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Elliptical Sentence
Ellipsis
means leaving something out. Elliptical sentence is a shorter form of sentence
which some words have been omitted, but it retains the same meaning. It is used
so that we can avoid unnecessary repeated words.
It
is noticeable that elliptical sentences are used quite common in some contexts
as:
[1]
In normal conversation
• A:
Where are you going? B: To school. (= I
am going to school.)
• A:
Ready? (= Are you ready?) B: Yes, I am. (= Yes, I am ready.)
[2]
In comparison
•
Phalla is taller than Phearom.
(= Phalla is taller than Phearom is tall.)
• The
ads attracted younger than older people.
(= The ads attracted younger than it attracted
older people.)
[3]
In sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions
• I
have washed and ironed my clothes.
(= I have washed my clothes, and I have
ironed my clothes.)
• Bora
likes football, Phalla volleyball, and Sopheak basketball.
(= Bora likes football, Phalla likes
volleyball, and Sopheak likes basketball.)
•
Kolab has five dollars, and Sopheak three.
(= Kolab has five dollars, and
Sopheak has three dollars.)
[4]
In some dependent clauses
• If
you clean the house today, i will tomorrow.
(= If you clean the house today, i will
clean the house tomorrow.)
• I
will go to the party if you will.
(= I will go to the party if you will go
to the party.)
[5]
In reduced clauses
• The
song sung by Preap Sovath was so popular.
(= The song which was sung by Preap Sovath
was so popular. )
• The
man selling the shoes is my friend.
(= The man who is selling the shoes is my
friend.)
• The
police has found the car stolen yesterday.
(= The police has found the car which was
stolen yesterday.)
• When
studying, he tried hard.
(= When he was studying, he tried hard. )
• I visited
the Bayon Temple after coming back from Battambang.
(= I visited the Bayon Temple after I came
back from Battambang. )
•
Though a bit nervous, she presented the products to the doctor very
well.
(= Though she was a bit nervous, she presented
the products to the doctor very well.)
[6]
When used with "SO, TOO, EITHER, NEITHER"
• My
sister is tall, and so do my brothers.
(= My sister is tall, and my brothers are
tall, too.)
• A :
I was very sleepy last night. B : So am
I.
(= A
: I was very sleepy last night. B : I am
hungry, too.)
• My
mom likes mangoes and my brother does too.
(= My mom likes mangoes, and my brother
likes mangoes, too.)
• He
didn't say anything, and I didn't either.
(= He didn't say anything, and I didn't
say anything, too.)
• Her
father likes to travel, and she does either.
(= Her father likes to travel, and she
likes to travel, too.)
• He
didn't study hard, and neither did I.
(= He didn't study hard, and I didn't
study hard, too.)
• She
doesn't review the lessons, and neither her friend.
(= She doesn't review the lessons, and her
friend didn't review the lessons, too.)
Modal Auxiliaries
Other
helping verbs, called modal auxiliaries or modals, such as can, could, may,
might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, and would, do not change form for
different subjects. For instance, try substituting any of these modal
auxiliaries for can with any of the subjects listed below.
I
you
(singular)
he
we
you
(plural)
they can write well.
There
is also a separate section on the Modal Auxiliaries, which divides these verbs
into their various meanings of necessity, advice, ability, expectation,
permission, possibility, etc., and provides sample sentences in various tenses.
See the section on Conditional Verb Forms for help with the modal auxiliary
would. The shades of meaning among modal auxiliaries are multifarious and
complex. Most English-as-a-Second-Language textbooks will contain at least one
chapter on their usage. For more advanced students, A University Grammar of
English, by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum, contains an excellent,
extensive analysis of modal auxiliaries.
The
analysis of Modal Auxiliaries is based on a similar analysis in The Scott,
Foresman Handbook for Writers by Maxine Hairston and John J. Ruszkiewicz. 4th
ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1996. The description of helping verbs on this
page is based on The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E.
Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission
of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc. Examples in all cases are our
own.
Uses
of Can and Could
The
modal auxiliary can is used
• to express ability (in the sense of
being able to do something or knowing how to do something):
He
can speak Spanish but he can't write it very well.
• to expression permission (in the
sense of being allowed or permitted to do something):
Can
I talk to my friends in the library waiting room? (Note that can is less formal
than may. Also, some writers will object to the use of canin this context.)
• to express theoretical possibility:
American
automobile makers can make better cars if they think there's a profit in it.
The
modal auxiliary could is used
• to express an ability in the past:
I
could always beat you at tennis when we were kids.
• to express past or future permission:
Could
I bury my cat in your back yard?
• to express present possibility:
We
could always spend the afternoon just sitting around talking.
• to express possibility or ability in
contingent circumstances:
If
he studied harder, he could pass this course.
In
expressing ability, can and could frequently also imply willingness: Can you
help me with my homework?
Can
versus May
Whether
the auxiliary verb can can be used to express permission or not — "Can I
leave the room now?" ["I don't know if you can, but you may."] —
depends on the level of formality of your text or situation. As Theodore
Bernstein puts it in The Careful Writer, "a writer who is attentive to the
proprieties will preserve the traditional distinction: can for ability or power
to do something, mayfor permission to do it.
The
question is at what level can you safely ignore the "proprieties."
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, tenth edition, says the battle is over and can
can be used in virtually any situation to express or ask for permission. Most
authorities, however, recommend a stricter adherence to the distinction, at
least in formal situations.
Authority:
The Careful Writer by Theodore Bernstein. The Free Press: New York. 1998. p.
87.
Uses
of May and Might
Two
of the more troublesome modal auxiliaries are may and might. When used in the
context of granting or seeking permission, might is the past tense ofmay. Might
is considerably more tentative than may.
• May I leave class early?
• If I've finished all my work and I'm
really quiet, might I leave early?
In
the context of expressing possibility, may and might are interchangeable
present and future forms and might + have + past participle is the past form:
• She might be my advisor next
semester.
• She may be my advisor next semester.
• She might have advised me not to take
biology.
Avoid
confusing the sense of possibility in may with the implication of might,that a
hypothetical situation has not in fact occurred. For instance, let's say
there's been a helicopter crash at the airport. In his initial report, before
all the facts are gathered, a newscaster could say that the pilot "may
have been injured." After we discover that the pilot is in fact all right,
the newscaster can now say that the pilot "might have been injured"
because it is a hypothetical situation that has not occurred. Another example:
a body had been identified after much work by a detective. It was reported that
"without this painstaking work, the body may have remained
unidentified." Since the body was, in fact, identified, might is clearly
called for.
Uses
of Will and Would
In
certain contexts, will and would are virtually interchangeable, but there are
differences. Notice that the contracted form 'll is very frequently used for
will.
Will
can be used to express willingness:
• I'll wash the dishes if you dry.
• We're going to the movies. Will you
join us?
It
can also express intention (especially in the first person):
• I'll do my exercises later on.
and
prediction:
• specific: The meeting will be over
soon.
• timeless: Humidity will ruin my
hairdo.
• habitual: The river will overflow its
banks every spring.
Would
can also be used to express willingness:
• Would you please take off your hat?
It
can also express insistence (rather rare, and with a strong stress on the word
"would"):
• Now you've ruined everything. You
would act that way.
and
characteristic activity:
• customary: After work, he would walk
to his home in West Hartford.
• typical (casual): She would cause the
whole family to be late, every time.
In
a main clause, would can express a hypothetical meaning:
• My cocker spaniel would weigh a ton
if I let her eat what she wants.
Finally,
would can express a sense of probability:
• I hear a whistle. That would be the
five o'clock train.
Uses
of Used to
The
auxiliary verb construction used to is used to express an action that took
place in the past, perhaps customarily, but now that action no longer
customarily takes place:
• We used to take long vacation trips
with the whole family.
The
spelling of this verb is a problem for some people because the "-ed"
ending quite naturally disappears in speaking: "We yoostoo take long
trips." But it ought not to disappear in writing. There are exceptions,
though. When the auxiliary is combined with another auxiliary, did, the past
tense is carried by the new auxiliary and the "-ed" ending is
dropped. This will often happen in the interrogative:
• Didn't you use to go jogging every
morning before breakfast?
• It didn't use to be that way.
Used
to can also be used to convey the sense of being accustomed to or familiar with
something:
• The tire factory down the road really
stinks, but we're used to it by now.
• I like these old sneakers; I'm used
to them.
Used
to is best reserved for colloquial usage; it has no place in formal or academic
text.
