Omitting Words (Ellipsis)

Streamlining Language for Fluency and Efficiency

⏰ When do we use Omission?

We omit words to avoid unnecessary repetition and to make communication faster. This is extremely common in spoken English, informal writing (like texts or emails), and newspaper headlines. The key is that the listener must be able to easily recover the missing words from the context.

📌 Structure

We can omit various parts of a sentence depending on the grammatical context.

1. Omitting Relative Pronouns & Auxiliaries (Reduced Clauses)

Relative Clauses: When the relative pronoun (who, which, that) is the object, it can be dropped. This places two nouns/pronouns next to each other, which can look strange but is correct.
- Example: “The wallet [which] a boy found on the steps…” → “The wallet a boy found…”.
Passive Structures: We often drop the pronoun and auxiliary (who/which + be) before a past participle.
- Example: “People [who are] caught hunting will be prosecuted.” → “People caught hunting…”.

2. Omitting “That”

In complex sentences with multiple clauses, we can omit that. Be careful, as this can make the sentence structure harder to see initially.
- Example: “Did you know [that] people are saying [that] Jill believes [that] she’s going to be sacked?”.

3. Spoken Ellipsis (Informal)

Subject Pronoun: Dropped when the speaker is obvious (usually “I”).
- Example: “[I] Don’t really know.” / “[I] Haven’t read it.”.
Auxiliary Verbs: Dropped in questions.
- Example: “[Are] You going to the party later?”.
Pronoun + Auxiliary: Both can be dropped together.
- Example: “[Have you] Not seen him today?” / “[That is] Interesting news.”.
Articles: Dropped when the specific noun is clear.
- Example: “[The] Teacher said we’ve got an assignment.”.

📝 Notes

The “Am” Exception: We generally do not omit am in questions if the subject I remains.
- Incorrect: “I bringing the sandwiches?”
- Correct: “Am I bringing the sandwiches?”.
Clarity Risk: Omitting that or relative pronouns can sometimes create temporary confusion (called “garden path sentences”) where the reader misinterprets the grammar until they finish the sentence. Use with care in formal writing.
Prepositions: When a relative clause ends with a preposition, omitting the pronoun is very common but can feel “dangling.”
- Example: “The role model [who] Jane most looked up to…”.

Comparison Table: Full vs. Omitted Forms

Type	Full Sentence	Omitted Version
Relative Clause	The phone which I bought is broken.	The phone I bought is broken.
Passive Reduced	Cars which are parked here will be towed.	Cars parked here will be towed.
Subject Drop	It Must be difficult.	Must be difficult.
Auxiliary Drop	Have They finished yet?	They finished yet?

💬 Examples

Embedded “That” Drop: “Did you know [ ] people are saying [ ] Jill believes [ ] she’s going to be sacked?”.
Reduced Passive: “Phones hacked into included those of celebrities.” (Short for Phones which were hacked into).
Informal Spoken: “Essay I did last week got full marks.” (Short for The essay that I did).
Combined Omission: “Not seen him today.” (Short for I have not seen him today).

Exercise 1

⬇️ Interactive exercise will appear here soon.