Overview
Use all forms of ellipsis — clausal, verbal, nominal — with precision in formal and informal contexts.
Types of Ellipsis
- ClausalShe can attend and so [can] he. (auxiliary retained)
- VerbalWill you review it? I might [review it].
- NominalThe original proposal and the revised [proposal] were both rejected.
- GappingJohn chose the fish and Mary, [chose] the salad.
C2 Ellipsis Patterns
- Strict ellipsis: grammatically recoverable; not vague omission
- Auxiliary retention: She arrived late, and so did he. (did ≠ arrived)
- Comparative ellipsis: This draft is stronger than [the] previous [one].
- Lexical ellipsis in formal prose: compact, sophisticated, avoids wordiness
Common C2 Mistakes
- ❌ She left and he did so too (non-identical verb) → ✅ She left and so did he
- ❌ Ambiguous ellipsis: recoverable only by context → ✅ retain the noun if ambiguity risks
- ❌ Ellipsis of subject: *Reviewed the report and submitted. → ✅ Having reviewed the report, she submitted…
- ❌ Confusing ellipsis with incomplete sentences — ellipsis must be grammatically recoverable
When to use
Academic writing
The first hypothesis was supported; the second was not [supported].
Concise reporting
Three teams submitted proposals; only one, a viable plan.
Formal dialogue
'Will the committee approve this?' 'It might [do so].'
Quality journalism
She led the inquiry and, later, the department — a rare distinction.