Ellipsis: How to Omit Words and Speak English Naturally

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer. A common frustration

students have is trying to find the right words when you're having a

conversation. But guess what? Sometimes sounding more natural is not

about saying certain words, but rather omitting them. "Omit" means to delete or

leave something out. Have you ever seen this punctuation mark? It's called an

ellipsis. Writers use it to indicate that words have been left out. Words are left

unsaid. If you'd like, you can watch my writing skills playlist and review the

ellipsis and other punctuation marks in English. Right now, we're going to focus

on ellipsis in spoken English, spoken American English. I'll take you through

some patterns. You need to be aware of them, listen for them, and be sure you're

using them correctly and appropriately. Let's start!

Ellipsis can happen at the beginning, the middle, or the end of a sentence. Think

about how we give short answers to yes-no questions.

We omit information at the end, from the predicate. Is he really 18? Yes, he is. Have

you done this before? No, I haven't. Of course, some speakers

would simply answer "yeah" or "uh-uh" and leave it at that.

The full answer is understood. Let's talk for a moment about the word "that." It has

different uses. When can we omit it? When "that" is part of

a noun clause and the noun clause functions as the object of a verb. I

think you should tell her the truth. He said they'd made a mistake. Here are two

more that-clauses. I'm so happy you called.

I was afraid you wouldn't want to talk to me.

These noun clauses aren't the object of a verb. See how they each follow an

adjective? They define the adjectives. Why are you happy? Why were you afraid? These

are adjectives complements, and again we can drop the word "that." The sentences

still make sense. The next few examples will be about informal English. When we

speak casually and in a very familiar tone, we tend to use abbreviated grammar.

You've probably noticed the use of informal yes-no questions when the subject is "you."

You coming? Coming? You want a bite? Want a bite? We can drop the helping verb or the

verb be, and sometimes we drop the subject pronoun "you." A word of caution:

Don't use these shortened questions with everyone you meet. They can sound really

familiar. Questions like, "Ready to go?" "Coming?" are often heard within a family

or between people with a very close relationship. And to practice informal

reduction like wanna and gonna, you can check out my Fast Speech playlist. I'll

put the link in the video description.

Here's another pattern. Informal statements made in the first person

might omit the subject pronoun. For example, someone says, "Hey! Did you hear

Liam is dating Olivia?" The response: Don't know. Don't care.

Notice how this is a negative response to something already said. "Don't know.

Don't care." expresses a complete lack of interest. Also in informal statements, we

can drop the subject "it" or "there" and the verb "be."

Mmm. Delicious! Hello. Anybody home? Think of all the social niceties we say. Many

of them use ellipsis. So good to see you! My pleasure. My bad.

See you later! Let's see how well you understand the patterns I've shown you

so far. Look at all these statements. Which words can be omitted?

With ellipsis, here are the shorter versions. You done? Done? You need help?

Need help? I believe she deserves a second chance.

Wow. So many to choose from! Nice to meet you. See you tomorrow!

What's your secret? Not telling! Okay. Let's go on. When else can we omit words?

After modal verbs, we can leave out words if the context makes everything clear.

I'm not worried about it. Well, you should be. I don't think I can do that.

Sure you can it's easy I didn't finish the report yet, but I will. He didn't help,

but he could have.

Some modals and semi-modals use ellipsis in informal English.

You've probably heard or seen short forms of "had better" and "have got to." For

example, you better not tell anyone. You gotta try harder. An infinitive is

TO + (base verb). Sometimes we omit the base verb when the full infinitive

is understood from context. Why don't you go outside and get some fresh air? I

don't want to. Come visit us sometime! Thanks! I'd love to. I mentioned the

pattern "that" as part of a noun clause, as in, I think that, I know that, I understand

that. We can also use "that" in an adjective clause, and we can omit a

relative pronoun in an identifying clause. That's an adjective clause with

information that's necessary to identify a person or thing. Do you know the name

of the woman Mike is talking to? I have a copy of the report you wanted. I'll email

it to you. If you need to review adjective clauses, I'll put the link in

the video description to that playlist. In a series of items, we can use shorter

phrases if the grammar structure is the same for all the items in that series.

For example, Jeremy loves to play soccer, golf, and tennis.

Do you remember what conjunctions are? Words like "and," "or," "but." They join ideas

together, and often we can omit unnecessary words in the second clause

or the second phrase.

This is for you and your parents. We were tired, but hungry, so we ate before going

to sleep. All right. Time for a second quiz. Which words can be omitted?

With ellipsis, here are the shorter versions. I really want to go, but I can't.

I don't have time today, but maybe tomorrow I will. I've really gotta go now.

You should join our club. I'd love to. I'll give you the draft I

just edited. You can boil, fry, or poach eggs. I want to visit Alaska and see the

glaciers. Here's a bonus question. Can we omit words from this statement? We can,

but we need to make a small change. Look.

Sometimes dropping words leads to the use of a helping verb. Which helping verb?

The same one you would need to form a question. So generally speaking, any time

the situation makes information clear, we can leave out words. Can you meet on

Monday? Yeah, but after two would be best. I have a sweater just like Kate's.

Do you have two fives for a ten? If you want to review US currency, by the way, check

out the video I have on that topic. I'll put the link in the video description.

But back to omitting words. If you're ever in doubt, then don't leave words out.

It's better to be clear. Omitting too many words or omitting the wrong words

can create miscommunication, and you don't want that. So ,you're becoming aware

of all these different patterns. Listen for them, and in time, as you become more

familiar with them, your confidence will grow, and you'll be able to use them

correctly and appropriately. I bet there are other structures you've heard and

seen and learned to understand, even though words

are omitted. Let's see if you're familiar with these. Can you find short

substitutes for the words crossed out?

Here are the shorter versions. Do you need my help? If not, then I'm gonna head

home. It's getting late. The doctor told me I can use this as

needed. Ben works from home now. He only goes to the office if necessary.

Do you know the saying, "If at first you don't succeed...?" How does it end? If at

first you don't succeed, try, try again. The saying is so familiar that we often

say just the first part, and we assume that everyone knows the rest, so we omit

it. We use ellipsis. Let's try this pattern with other common proverbs and

sayings. If one person, like a child, calls another a name or says something

offensive, the second person can say, "Sticks and stones... ." What's the full

statement? Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. If

one person is freely criticizing others for faults that they themselves have, you

might offer some wisdom: You know what they say. People who live in glass houses...

What's the full statement? People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw

stones. Do you know another well-known proverb or saying? Share it in the

comments. Write the first part and see if anyone can finish it.

We'll end here. Please like and share the video if you

found it useful. As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!

Thank you to all the members of my channel. And you Super and Truly

Marvelous Members, look out for the next bonus video!

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