An elliptical construction and its usage

The word elliptical has a Greek derivation. "Falling short" is the Latin word for ellipsis because part of their structure has been omitted.

For example:

A. Where are you going?

B. (I am going) To Ohio.

A. When are you leaving?

B. (I am leaving) Early tomorrow morning.
An ellipsis, according to The Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms is the omission of a word(s) that are necessary for grammatical completeness but not for understanding of the sentences intentional meaning. For example, "Is he coming?" "Yes." Yes may be considered as an ellipsis of yes, he is coming. Typically, a part of the subject, a part of the predicate, or the entire subject and predicate is missing from the sentence. For example: Although (they were) full, they could not resist desert (2-5).
Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Suartvik write that an ellipsis has two different uses in grammar; however, both include the omission of words from a quote or sentence. The first use for an ellipsis is in a form of punctuation. The ellipsis mark is a series of three dots (...) to indicate that words have been omitted or one can use it so that undesirable words can be left out. For example,
"Timothy McVeigh was convicted of bombing a federal building..."
"The team...finally won a double header."(889-890).
However, Diane Booner states that some particular writers will use a fourth period in the quote to indicate a period in the original piece; yet, this still is considered an ellipsis (135).

The Quark and his fellow authors then describe a second use of an ellipsis which is in the form of a sentence. An elliptical sentence is the omission of words from a sentence that are automatically understood so do not need to be stated. For example,
A. I have gone to practice, and so has Lucy (gone to practice).
B. Sara has never been able to read maps as well as Brian (can read maps).
Elliptical sentences are used so often in writing and speech that most omissions go unnoticed. For example, a common overlooked use of an elliptical sentence is those which take a compound subject.
A. Jane and Abby just left.
B. Jane (just left) and Abby just left.
A. Scott opened the door and walked in.
B. Scott opened the door and (Scott) walked in.
Elliptical sentences are grammatically incomplete but can be easily understood from the context of the sentence 885-886).

In the grammar of a sentence, an elliptical construction is a construction that lacks an element that is, nevertheless, recoverable or inferable from the context. The elliptical construction is a sequence of words in which some words have been omitted. Because of the logic or pattern of the entire sentence, it is easy to infer what the missing words are.

Example: Fire when ready. (In the sentence, "you are" is understood, as in "Fire when you are ready.").

Elliptical constructions can often be used in dialog to shorten what is being said.

Varieties of ellipsis have long formed a central explicandum for linguistic theory, since elliptical phenomena seem to be able to shed light on basic questions of form-meaning correspondence: in particular, the usual mechanisms of grasping a meaning from a form seem to be bypassed or supplanted in the interpretation of elliptical structures, ones in which there is meaning without form.

In generative linguistics, the term ellipsis has been applied to a range of phenomena in which a perceived interpretation is fuller than that which would be expected based solely on the presence of linguistic forms. Central examples drawn from English include sluicing as in (1), Verb Phrase ellipsis (VP-ellipsis) as in (2), and noun phrase ellipsis (NP-ellipsis or N’-ellipsis) as in (3).

(1) John can play something, but I don’t know what.

(2) John can play the guitar; Mary can, too.

(3) John can play five instruments, and Mary can play six.

In each case, the second clause can be understood as in (4)-(6).

(4) John can play something, but I don’t know what John can play.

(5) John can play the guitar and Mary can play the guitar, too.

(6) John can play five instruments, and Mary can play six instruments.

These three kinds of ellipsis are distinguished as well by the fact that distributional facts lead us to expect to find structural elements corresponding to the perceived interpretations: wh-phrases as in (1) require clausal sources, modals like can in (2) take VP complements, and determiner-like elements such as six in (3) require NP complements. In other words, selectional and subcategorization properties of particular elements require us to posit elided structures in (1)-(3), if these properties are uniform across the grammar.

Ellipsis has further been invoked in a range of other constructions, such as stripping (or bare argument ellipsis) in (7), gapping in (8), fragment answers in (9), as well as a host of other cases that fall under the general rubric of ‘conjunction reduction’:

(7) John can play the guitar, {and Mary, too/and Mary as well/but not Mary}.

John can play the guitar better than Mary.

(8) John can play the guitar, and Mary the violin.

John can play the guitar better than Mary the violin.

(9) Q: Who can play the guitar?

A: (Not) John.

In addition to these structures, the term "ellipsis" covers a potential multitude of distinct phenomena because it is used in general parlance, most of which are of little linguistic interest, or whose connection to the types seen above is oblique at best (such as ellipsis).

Some examples of other elliptical phenomena are as follows:

· Example: Jessica had five dollars; Monica, three. (The verb "had" was omitted at the comma).^[3]

· Example: What if I miss the deadline? (The verb phrase " will happen " was omitted, as in " What will happen if I miss the deadline ").^[4]

· Example: Fire when ready. (In the sentence, " you are " is understood, as in " Fire when you are ready. ").^[1]

· An elliptical sentence does not mean a sentence with an ellipsis in it. An ellipsis is three periods, symbolizing missing information. This form most often appears when using only part of a direct quote.

· An elliptical sentence refers to sentences with information missing. This form does not require an ellipsis. These sentences are grammatically correct only if the necessary information to understand the sentence has been supplied previously or is clear from the context of the sentence. As you will see from the examples below, written English would look quite strange if every elliptical sentence had an ellipsis in it.

· Writing Flashcard answers in elliptical form allows grammatically correct sentences with fewer words for more simplicity. If the Flashcard project did not use elliptical sentences, the question and answer would look like this:

· Is the half-life of a drug affected by its rate of absorption? Yes, the half-life of a drug is affected by its rate of absorption.

· The elliptical form of this answer is simply: "Yes." Although by itself "Yes" would not normally be a sentence, the context makes the meaning clear and hence creates a grammatically correct sentence. This is the simplest form of elliptical sentence the Flashcard project uses.

· Other forms frequently appear:

· Question: What is a synthesis reaction?

· Non-elliptical answer: A synthesis reaction is a reaction that combines two or more reactants to form a more complex product.

· Elliptical answer: A reaction that combines two or more reactants to form a more complex product.

· The answer does not require the words "A synthesis reaction" to start the sentence because the question contains that information.

· The same format applies to definition answers.

· Question: What does intracellular mean?

Non-elliptical answer: Intracellular means within a cell.

· Elliptical answer: Within a cell.

· Question: What does permeable mean?

Non-elliptical answer: Permeable means permitting the passage of a substance.

· Elliptical answer: Permitting the passage of a substance.

· Elliptical sentences in questions

· Elliptical sentences can appear in many forms in literature, essays, articles, etc. In many of these cases, elliptical sentences work fine. For purposes of Flashcards, however, elliptical sentences can change the meaning of a question. As a general rule, avoid elliptical sentences when writing questions and ensure that all the necessary information goes into the sentence. Consider how the following question looks:

· A ______ is a substance, usually a liquid, that dissolves or that is
capable of dissolving.
solvent

· The answer should actually be "solute." Although solutes may not usually be liquids, as the question specifies, the question leaves out information in an elliptical fashion. If the answer is "solvent," the question should read:

· A _______ is a substance, usually a liquid that dissolves something else.

· If the answer is "solute" the question should read:

· A _______ is a substance that dissolves in something else.

· The key to this question is whether the substance dissolves in something or dissolves something else. Leaving out this information creates a vague question with more than one answer. Additionally, it is not truly an elliptical sentence because it does not refer to previously supplied information.

· Again, err on the side of caution in the case of writing questions. It is less of a problem to have a wordy question than a vague question.

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