Editing Ellipsis (section)

===In English===
<!-- Ellipsis in English redirects here -->

====American English====
''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'' suggests the use of an ellipsis for any omitted word, phrase, line, or paragraph from within but not at the end of a quoted passage. There are two commonly used methods of using ellipses: one uses three dots for any omission, while the second one makes a distinction between omissions within a sentence (using three dots:&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.) and omissions between sentences (using a period and a space followed by three dots:&nbsp;.&nbsp;...). The ''Chicago Style'' [[wikt:Q and A|Q&A]] recommends that writers avoid using the precomposed {{char|…}}&nbsp;(U+2026) character in manuscripts and to place three periods plus two nonbreaking spaces (.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.) instead, leaving the editor, publisher, or typographer to replace them later.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/SpecialCharacters/SpecialCharacters09.html |title=Chicago Style Q&A: How do I insert an ellipsis in my manuscript? |year=2010 |work=[[The Chicago Manual of Style]], edition 16 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |access-date=2011-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010042223/http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/SpecialCharacters/SpecialCharacters09.html |archive-date=2010-10-10 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Modern Language Association]] (MLA) used to indicate that an ellipsis must include spaces before and after each dot in all uses. If an ellipsis is meant to represent an omission, [[square bracket]]s must surround the ellipsis to make it clear that there was no pause in the original quote: {{char|[&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;]}}. Currently, the MLA has removed the requirement of brackets in its style handbooks. However, some maintain that the use of brackets is still correct because it clears confusion.<ref>Fowler, H. Ramsey, Jane E. Aaron, Murray McArthur. ''The Little, Brown Handbook''. Fourth Canadian Edition. [[Toronto]]: [[Longman|Pearson Longman]]. 2005. p. 440.</ref>

The MLA now indicates that a three-dot, spaced ellipsis {{char|&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;}} should be used for removing material from within one sentence within a quote. When crossing sentences (when the omitted text contains a period, so that omitting the end of a sentence counts), a four-dot, spaced (except for before the first dot) ellipsis {{char|.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;}} should be used. When ellipsis points are used in the original text, ellipsis points that are not in the original text should be distinguished by enclosing them in square brackets (e.g. {{char|text [...] text}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uhv.edu/student-success-center/resources/e-p/ellipsis-use-in-mla-style/|last=Jones|first=Karalyn|title=Using Ellipsis in MLA Style|institution=[[University of Houston–Victoria]]|year=2009|access-date=2018-06-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140911/https://www.uhv.edu/student-success-center/resources/e-p/ellipsis-use-in-mla-style/|archive-date=2018-06-12|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://naropa.edu/documents/programs/jks/naropa-writing-center/citation-comparison.pdf |title=Home Page |access-date=2016-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804045039/http://naropa.edu/documents/programs/jks/naropa-writing-center/citation-comparison.pdf |archive-date=2016-08-04 |url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the Associated Press, the ellipsis should be used to condense quotations. It is less commonly used to indicate a pause in speech or an unfinished thought or to separate items in material such as show business gossip. The stylebook indicates that if the shortened sentence before the mark can stand as a sentence, it should do so, with an ellipsis placed after the period or other ending punctuation. When material is omitted at the end of a paragraph and also immediately following it, an ellipsis goes both at the end of that paragraph and at the beginning of the next, according to this style.<ref>Goldstein, Norm, editor. "Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law". 2005. pp.328–329.</ref>

According to Robert Bringhurst's ''[[Elements of Typographic Style]]'', the details of typesetting ellipses depend on the character and size of the font being set and the typographer's preference. Bringhurst writes that a full space between each dot is "another Victorian eccentricity. In most contexts, the Chicago ellipsis is much too wide"—he recommends using flush dots (with a normal word space before and after), or [[thin space|''thin''-spaced]] dots (up to one-fifth of an [[em (typography)|em]]), or the prefabricated ellipsis character {{unichar|2026|HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS|html=}}. Bringhurst suggests that normally an ellipsis should be spaced fore-and-aft to separate it from the text, but when it combines with other punctuation, the leading space disappears and the other punctuation follows. This is the usual practice in typesetting. He provides the following examples:

:{{gaps|{{samp|i&nbsp;... j}}|{{samp|k....}}|{{samp|l..., l}}|{{samp|l,&nbsp;... l}}|{{samp|m...?}}|{{samp|n...!}} |gap=3em}}

In legal writing in the United States, Rule 5.3 in the ''[[Bluebook]]'' citation guide governs the use of ellipses and requires a space before the first dot and between the two subsequent dots. If an ellipsis ends the sentence, then there are three dots, each separated by a space, followed by the final punctuation (e.g. {{char|Hah . . . ?}}). In some legal writing, an ellipsis is written as three [[asterisk]]s, {{char|***}} or {{char|*&nbsp;*&nbsp;*}}, to make it obvious that text has been omitted or to signal that the omitted text extends beyond the end of the paragraph.

====British English====
''The [[Hart's Rules|Oxford Style Guide]]'' recommends setting the ellipsis as a single character {{char|…}} or as a series of three (narrow) spaced dots surrounded by spaces, thus: {{char|{{nbsp}}.{{thinsp}}.{{thinsp}}.{{nbsp}}}}. If there is an ellipsis at the end of an incomplete sentence, the final full stop is omitted. However, it is retained if the following ellipsis represents an omission between two complete sentences.<ref>''New Hart's Rules: The Oxford Style Guide''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.</ref>

<blockquote><poem>The ... fox jumps ...
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. ... And if they have not died, they are still alive today.
It is not cold ... it is freezing cold.</poem></blockquote>

Contrary to ''The Oxford Style Guide'', the ''University of Oxford Style Guide'' demands an ellipsis not to be surrounded by spaces, except when it stands for a pause; then, a space has to be set after the ellipsis (but not before), and it states that an ellipsis should never be preceded or followed by a full stop.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/University%20of%20Oxford%20Style%20Guide%20%28updated%20Hilary%20term%202016%29.pdf | title = University of Oxford Style Guide: Hilary term 2016 | location = Oxford |publisher = University of Oxford | date= 2016 | page=15 |access-date= 18 May 2017}}</ref>

<blockquote><poem>The...fox jumps...
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog...And if they have not died, they are still alive today.
It is not cold... it is freezing cold.</poem></blockquote>