How much simple punctuation do they make sense ? Without exclamation points and question marks, the text becomes poorer and crumbles with expressionless phrases. And dots and commas are natural barriers, without which you cannot come up with a single sentence.
There is another sign that deserves attention - the ellipsis. What does it mean and where does it apply? How not to overdo it with dots, is it appropriate to insert them for more emotional text? Find out in this article.
What is the ellipsis?
The ellipsis is a punctuation mark in the text. Depending on the language, it consists of three points (Russian, English) or six (Chinese). Also, the ellipsis can be horizontal or vertical.
Interestingly, the ellipses are used not only in writing, but also in mathematics, for example, when compiling numerical series: 1, 2, 3, 4 ... 100.
In this case, the ellipsis means that the numbers that can be displayed in a logical way are skipped. There are too many of them to prescribe everything, so several points are put on the replacement.
Mark history
The exact date of the appearance of the ellipsis, which means its undoubted antiquity, cannot be called.
One of the first cases of using this punctuation mark can be considered treatises of Ancient Greece. In them, ellipsis replaced the semantic part of the sentence, which was already clear to everyone. For example, "Do not go outside your own business, otherwise you will suffer!" could be written as "Do not go, otherwise ..."
In Greece and Rome, dots in sentences meant incomplete thoughts. The sign was also used in Latin records.
Quintilianus, one of the ancient thinkers, urged his compatriots not to abuse the dots, because because of them the proposals merged into one large piece of text that is not clear to anyone. This cry caused a lot of controversy: how to understand where it is "appropriate" to use a sign, and where it is not needed? How to use ellipsis and what does it mean to oversupply?
The ellipsis in Russian literature began to be used in the eighteenth century with the light hand of Karamzin. He introduced the sign as an artistic device for enriching the text. In prose, ellipsis denoted the emotionality and incompleteness of thought.
After a while, this sign passed into ordinary life, letters were dotted with dots, which means: the sign took root and "went into the people."
Ellipsis in the literature
In a fiction text one can find dots much more often than in non-fiction. The fact is that the dots at the end of the sentence mean incompleteness and incompleteness of thought, which the authors of scientific articles cannot afford. In addition, the ellipsis in the literature can:
- Talk about character depression. If in the hero’s monologue there is an abundance of dots, then most likely he is saddened by something and speech is given to him with difficulty.
- Also, dots indicate thoughtfulness. Imagine: the hero mumbles something, his speech is intermittent and incomprehensible. In order to accurately convey the feelings of such behavior, the author can write his speech in solid text, dividing the words with ellipses.
- Ellipses can be used to convey understatement, to keep secrets, as in Greek manuscripts. This sign is able to hide behind itself what is already clear to everyone.
- Dots are a sign of an open ending. If they are at the very end of the book, then the author allows the reader to come up with their own ending based on information already known.
- In the speech of the heroes, dots can also become a sign of intermittent breathing, labored speech, difficulties with pronunciation.
And that’s not all. Since the eighteenth century, ellipses have firmly entered Russian literature and gained many meanings. Usually you do not need to explain the meaning of this punctuation mark. It becomes clear to the reader from the context what the dots at the end of the sentences mean.
Terms of use
There are some rules for using this sign:
- When writing the ellipsis, it is separated from subsequent letters by a space. At the same time, it adjoins the closing word: she was ... very beautiful.
- If the ellipsis should be adjacent to the comma, then it will "eat" it: I loved her ... but she was angry with me.
- If you want to write both an ellipsis and a question mark (exclamation point), then they are combined: really? .. Incredible! ..
- It is interesting to write question and exclamation points with an ellipsis: Yes, how dare you ?!
- Direct speech, where there is a dash after the sign, if there is an ellipsis, is not separated by a space: “Did you know? ..” she asked.
- These punctuation marks in direct speech remain in quotation marks: She said: "I'm not sure ..."
- When using the ellipsis at the beginning of a sentence, it is not separated by a space: ... it came in late autumn evening.
- In the numerical series, ellipses are not divided by spaces: 1, 2, 3 ... 7.
- When quoting an incomplete expression, the missing part is replaced by dots: at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the quote, depending on where the text was cut from.
- If a significant part was cut out in the quote, then the dots are framed by an angle bracket on both sides.
- If the quote ends with an ellipsis, then an additional period is placed after the brackets:
MV Lomonosov wrote that "the beauty, splendor, strength and richness of the Russian language appear quite from the books written in past centuries ...".
What does ellipsis mean in correspondence
Dots turned not only into literature, but also into everyday correspondence. If your interlocutor sends you an SMS with a bunch of extra points, then they want to tell you something.
So, what is the excess of ellipses in correspondence?
- Your interlocutor is unhappy with you, your words or behavior. Perhaps with the help of points they want to shame you.
- Excessive dots may mean that it is difficult for the interlocutor to gather his thoughts, the topic of correspondence touched him.
- Your interlocutor wants his letter to be more mysterious and lengthy.
- Separately sent ellipses can be a sign of confusion or unpleasant surprise.
- Another separate ellipsis can be deciphered as "are you serious?" or "I won’t even comment on it."
- An ellipsis at the end of a message can be a sign of sadness. Pay attention to the general tone of the letter.
When to put, and when not?
You must intuitively understand when ellipsis is appropriate and when not. In the same case, if you are not sure whether to use this sign, it is better to refrain from it.
Remember, punctuation marks are like spices in a dish. Nobody likes too many seasonings, everything should be in moderation!