Ellipses, the grammatical notation for using [...] in the middle of a sentence, have long been pushed to the back of the punctuation usage line. Traditionally, ellipses are strictly used to indicate that part of a quote was omitted (”we had a great team out there today… I’m just glad we were able to pull out the win”), or perhaps in unusual circumstances, to indicate a pause in someone’s actions (”Jim thought and thought about the missing knife… and then thought some more”).
Today, however, in an Internet world where we seek more space to fit musings into 140 characters, and look for ways to communicate that better reflect our own informal discussion style, the ellipsis is making a comeback. I’m all for it, too… I believe that used well, the ellipsis can help you write better stuff, that works better in a new business environment. Keeping in mind that I’m going on my own style here, and not by the book (as is my custom with grammar posts), here are two main cases I like to use ellipses:
1. I use them for proper flow in a sentence. I believe that good writing not only communicates ideas correctly, but does so in correct time. In other words, it’s the flow and feel of a piece, as much as it is the substance, that forms, builds, and broadcasts a brand statement. The ellipses is another tool I keep in the toolbox for just this purpose… giving me the chance to elongate my thoughts, without shortening them again with a comma, or disrupting them with a semi-colon, a hyphen, or a set of parentheses.
2. I use them to change my thoughts in mid-sentence, without hassling with a new one altogether, or again without interrupting the thoughts with something like a semi-colon. When I talk, I pause and meander. It’s rare that I speak with the authority and clarity that many aspire to write with. And while surely there are times to make your writing more powerful than your speech — with lots of short sentences, for instance — there’s also a time to let your writing imitate your everyday voice. Don’t be afraid, in other words, to let your natural intonations shine through… you might be pleased with the result.
The rules around ellipses are hazy, and our written understanding of them has yet to catch up with our new usages. So, while these two instances are what work for me, I urge you to find what works for yourself. Be wary of going overboard, of course, because too much of a good thing is no good at all. But try to use a few, see how they work, and them place them appropriately in your own toolbox.
Your Input: did I miss any good uses here? are there any you like, that I didn’t touch on here? any here that you dislike (and would like removed)? Let me know.
As a writer, I believe I’m guilty of overusing parentheses. I also believe many writers are guilty of underusing them. Given the discrepancy, I thought it would be helpful to write down some quick rules here… my guidelines on when (and when not) to use them. Keep in mind that I’m not going strictly by the book here, and that these are just my rules that I’ve found work best for my style. I encourage you to develop your own, in accordance to your own style.
To start, I prefer to think of grammar not in terms of what I can’t do, but in terms of what I can do. For example, I prefer not to think “when do rules forbid me from using parentheses?” But rather, “how and when can I use parentheses to enhance my writing?” In accordance with that approach, here are the two main cases in which I use parentheses to make my writing better:
- I use them for adding information that I want to include, but that I don’t want people to read in the context of a certain sentence. This is the classic creative use, and comes in handy for sentences like “I bought a movie ticket for Jenny (to a bad romantic comedy) because I was hoping to get some action in the back of the theater.” More to the point of business copy, it comes in handy for sentences like “Our new product release (set for June 3rd) will feature a new iphone app, and contextual advertising opportunities.”
- I use them to add the proper intonation and proper flow. This one is less traditional, but comes from my belief that good writing reads like we speak - that’s how people are used to consuming information, and I still think that’s how they consume it best. And if you do you listen to people talk, we say many things below our breath - not everything is spoken with the same power. In short, I use parentheses (just like this), to imitate that kind of speech. It’s not like a set of commas, which emphasizes what lies between them, and it’s not like a hyphen - those strongly mark a new point. It’s just like a set of parentheses (so nice, yet simple), and I think it works.
Obviously I omitted a couple arcane uses of parentheses here, like enclosing numbers in a list, or enclosing monetary figures on a sheet. But I think I covered the two big ones, that you can keep an eye out for using (and using well). As always, though, too much of a good thing is not good at all. That’s especially the case for parentheses because they’re visually demanding, and take up a good deal of physical space. So as much as you keep an eye out for utilizing parentheses in these instances, keep an eye out for cutting them in other instances.
Your Input: did I miss any obvious uses here? are there any you like, that I didn’t touch on here? any here that you dislike (and would like removed)? did you catch what I did, in the last sentence of list-item 2? eh, eh?
