Writing - How to use ETC., AND SO ON, ...

Hi again. Welcome to www.engvid.com. I'm Adam. Nice to see you again. Today, I want to talk

about a topic that is a little bit unusual. Everybody thinks that English is all about

vocabulary, or grammar, or punctuation, things like that.

There's little things, too, that you need to worry about, and people often ask me about

these things in particular: ", and so on", "etc.", "...", three dots, sometimes four,

I'll explain, "blah, blah, blah", and "blah". Okay? Not everyday stuff. I mean, every day,

you're going to see it all the time, but this is not something that ESL teachers will teach

you, it's not something that you will really learn in books, so here it is; I'm going to

explain it to you. Okay?

First, "and so on". First of all, notice I put a comma before it. Why? Because this will

always come at the end of a sentence or after a list of some sort. Okay? When we put ", and

so on", we mean: and we continue with the same examples. Right? So you ask me: what

kind of foods do I like? Well, I like pizza, I like hamburgers, I like fish and chips,

you know, and so on. What does that ", and so on" mean? Does that mean that I like egg

white only omelettes with like asparagus and broccoli? No. Why? Because I listed hamburger,

junk food; pizza, junk food; fish and chips, junk food. So when I say: ", and so on" means

and more examples like the ones I just said. Right? So it's very important to remember.

Many of my students, they just throw ", and so on" all the time. Talking, talking, talking,

"and so on". And so on, what? I don't understand. Right? So you have to be careful. This has

a very specific use. You're continuing the same list or the same idea.

Next: "etc." Usually, you will see it like this: "etc." Now, how to pronounce. This is

the actual word when you open it up: "etcetera". Now, some native speakers will say: "et-cet-era",

"etcetera". Most will say: "ek-se-chra". That's what it sounds like when most native speakers

say it. "Etcetera". Correct, "etcetera", but both are acceptable. Now, what does etcetera

mean? It means: "and so on". It means the exact same thing as "and so on". Again, you're

continuing the list that was started before. Right? Now, people often ask: how do I use

it in writing? Usually, you can... If it comes at the end of a sentence, you put the period,

that's it. But if it comes in the middle of the sentence... So: "I like pizza, I like

hamburgers, fish and chips, etc., but I also like..." etc. There you go. So I'm writing

whatever I write, whatever I write, etc., but I also like other things. Right? So, it's

a little bit confusing, you got period and a comma. The period goes for the shortened;

the comma goes for the sentence. Okay? Not that important, but if you want to write it

correctly, that's how you do it.

Next, we have three dots. These are called ellipses. You don't necessarily need to know

this word "ellipses", but just understand that it's referring to this. What does three

dots means? "And so on". Same idea. Right? But this is... Usually, you see this in writing.

Instead of writing three words, you just put three dots, because it's easier, people understand

it. But also remember sometimes it's used just as a pause. Okay? So, person "A" says:

"Well..., I think..." You ask: "What do you think about climate change?" for example.

"Well..." I'm thinking, thinking, thinking; dot, dot, dot. "I think that..." Etcetera.

Now, "And so on" means... "And so on" means the idea is going to continue. Okay? I'm about

to give you my opinion. Right? This is in writing. Some people will actually say: "Dot,

dot, dot", but they're trying to be dramatic or cool. If you saw the movie Trainspotting,

you heard it there, "dot, dot, dot". Very dramatic scene. I liked it. Okay? But basically

so far, all more or less the same idea.

Now, you get into: "blah, blah, blah". First of all, don't ever write this. Very, very,

very casual. This is usually for spoken English. What does it mean? It also means "and so on",

but because the conversation is not interesting. Okay? My friend, Harry, he came over to my

house and he started telling me about his kids, blah, blah, blah. And then we went out

to watch the hockey game at the bar. Why did I put "blah, blah, blah" after his kids? Because

I don't care. I don't have kids. It's not interesting for me. So, here's the story,

I'm making it very short because it's not really interesting. Right? So he started talking

about his kids, blah, blah, blah. Time passed by. And so on, his kids, his life, his toys,

his kids' toys. I don't know. I don't have kids, again, remember. Blah, blah, blah, and

then the important part: we went to watch the hockey game. So, I'm skipping all the

not interesting conversation by putting in: "blah, blah, blah".

But sometimes we use the word "blah" only one; not three. Here, three means and so on.

One has a very different meaning. "Blah". You see how I'm saying it? "Blah". -"How do

you feel today?" -"Blah. Not so good." -"How's the steak?" -"Blah." Means not much flavour,

a little bit bland. -"How's the weather?" -"Blah." It's like raining and cold, and not

so nice. So, basically, any time you want to say something negative about something,

just say: "Blah." But you have to say it like this: "Blah." It's like coming out of your

mouth and you don't want it to, but it has to come out. Right? That's why it doesn't

feel good. It's almost like a sickness.

So, there we have it. ", and so on", "etc.", "...", especially for writing, "blah, blah,

blah", to skip the not interesting part, and: "blah". Now, I hope that this lesson wasn't

blah, but that's up to you to decide. If you want to practice a little bit more on these

things, go to www.engvid.com. There's a quiz there. If you're watching on YouTube, A) subscribe

to my channel, B) go to www.engvid.com and practice these things. And lastly, if you

have any questions, write them in the comments section and I will get back to you. Okay?

Thank you very much. See you later.