Ellipsis

C1 · AdvancedAdvanced Grammar

I want to go, but I can't [go]. She's taller than I am [tall].

What you'll learn

Ellipsis is the grammatical omission of a word or phrase already understood from context
After an auxiliary or modal, the repeated main verb is dropped — but the auxiliary/modal stays
Comparisons often drop the repeated verb after 'than'/'as', keeping only the subject and auxiliary
Short conversational replies drop everything except the essential new information

What ellipsis is

Ellipsis is leaving out a word or phrase that the listener can already fill in from context, rather than repeating it. English uses this constantly, especially to avoid repeating a verb that was just mentioned.

"I want to go, but I can't [go]."

"She's taller than I am [tall]."

Ellipsis after an auxiliary or modal

When two clauses share the same main verb, the second one is usually dropped — but the auxiliary or modal that carries the tense/mood must stay, even though the main verb is gone.

"He can swim, and she can too."

"I haven't finished, but he has."

Gapping in coordinate clauses

When two clauses are joined by 'and' and share the same verb, that verb can be dropped from the second clause entirely, leaving just the subject and what comes after the verb.

"He likes tea, and she coffee."

"Tom studies law, and Anna medicine."

Ellipsis in short replies

Everyday conversation drops whatever is obvious from the question, keeping only the new information.

""Are you coming?" "Coming?""

""Who broke this?" "Not me.""

""Do you want some cake?" "Yes, please.""

Real English

"I haven't seen the movie, but my brother has."

"He runs faster than I do."

"She wanted to leave, but I didn't."

""Who's calling?" "Me.""

Watch out

✗I want to go, but I can't go go.

✓I want to go, but I can't.

Don't repeat the main verb after the modal — the modal alone stands in for the whole verb phrase.

✗He can swim, and she too.

✓He can swim, and she can too.

The main verb can be dropped, but the auxiliary/modal ('can', 'has', 'is') must stay to carry the meaning.

✗He likes tea, and she coffee likes.

✓He likes tea, and she coffee.

In gapping, the shared verb is dropped entirely from the second clause — it isn't moved to the end.

Real life — Deciding on dinner

"Do you want pizza or pasta?"

"Pizza, I think. You?"

"Pasta, actually — I had pizza yesterday."

"Fair enough. Pizza for me, pasta for you, then."

Practice

Exercise 1 · Choose the correctly elided sentence

Choose the correctly elided sentence for: 'I want to go, but I can't go.'

Exercise 2 · Choose the correctly elided sentence

Choose the correctly elided sentence for: 'She's taller than I am tall.'

Exercise 3 · Choose the correctly elided sentence

Choose the correctly elided sentence for: 'He can swim, and she can swim too.'

Exercise 4 · Choose the natural conversational ellipsis

Choose the natural conversational ellipsis for: 'Are you coming?'

Exercise 5 · Choose the correctly elided sentence

Choose the correctly elided sentence (gapping) for: 'He likes tea, and she likes coffee.'

Exercise 6 · Choose the correctly elided response

Choose the correctly elided response to 'Who broke this?'

Exercise 7 · Choose the correctly elided sentence

Choose the correctly elided sentence for: 'I haven't finished, but he has finished.'

Exercise 8 · Choose the natural elided response

Choose the natural elided response to 'Do you want some cake?'

Exercise 9 · Elide the repeated part

Elide the repeated part: 'She will help if she can help.' → She will help if she ___.

Exercise 10 · Elide the repeated verb

Elide the repeated verb (gapping): 'Tom studies law, and Anna studies medicine.' → Tom studies law, and Anna ___.

Exercise 11 · Sort into groups

I can't, but she can.

I can't go, but she can go go.

He likes tea and she coffee.

He likes tea and she coffee likes.

0 / 4 sorted

Quick challenge

Five quick questions to check what stuck.

Question 1 / 5

Score: 0/0

Choose the correctly elided sentence for: 'I haven't seen the movie, but my brother has seen the movie.'

You learned

Ellipsis omits a word/phrase already understood from context.
After an auxiliary/modal, the repeated main verb is dropped, but the auxiliary stays.
Gapping drops a shared verb entirely from the second clause.
Short conversational replies keep only the essential new information.

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Substitution: One/Ones, Do & So

Learn how English replaces a repeated noun with 'one/ones', a repeated verb phrase with 'do (so)', and a repeated clause with 'so/not'.

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Learn how to move an object, complement, or location to the front of a sentence for emphasis and cohesion — and when that triggers inversion.

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Learn how to turn verbs and adjectives into nouns for a more formal, academic register — and the prepositions that follow them.