English Grammar: Elliptical Structure
Ellipsis
Leaving
out words to avoid repeatation
or in other cases when the meaning ca be understood without them is called ellipsis (Swan, 1996:172). The use of
ellipsis was first detected in the ancient German dialect. It is often used in writing and speech. In writing,
ellipsis can be found easily in the literary
works, articles, etc. Roedig describes that ellipsis is also used in the
newspaper reporting frequently. It is especially used because word omission
implies hidden implications which captivates the imagination and attention of
an audience
In
accordance with a demand of news writing which must be brief, solid, simple,
fluent, clear, unadorned, and interesting language, the use of ellipsis can not
be avoided especially in writing a news title. In compiling a news title, the writer
leaves out some words from a sentence in order that it is attractive and catchy
so it can create enthusiasm and expectation in readers.
There
are many kinds of ellipsis in English. They have different structure and use.
In his book, Swan writes some types of ellipsis, such as:
1. Ellipsis
with and, but, and or
2. Ellipsis
at the beginning of sentence
3. Ellipsis
in noun phrases
4. Ellipsis
after auxiliary verb
5. Ellipsis
with infinitives
In
this study, the researcher uses types of ellipsis described by Swan to analyze
elliptical sentences used in the titles of headline news in the The Jakarta Post.
Type
of Ellipsis
Ellipsis
is the omission of words from sentences that are automatically understood so
that the words do not need to be stated (www.geocities.com/
eowilliam11/guide.html). There are some types of ellipsis
in English. Here, they will be discussed in detail.
Type of ellipsis described by Swan below can
be found in spoken and written text. They can be in a formal style. The
headline news titles analyzed in this research are in formal forms. Therefore,
the researcher doesn’t use some types of ellipsis in informal forms like: (and) then in ellipsis with and, but, and or, ellipsis after adjectives
in noun phrases, short answer and so am I
in ellipsis after auxiliary verbs, and ellipsis of infinitives because most of
them are often used in informal styles and in spoken languages.
Ellipsis
1. Various
kinds of word left
out
When expressions are joined by and, but or or, we often leave out repeated words or phrases of various kinds.
Example:
A
knife and (a) fork
Antique
(furniture) or modern furniture
2. Word
order
When two verbs, objects etc are the
same, it is not always the second that it left out. We leave out the first if
that will produce a simpler word order and sentence structure.
Example:
Cats
(catch mice) and dogs catch mice. (Not Cats catch mice and dogs.)
3. Singular
and plural
When one verb follows two singular
subjects connected by and, a plural
verb forms is of course used if necessary.
Example:
My
mother and father smoke. (Not My mother and father smokes.)
When two singular subjects are connected
by or, the verb is singular.
Either
Jake or Steve was here this morning.
4. Other
conjunctions
Ellipsis is not normally possible after
other conjunction besides and, but and
or.
Example:
She
didn’t know where she was when she woke up. (Not … when woke up).
5. (and)
then
In an informal style, ellipsis is
sometimes possible after then even if and
is dropped.
Example:
Peter
started first, (and) then Colin (started).
Ellipsis
at the beginning of a sentence
1. Words
that can be left out
Words that can be left out include
articles (the, a/an), possessives (my, your etc), personal pronouns. (I, you, etc), auxiliary verb (am, have
etc) and the preparatory subject there.
Example:
Car’s
running badly (= The car’s …)
Wife’s
on holiday (= My wife’s …)
2. Unstressed
forms of be, will, would, have
We do not usually drop so as to begin sentences with unstressed
forms of be, will, would or auxiliary
have (though this sometimes happens
in postcard, diary entries and other kinds of very informal writing).
Example:
I’m
coming tomorrow or coming
tomorrow.
But not Am coming tomorrow (Am is not stressed)
3. I
and it
Auxiliary verbs can be left out before
personal pronouns excepts I and it.
You ready? (= Are you ready ?)
4. Tags
Ellipsis is very common in sentences
that have some sort of tag.
Example:
Can’t
swim. Myself
Dutch,
aren’t you ?
