What Are Elliptical Structures?
2022-07-29
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1There is an important part of grammar that is common in writing and everyday speech.
2But unlike many other subjects in grammar, this subject is defined by what is not expressed.
3What is this mysterious subject?
4In today's report, we will explore elliptical structures.
5Let's start with a few important terms and ideas.
6Clauses are groups of words with a subject and a predicate.
7When part of a clause - generally part of the predicate - is left out but still understood, we get an elliptical clause.
8Imagine you are watching an American television show.
9You hear the following:
10Who is going to cook dinner?
11I will.
12In this case, the modal "will" appeared without a main verb.
13The complete statement is "I will cook dinner."
14The words "cook dinner" are understood between the speakers, although unspoken.
15This is a kind of elliptical clause.
16Elliptical structures are a wonderful way to avoid repeating words.
17They can make your statements more natural or more complex.
18But they can also reduce clarity if used incorrectly.
19The main problem with elliptical structures is that they depend on an absent part of a sentence being understood by the listener.
20If parts of the sentence do not agree - for example, the subject and implied verb do not agree - then the sentence can become unclear.
21There are a few different kinds of elliptical structures - noun ellipsis, verb ellipsis, and verb phrase ellipsis.
22In a noun ellipsis, a noun is left out. In a verb ellipsis, a verb is left out.
23And in a verb phrase ellipsis, a verb phrase is left out.
24You already learned about an example of a verb phrase ellipsis - our example about cooking dinner.
25The verb phrase "cook dinner" was not expressed.
26All that remained were the words "I will."
27What about a verb ellipsis, one that does not have a modal such as "will" or "can"?
28One common way a verb ellipsis appears is in sentences with two or more independent clauses.
29These clauses are joined by a semicolon.
30Consider this example:
31Tom took a train; Mary, a cab.
32In this example, the verb in the second part of the sentence does not appear.
33This sentence replaces two statements:
34Tom took a train.
35Mary took a cab.
36Since the same verb form - "took" - repeats between the two statements, you can join them with a semicolon and remove "took" from the second part of the sentence.
37That is how we arrive at
38Tom took a train; Mary, a cab.
39This structure could be used in everyday speech or in formal writing.
40Let's take some time to work with this idea.
41Use the following nouns and verbs to make a sentence that uses an elliptical structure.
42You might have to add a few more short words such as the, a, or an.
43John Sally order pizza sandwich
44Pause the audio and think of your answer before continuing.
45Here is one possible answer:
46John ordered a sandwich; Sally, a pizza.
47In this sentence, the past tense of the verb "order" does not appear in the second part of the sentence.
48This is because it is understood the same verb form appears in the first part of the sentence.
49If we were to pull apart the sentence into two separate statements, it would be the following:
50John ordered a sandwich.
51Sally ordered a pizza.
52But instead of repeating the same verb, we joined the two statements into one sentence that has a semicolon and a comma. That is how we arrive at:
53John ordered a sandwich; Sally, a pizza.
54Now let's try a different question. Use the following nouns, pronoun, and verb to make a sentence that uses an elliptical structure.
55You might have to add a few more short words such as the, a, or an.
56We Bob prefer live music recordings
57Pause the audio and think of your answer before continuing.
58This question was a trick question. You might think that the answer is this:
59We prefer live music; Bob, recordings.
60An elliptical structure might not be the best choice here.
61The reason is because the verb "prefer" should be used in two different ways in the sentence.
62In the first part, "prefer" agrees with the subject, We.
63In the second part, the verb form "prefers" agrees with the subject, Bob.
64In other words, if we pulled apart the sentence into two separate statements, it would be something like this:
65We prefer live music.
66Bob prefers recordings.
67So, we would have to use a different kind of sentence to express the idea.
68It could be, for example, "We prefer live music; Bob prefers live music."
69The central idea in today's report is that elliptical structures suggest language but do not directly express it.
70We will end this report with a question for you.
71We noted, but did not give an example of, a noun ellipsis.
72Can you think of an example? Write to us in the comments section of our website, learningenglish.voanews.com.
73I'm John Russell.
1There is an important part of grammar that is common in writing and everyday speech. But unlike many other subjects in grammar, this subject is defined by what is not expressed. 2What is this mysterious subject? 3In today's report, we will explore elliptical structures. 4Let's start with a few important terms and ideas. 5Definition 6Clauses are groups of words with a subject and a predicate. 7When part of a clause - generally part of the predicate - is left out but still understood, we get an elliptical clause. 8Imagine you are watching an American television show. You hear the following: 9Who is going to cook dinner? 10I will. 11In this case, the modal "will" appeared without a main verb. The complete statement is "I will cook dinner." The words "cook dinner" are understood between the speakers, although unspoken. This is a kind of elliptical clause. 12Elliptical structures are a wonderful way to avoid repeating words. They can make your statements more natural or more complex. But they can also reduce clarity if used incorrectly. 13The main problem with elliptical structures is that they depend on an absent part of a sentence being understood by the listener. 14If parts of the sentence do not agree - for example, the subject and implied verb do not agree - then the sentence can become unclear. 15Different kinds of elliptical structures 16There are a few different kinds of elliptical structures - noun ellipsis, verb ellipsis, and verb phrase ellipsis. 17In a noun ellipsis, a noun is left out. In a verb ellipsis, a verb is left out. And in a verb phrase ellipsis, a verb phrase is left out. 18You already learned about an example of a verb phrase ellipsis - our example about cooking dinner. The verb phrase "cook dinner" was not expressed. All that remained were the words "I will." 19Elliptical structure #1 20What about a verb ellipsis, one that does not have a modal such as "will" or "can"? 21One common way a verb ellipsis appears is in sentences with two or more independent clauses. These clauses are joined by a semicolon. 22Consider this example: 23Tom took a train; Mary, a cab. 24In this example, the verb in the second part of the sentence does not appear. This sentence replaces two statements: 25Tom took a train. 26Mary took a cab. 27Since the same verb form - "took" - repeats between the two statements, you can join them with a semicolon and remove "took" from the second part of the sentence. That is how we arrive at 28Tom took a train; Mary, a cab. 29This structure could be used in everyday speech or in formal writing. 30Question 1 31Let's take some time to work with this idea. 32Use the following nouns and verbs to make a sentence that uses an elliptical structure. You might have to add a few more short words such as the, a, or an. 33John Sally order pizza sandwich 34Pause the audio and think of your answer before continuing. 35Here is one possible answer: 36John ordered a sandwich; Sally, a pizza. 37In this sentence, the past tense of the verb "order" does not appear in the second part of the sentence. This is because it is understood the same verb form appears in the first part of the sentence. If we were to pull apart the sentence into two separate statements, it would be the following: 38John ordered a sandwich. 39Sally ordered a pizza. 40But instead of repeating the same verb, we joined the two statements into one sentence that has a semicolon and a comma. That is how we arrive at: 41John ordered a sandwich; Sally, a pizza. 42Question 2 43Now let's try a different question. Use the following nouns, pronoun, and verb to make a sentence that uses an elliptical structure. You might have to add a few more short words such as the, a, or an. 44We Bob prefer live music recordings 45Pause the audio and think of your answer before continuing. 46This question was a trick question. You might think that the answer is this: 47We prefer live music; Bob, recordings. 48An elliptical structure might not be the best choice here. 49The reason is because the verb "prefer" should be used in two different ways in the sentence. In the first part, "prefer" agrees with the subject, We. In the second part, the verb form "prefers" agrees with the subject, Bob. In other words, if we pulled apart the sentence into two separate statements, it would be something like this: 50We prefer live music. 51Bob prefers recordings. 52So, we would have to use a different kind of sentence to express the idea. It could be, for example, "We prefer live music; Bob prefers live music." 53Closing thoughts 54The central idea in today's report is that elliptical structures suggest language but do not directly express it. 55We will end this report with a question for you. We noted, but did not give an example of, a noun ellipsis. Can you think of an example? Write to us in the comments section of our website, learningenglish.voanews.com. 56I'm John Russell. 57_______________________________________________________________________ 58Words in This Story 59predicate - n. grammar: the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject 60absent - adj. not present at a usual or expected place 61imply - v. to involve or indicate by inference, association, or necessary consequence rather than by direct statement 62phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence 63independent clause - n. grammar: a clause that could be used by itself as a simple sentence but that is part of a larger sentence 64prefer - v. to like better or best; to favor 65formal - adj. following or according with established form, custom, or rule