C1Ellipsis20 min

Ellipsis and substitution

Avoid repetition with so, not, do so, one/ones, reduced infinitives and auxiliary-only replies.

Fluent speakers rarely repeat words that the listener already knows. Ellipsis means leaving words out, and substitution means replacing them with a short word such as so, not, one or do. Both make speech and writing more natural, but you must keep enough information for the meaning to stay clear.

Device	Use	Example
so / not after hope, think, expect, be afraid	replace a whole clause	Will it rain? I hope not. / I'm afraid so.
do so	replace a verb phrase, formal	Anyone wishing to leave early may do so quietly.
one / ones	replace a countable noun	Shall I buy the red apples or the green ones?
Reduced infinitive with to	leave out the rest of an infinitive	I haven't visited Rome, but I'd love to.
Auxiliary only	leave out the main verb	Nadia enjoys running, and so does her brother.
Neither / nor + auxiliary	agree with a negative	Ravi hasn't read it, nor has Aiko.
the former / the latter	refer back to two items	The architect and the engineer worked together; the former designed the roof.

With think, believe, suppose and expect, there are two negative forms: I don't think so is more common than I think not, while I hope not and I'm afraid not have no alternative. When you leave out part of a comparison, keep the auxiliary: Her first novel sold far better than her second did. Here did replaces the repeated verb sold, and novel is left out after second.

These shoes are too small. Do you have a bigger pair, or one in black?
She promised to call, but she didn't, and I didn't expect her to.
Will the museum be open on Sunday? I don't think so.
She can play the piano, and her sister can too.

Source

Original lesson by Joy English.

Levels are suggestions. Found a mistake? Tell us through the Contact page.