Ellipsis (three dots) to show an omitted section of a quotation

Free grammar tips, lessons and tests			Recommended purchases
This site: Grammar Monster on line	Daily tips with Grammar Monster's gadget	Daily tips with Grammar Monster on Twitter	The best grammar reference books	Grammar Monster off line	The only grammar checker we'll endorse
Common grammar errors Easily confused words Grammar terms & definitions Grammar tests Grammar lessons Search this site

Use three dots to show that you have omitted part of a quotation.

Three Dots for Missing Text

Use 3 dots to show parts of the quotation that are missing. (This is called ellipsis.)

Example:

Jameson promised: "In accordance with the statement, the bank will provide
the services...outlined in the brochure."

(The text between "services" and "outlined" has been deemed to be irrelevant.
However, the three dots (called ellipsis) show the reader that text has been
omitted.)

Four Dots

If an ellipsis is used to replace words that end a quoted sentence, then it is usual to use 4 dots: three for the ellipsis and one (a full stop

or period

) to end the quotation.

"Fame is the spur...." (John Milton)

EXTEND A SENTENCE WITH 3 DOTS

You can also extend a sentence with three dots. This is done when a pause for effect is required.

...and there it was...gone.

(In this lighthearted example, the first three dots are ellipsis (to show text omitted) and the second set is a pause for effect.

This is covered more in the lesson Extend a Sentence.

Associated lessons:

Extend a sentence (using three dots)
Colon or comma before quotation (speech) marks?
Punctuation inside or outside quotation (speech) marks?
Quotation (speech) marks for ships, plays, books, etc.
Double or single quotation (speech) marks?
Quotation (speech) marks meaning 'alleged' or 'so-called'