What is an ellipsis?

An ellipsis is a set of three full stops which can be used to show where a sentence is unfinished or in a quote or piece of text where some has been purposely left out.

An ellipsis can be used to create a pause for effect, to show an unfinished thought or to show a trail off into silence.

Examples in action

Eventually, the door creaked open…

I was thinking...maybe we should call our parents.

I never thought it could end like this...

"After school I went to her house, which was a few streets away, and then came home."

You can shorten the quote by replacing a few words with an ellipsis. Remember, the meaning of the quote should not change.

"After school I went to her house … and then came home."