Sunday, September 7, 2014

Ellipsis and Brackets

The punctuation rule that I found most interesting is the use of ellipsis. This type of punctuation seems to be very overused, especially at the company I work for. Here is an example of an IM I received Thursday:


...Hey
I was wondering...well not really wondering...I know the answer I think... What we do in this situation???

Both books state that the ellipsis is is used when something is omitted, such as omitting part of a quote to just what is needed. For example:


All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.

-Walt Disney

The ellipsis seems to be used, by many people, as a comma, colon or semicolon. Instead of using the punctuation for what it is meant for it is used as a space filler. I remember this by thinking the ellipsis are for editing out, not for filling up. 

Another item that I found interesting is the use of brackets. According to the books brackets are used within parenthesis or with quotations. I  remember this by thinking of parenthesis as bookends and brackets as simple spacer between books. 

2 comments:

  1. I found the ellipsis very interesting too. I always use them in text and emails but never in formal papers. In my mind it was almost conveying a tone in my message. Almost like a tone of "I think I know but I'm not totally sure." I don't know why I have always felt this way but now I realize that I have been using it totally wrong and that I have no answer as to why I have been using it this way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This rule was also interesting to me as I never realized what the real meaning of it was for. I have always thought that the .... just meant you were pausing to think for a minute or something. I think people throw them in just about anywhere they feel like it. I think your example of the e-mail with it being used over and over again is quite funny! I think I would actually respond with the definition of an ellipsis and ask them what words they were leaving out. I have definitely learned a lot about this rule and catch people making the mistake on a regular basis.

    ReplyDelete