Ellipses
Ellipses
An ellipsis, or ellipses in the plural form, is a punctuation mark of three dots (. . .) which shows an omission of words, represents a pause, or suggests there is something left unsaid.
An ellipsis is a set of three periods ( . . . ) indicating an omission. Each period should have a single space on either side, except when adjacent to a quotation mark, in which case there should be no space.Informal writingIn informal writing, an ellipsis can be used to represent a trailing off of thought.Example:If only she had . . . Oh, it doesn’t matter now.An ellipsis can also indicate hesitation, though in this case the punctuation is more accurately described as suspension points.Example:I wasn’t really . . . well, what I mean . . . see, the thing is . . . I didn’t mean it.Like the exclamation mark, the ellipsis is at risk of overuse.