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Inspired by this question: What is the correct term to use when describing the "three dots" (. . .), ellipsis or ellipses? And are either of these terms considered plural?

For example, if I wanted to say "the x is/are in the wrong location", which sentence is correct?

  1. The ellipsis is in the wrong location.
  2. The ellipsis are in the wrong location.
  3. The ellipses is in the wrong location.
  4. The ellipses are in the wrong location.

My gut instinct would be #4, with #1 a close second. #3 seems likely to be wrong, and #2 is a wild card.

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e.James
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1 Answers1

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It is ellipsis because the three dots (. . .) are considered a single punctuation mark. The Cambridge Guide to English Usage says this:

Both grammarians and editors make use of this term. In grammar, ellipsis means the omission of a word or words which would complete or clarify the sentence. In punctuation practice, ellipsis refers to the mark, usually a set of three dots (. . .), which shows where something has been consciously omitted from a quotation.

Edit: You might say 'the ellipsis mark is in the wrong location' to avoid any ambiguity.

J D OConal
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    +1 and thank you. That would suggest that sentence #1 is correct: "The ellipsis is in the wrong location.", since ellipsis is singular. Correct? – e.James Sep 10 '10 at 00:27
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    Yes. I realise I didn't answer the actual question. Sorry. #1 is correct. Further, 'ellipses' would be multiple instances of the ellipsis mark. – J D OConal Sep 10 '10 at 00:30
  • Since "ellipses" is the plural of "ellipsis", how many dots is that? Is it always a multiple of 3? Or can it be 4 or 5 for example? – tony19 Feb 11 '14 at 20:02
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    It is always a multiple of 3. Two ellipses would be … … – J D OConal Mar 12 '14 at 01:47
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    @JDOConal wouldn't ellipses actually be multiple instances of stretched circles? – Ruslan Jun 20 '16 at 12:37
  • @tony19 It can sometimes look like 4 dots. In some styles, the ellipsis can be used with a period/full stop to indicate original punctuation. So if I omit something in the middle of a sentence, only 3 dots, but at the end of a sentence, or between two sentences, 4 dots. In US legal style, for example: This is the quoted start of a truncated sentence . . . . This is a complete sentence. . . . [A]nd the start of this sentence was omitted. Note that the spacing of the dots indicates whether the period precedes or follows the ellipsis. – 1006a Oct 01 '16 at 20:08