Ellipsis marks are a set of three periods that indicate dropped words or a dropped thought within a sentence. Knowing their grammar rules gives you more options when you quote and also allows you to create effects in your writing with them.
Instructions
1. Write ellipsis marks correctly by writing them as a set of three periods, each separated from the material around them by a space. If the ellipsis marks come at the end of a sentence, you still need to end the sentence with a period after the ellipses.
2. Alert readers to the fact that you've dropped material from a quote by using ellipsis marks. You don't need to do this if you've dropped material from the beginning or end of a quote, but you do need to when you drop material from the middle of the quote. The sentence must still follow grammar rules when you add ellipsis marks.
3. Show that you've dropped one or more paragraphs in a long quotation or reprinted article by including ellipsis marks at the end of the preceding paragraph. The ellipses go after the last punctuation mark.
4. Use ellipsis marks to indicate a pause or interruption of a thought or a pause in a sentence's flow. This is especially useful for recording dialogue or for creating a stylistic effect within your sentence.
Tags: ellipsis marks, material from, dropped material, dropped material from, ellipsis marks, grammar rules