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Issue 49 Ellipsis Definition

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Susan Quigley 2018-10-09 17:56:06 +00:00
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### Description
Ellipsis is what happens when a speaker or writer leaves one or more words out of a sentence because he knows that the hearer or reader will understand the meaning of the sentence and fill in the words in his mind when he hears or reads the words that are there. The information that is omitted has usually already been stated in a preceding sentence or phrase.
Ellipsis is the omission of words that would normally be needed to make a sentence complete, but they are understood either by convention or because they were already used in a previous phrase.
>So the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. (Psalm 1:5)
Here are two sentences whose missing words are understood by convention. English speakers normally use the shorter forms.
* "Fire when ready" means "Fire when <u>you are</u> ready."
* "Back to the drawing board" means "<u>We need to go</u> back to the drawing board."
This is ellipsis because "sinners in the assembly of the righteous" is not a complete sentence. The speaker assumes that the hearer will understand what it is that sinners will not do in the assembly of the righteous by filling in the action from the previous clause.
Here are three sentences whose missing words were already used in a previous phrase.
* "I drank water, and Bob milk" means "I drank water, and Bob <u>drank</u> milk.
* "I drank water, not milk" means "I drank water; <u>I did</u> not <u>drink</u> milk.
* "I drank water, and Tom did, too" means "I drank water, and Tom <u>drank water</u>, too."
### Reason this is a translation issue
@ -14,6 +19,8 @@ Readers who see incomplete sentences or phrases may not know what the missing in
### Examples from the Bible
In all of these examples, the missing words are understood because they were in the first phrase.
>For Adam was formed first, <u>then Eve</u>. (1 Timothy 2:13 ULB)
The underlined phrase above means, "then Eve was formed."
@ -22,6 +29,10 @@ The underlined phrase above means, "then Eve was formed."
The underlined phrase above means, "his brother's works were righteous."
>So the wicked will not stand in the judgment, <u>nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous</u>. (Psalm 1:5)
The underlind pahrase above means "sinners will not stand in the assembly of the righteous."
>He makes Lebanon skip like a calf and <u>Sirion like a young ox</u>. (Psalm 29:6 ULB)
The underlined phrase above means, "he makes Sirion skip like a young ox."
@ -30,6 +41,8 @@ The underlined phrase above means, "he makes Sirion skip like a young ox."
The underlined phrase above means, "But his armor bearer would not draw his sword and thrust Saul through with it."
### Translation Strategies
If ellipsis would be natural and give the right meaning in your language, consider using it. If not, here is another option: