Ellipsis: Omitting Repeated Words

She wanted to go, but I didn’t (want to go).

Notice

  • She wanted to go, but I didn’t.
  • He can speak French, and she can too.
  • I’ve finished my report; have you (finished yours)?
  • Some people enjoy the cold; others don’t.

Rule

Ellipsis omits words that are understood from context, avoiding clumsy repetition. Common after auxiliary verbs (didn’t, can, have), and in coordinated clauses (some…, others…). This is a mark of fluent, economical native-like style — overusing full repetition sounds unnatural at C1.

Practice

  1. Reduce with ellipsis: ‘I want to help, and she wants to help too.’
    Answer: I want to help, and she does too. / …and so does she.
  2. Reduce with ellipsis: ‘He hasn’t finished his work, but I have finished mine.’
    Answer: He hasn’t finished his work, but I have.
  3. Identify the omitted words: ‘She can swim, and so can he.’
    Answer: ‘Swim’ is omitted after ‘can he’ — full form would be ‘so can he swim’.
  4. Correct the error: ‘I like coffee and she like too.’
    Answer: I like coffee and she does too.

Connect

Practise spotting ellipsis errors in fluent English.

Try Error Correction →

CEFR: Spoken Interaction — express myself fluently without much obvious searching for expressions.

Azizul Hakim
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