How to Use Ellipses . . . Correctly

The symbol of three periods in a row ( . . . ) is called an ellipsis (plural: ellipses). There are two reasons you might use an ellipsis. In journalism or academic writing, you can use an ellipsis to show where you’ve left words out of a quotation. In narrative or dialogue, you can use it to show a pause or a trailing off.

Some style guides distinguish between these two uses of ellipses by calling the second suspension points. But most dictionaries consider the two terms synonymous (suspension points as a synonym for ellipsis is used more often in the UK).

Ellipses in Quotations

You can replace any word or words in quoted matter with ellipses, provided you don’t twist the meaning of the original. The edited quotation should still follow grammatical logic; that is, it should read like a plausible sentence or paragraph.

Original quotation:

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Quotation with ellipses:

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its . . . mission: . . . to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Ellipses in Narrative and Dialogue

In narrative and dialogue, an ellipsis is a moment of silence. It usually implies there’s something left unspoken.

• “Well, if you want . . . ”
• “Well, if you want.”

The first example could be the prelude to a suggestion or invitation. The second is more like a dismissal; you can picture the speaker shrugging.

Ellipses can be used when a narrator or speaker is trailing off, hesitating, or pausing for dramatic effect.

• Holmes tapped his chin with a finger, murmuring, “I wonder . . . ”
• Ratu made a face. “It feels . . . gooey.”
• Astrology has all the answers . . . if you believe in that sort of thing.

When Not to Use Ellipses

The last example would also work with a comma or a dash instead of an ellipsis. If you find yourself overusing ellipses (which is easy to do), consider whether alternatives might be just as—or more—effective.

• “No . . . I haven’t always been a pirate.”
• “No. I haven’t always been a pirate.”
• “No.” Shih turned her narrowed gaze out to sea. “I haven’t always been a pirate.”

In the first example, the ellipsis softens the no, drawing it out. In contrast, the second no is quite definite. The third uses action to convey a lengthy pause without any of the uncertainty implied by an ellipsis.

If you want to show broken dialogue, you’re probably better off using a dash. (Read all about the dash in How to Use Dashes.) Remember, an ellipsis indicates a period of silence.

• “I think . . . Never mind.”
• “I think— Never mind.”

The pause in the first example suggests the speaker is unsure of their conclusion: they hesitate, then change their mind. In the second, they catch themselves, thinking better of what they were about to say. The ellipsis is a pause; the dash is more like a glottal stop. Try reading both examples out loud.

Interrupted dialogue almost always requires a dash.

• “Whatever you do, don’t touch that—” Boom!

Ellipses are a good choice for showing hesitant, uncertain speech.

• “If . . . if you think you might like to . . . I mean, if you’re interested . . .”

But rapid, broken speech is better conveyed with dashes.

• “You—! How dare you! I— I—” he sputtered.

And stuttering is best shown with hyphens.

• “M-my t-t-toes are freezing!”

You can also use ellipses to show garbled or inaudible speech.

• Pressing an ear to the vent, Letty heard, “. . . Make our move tonight. The old lady . . . never suspect.”
• “Mayday, Mayday! This is . . . We are under attack! . . . Appears to be . . . giant squid. Repeat, giant—” kkssht.

If you want to redact a word for the sake of discretion, use a 2-em dash.

• Lady A—— is at the centre of a most shocking scandal.
• On the sound system Prince was crooning, “You sexy motherf——”

Spacing and Ellipses

There are different schools of thought on how to space ellipses. In this post, I’ve been following The Chicago Manual of Style, which recommends spaces before, between, and after the dots. The only problem with this style is that sometimes the ellipsis breaks over a line and you end up with a lone dot or two hanging at the margins of your text. To avoid this, you can insert non-breaking spaces between the dots.

Not everybody follows Chicago on ellipses. Robert Bringhurst, author of The Elements of Typographic Style, calls Chicago’s spacing “a Victorian eccentricity.” He prefers thinner spaces, ones that vary with the size and weight of the font. And the AP style guide likes to save room by using no spaces at all.

For most people, the easiest choice is to use the ellipsis glyph, or symbol, included in most fonts. In Word, three periods typed in a row are automatically changed to an ellipsis symbol; as a single glyph, it won’t break over lines. You’ll usually want to put a space before and after (but see the next section for exceptions).

Here’s what different approaches look like in the Times font:

• Chicago style: “Yeah . . . I guess.”
• AP style: “Yeah ... I guess.”
• Word glyph: “Yeah … I guess.”

Punctuation With Ellipses

The “space on either side of an ellipsis” rule sometimes gets bent when other punctuation is involved.

In quotations (as opposed to dialogue or narrative), a period may be included to show the end of a sentence, creating a row of four dots. Note that there is no space between the final word and the period.

Original:

• In the words of Beyoncé, “The reality is: sometimes you lose. And you’re never too good to lose. You’re never too big to lose. You’re never too smart to lose. It happens.”

With ellipses:

• In the words of Beyoncé, “The reality is: sometimes you lose. . . . You’re never too good to lose. You’re never too big to lose. . . . It happens.”

(Note that you’re is capitalized in the second version.)

This four-dots convention does not apply to sentences that are trailing off or deliberately left incomplete. So in dialogue and narrative, don’t use periods with your ellipses.

• “I’m not sure . . .”
• With friends like these . . .

Note in the first example the lack of a space before the closing quotation mark. With other punctuation, keep the usual spaces around the ellipsis.

• “Are you . . . ?”
• “No . . . ,” he said slowly.
• “Oh! . . . Okay.”

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Comma Splices and How to Avoid Them

Like a botched Apparition spell, a comma splice happens when a comma is unequal to the task of carrying you from one clause to another.

Pierre snorted like a pig every time he laughed. He could hardly help it given his physiognomy.

• Pierre snorted like a pig every time he laughed, he could hardly help it given his physiognomy. X

A comma is not strong enough to join what would otherwise be two complete sentences.

• Pierre snorted like a pig every time he laughed. He could hardly help it given his physiognomy. ✓

A period is often the cleanest fix for a comma splice. There is nothing wrong with short sentences. However, if you want to convey a tighter relationship between your clauses—cause and effect, for example—you can use a coordinating conjunction, dash, colon, or semicolon instead.

• Pierre snorted like a pig every time he laughed, but he could hardly help it given his physiognomy.
• Pierre snorted like a pig every time he laughed—he could hardly help it given his physiognomy.
• Pierre snorted like a pig every time he laughed; he could hardly help it given his physiognomy.
• Pierre snorted like a pig every time he laughed: he could hardly help it given his physiognomy.

Demons have bad days like the rest of us, and sometimes they need a hug.

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are the joining words and, or, but, so, yet, for, and nor. Using them makes the relationship between your clauses explicit, which is no bad thing.

• Demons have bad days like the rest of us, sometimes they need a hug. X
• Demons have bad days like the rest of us, and sometimes they need a hug. ✓

See Commas and Conjunctions for more.

Dashes

Dashes have a lot of uses, but in this case their interruption suggests an aside or a punchline, like an elbow to the ribs.

• Euphemia was a canny card sharp, even Death couldn’t beat her. X
• Euphemia was a canny card sharp—even Death couldn’t beat her. ✓

See How to Use Dashes for more.

Colons and Semicolons

Colons introduce, while semicolons join. Use a colon when the second clause explains or expands on the first. Otherwise, use a semicolon.

• Giacomo’s true nature was obvious in hindsight, he’d always avoided garlic, churches, and sunlight. X
• Giacomo’s true nature was obvious in hindsight: he’d always avoided garlic, churches, and sunlight. ✓ 
• It couldn’t have been easy, no wonder there were so few vampires in Italy. X
• It couldn’t have been easy; no wonder there were so few vampires in Italy. ✓

See Colon vs. Semicolon for more.

Euphemia was a canny card sharp—even Death couldn’t beat her.

All that said, if your clauses are very short, and if their structures match, you can get away with only a comma between them.

• I came, I saw, I conquered.
• Mum was in the orchestra, Dad in the ballet corps.
• She played, he danced.

What you don’t want to do is make your sentences flimsy paperclip chains of clauses hooked together by commas. Clarify your thoughts, then use the appropriate punctuation.

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Quotation Marks, Part Two

[Part One]

Quotations marks are not, as some people seem to think, a good way to sexy up your signage with bizarre offers of “free” merchandise (meaning you have to pay?) or “special” deals (sounds suspicious). 

Though a member of the “weaker” sex, Claudette routinely thrashed bullies before breakfast.

Sneer Quotes

Putting quotation marks around a word is another way of saying “just kidding!” These so-called sneer quotes give a word an ironic or sarcastic spin. 

• Though a member of the “weaker” sex, Claudette routinely thrashed bullies before breakfast.
• Mikhail “borrowed” her Snuggie six months ago and has no intention of giving it back.

But don’t use quotation marks after the word so-called; that would be overkill.

Unfamiliar Words 

The first time you use a word or expression that might be unfamiliar to your readers, you may want to put it in quotation marks. It could be a technical term, a bit of obscure jargon, or a slang expression that’s out of keeping with the tone of your piece. You can skip the quotation marks for subsequent uses of the word. 

• For the Caesar salad dressing, you will need to “coddle” an egg.
• It is safe to say that Mr. Buckley was not “woke.”

Use this device sparingly, or you risk distracting your readers with too much punctuation. And don’t use it with widely familiar words, because that’s just annoying. 

• X   I’m “hip” to the kids and their “funky” slang!

Words as Words

If you want to talk about a word itself rather than its meaning (for example, “Do you spell ‘color’ with a u?”), quotation marks are a good way to clarify your intention and avoid confusion. Or you can do as I do and use italics instead; both are correct.

• Ming’s eight-year-old nephew confuses “cinnamon” with “synonym.”
• He won the spelling bee with syphilis.

Definitions and Translations 

You can put the meaning, or gloss, of a word in either quotation marks or parentheses. The same goes for English translations of foreign words.

• Blandishments is a word used here to mean “tight jeans and come-hither glances.”
• After achieving satori (sudden enlightenment), the monk dedicated himself to practical jokes.

After achieving satori (sudden enlightenment), the monk dedicated himself to practical jokes.

Quotation Marks with Other Punctuation

While commas may go before dialogue, they don’t belong in front of words or phrases that are closely integrated into the rest of the sentence. 

• Armin never would have told her to “keep the home fires burning” if he’d known her history of pyromania.
• He told her, “Playing with matches is all very well, but a good insurance policy will keep you warm at night.”

Though the British would disagree, Americans and most Canadians put periods and commas inside closing quotation marks. However, exclamation points, question marks, colons, semicolons, and dashes only go inside quotation marks if they’re part of the element—whether dialogue, title, or expression—being enclosed.

• Sulamith titled her essay on climate change “We’re All Doomed! Doomed!” 
• How could you forget the words to “Kumbayah”? 
• Coach’s pep talk included an inspiring line from Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”: “Scaramouche! Scaramouche! Will you do the fandango?” 
• For the next class, read “From Weapon to Toy: A Concise History of the Yo-yo,” published in Modern Collector; the pamphlet “Walking the Dog and Other Tricks”; and “Yo Yo Ma: American Cellist.” 
• With typical ebullience, Emily Dickinson wrote “Because I could not stop for Death— / He kindly stopped for me—” 
• “Lice have certainly”—Mr. Jenkins paused and scratched his head—“never been a problem at this school.”

With typical ebullience, Emily Dickinson wrote “Because I could not stop for Death— / He kindly stopped for me—”

When Not to Use Quotation Marks

As covered above and in Part One, you don’t need quotation marks for epigraphs (quotations at the beginning of a work or chapter), after so-called, or for widely known terms and expressions.

You also don’t need quotation marks for proverbs, titles at the head of a document, or the words yes and no—unless they’re presented as dialogue.

• The guillotiners gruesomely embraced the adage that practice makes perfect.
• How could anyone say no to that scaly little face?
• Smiling widely, Puck replied, “Yes.”

Next time: The mysterious persistence of single quotation marks