the animations.

The words "All three" is an example of ellipsis. The question is: all three what? All three is part of a noun phrase: All three something. But the something is missing. It's easy for us to supply the missing element which we know from their names Phyllis, Bobbie and Peter, and the previous information in the story. There are also two reference items in the third sentence: they (x2), referring to the three children, and it, referring to French.

Nominal Ellipsis Completion of a noun phrase:

Clausal Ellipsis Completion of a clause:

1. “CAN girls help to mend engines?” Peter asked doubtfully. “Of course they can. Girls are just as clever as boys, and don't you forget it! 2. “Not it,” said Peter; “it's a jolly good thing it wasn't you was hurt. I'm glad it was ME. There! If it had been you, you'd have been lying on the sofa looking like a suffering angel and being the light of the anxious household and all that. And I couldn't have stood it.” “No, I shouldn't,” said Bobbie. “Yes, you would,” said Peter. “I tell you I shouldn't.” “I tell you you would.” “Oh, children,” said Mother's voice at the door. “Quarrelling again? Already?”

Verbal Ellipsis Completion of a verb phrase:

1. And Phyllis and Bobbie got near to Peter. All three had been TAUGHT French at school. How deeply they now wished that they had LEARNED it! 2. When the 9.15 came out of the tunnel that morning the old gentleman in the first-class carriage put down his newspaper, and got ready to wave his hand to the three children on the fence. But this morning there were not three. There was only one. And that was Peter.

1. “CAN girls help to mend engines?” Peter asked doubtfully. “Of course they can. Girls are just as clever as boys, and don't you forget it! 2. “Not it,” said Peter; “it's a jolly good thing it wasn't you was hurt. I'm glad it was ME. There! If it had been you, you'd have been lying on the sofa looking like a suffering angel and being the light of the anxious household and all that. And I couldn't have stood it.” “No, I shouldn't,” said Bobbie. “Yes, you would,” said Peter. “I tell you I shouldn't.” “I tell you you would.” “Oh, children,” said Mother's voice at the door. “Quarrelling again? Already?”

“Do you miss your Father very much?” Mother asked, rather coldly, Peter thought. “Awfully,” said Peter, briefly.

"Since the invention of photography itself, people have used photograph-themed metaphors when thinking and talking about memories and remembering. When we want to retain memories of everyday events for example, we take “mental snapshots”, and when we think back to momentous events, we regard them as “flashbulb moments”. But are memories ever truly like photographs? A large number of people certainly believe so.” (Nash n.d. -b) "These findings teach us a lot about how our memories are formed and stored. And they might lead us to wonder how much our most treasured memories have changed since the very first time we remembered them. Or perhaps not." (Nash n.d. -a)