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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