Elipsis y Sustitución
Lección de nivel C1 con ejemplos y práctica
Ellipsis means leaving out words that are understood from context, to avoid repetition. With verb phrase ellipsis, we keep the auxiliary or 'to' and drop the rest: 'I want to, but I can't (go).'
The listener fills in the missing verb. It sounds natural and concise: 'Has he finished? — He hasn't (finished) yet.'
Ejemplos
I want to, but I can't (go).
'to' stands in for 'to go'.
Will she come? — She might (come).
'might' replaces the whole verb phrase.
Has he finished? — He hasn't yet.
'hasn't' covers 'hasn't finished'.
I want to
/aɪ wɒnt tə/
I want to, but I can't (go).
she might
/ʃiː maɪt/
Will she come? — She might (come).
we'd love to
/wiːd lʌv tə/
Are you coming? — We'd love to (come).
he hasn't
/hiː ˈhæzənt/
Has he finished? — He hasn't (finished) yet.
Complete naturally with ellipsis: Are you coming? — We'd love ___.
Avoid repeating 'finished': Has he finished? — He ___ yet. (hasn't)
After verbs like think, hope, expect, believe and 'be afraid', we use 'so' to replace a positive idea and 'not' for a negative one: 'Will it rain? — I think so / I hope not.'
This avoids repeating the whole clause: 'I think so' = 'I think it will rain.'
Ejemplos
Will it rain? — I think so.
'so' = 'that it will rain'.
Did we miss the bus? — I hope not.
'not' replaces a negative idea.
Is the shop open? — I'm afraid not.
'I'm afraid not' = politely, no.
I think so
/aɪ θɪŋk soʊ/
Will it rain? — I think so.
I hope not
/aɪ hoʊp nɒt/
Did we miss the bus? — I hope not.
I expect so
/aɪ ɪkˈspekt soʊ/
Will they win? — I expect so.
I'm afraid not
/aɪm əˈfreɪd nɒt/
Is the shop open? — I'm afraid not.
Reply positively with substitution: Will it rain? — I think ___.
Reply negatively: Is the shop open? — I'm afraid ___.
We use forms of 'do' to stand in for a repeated verb ('She loves coffee. — I do too') and 'one/ones' to replace a repeated noun ('Which book? — The red one').
These keep replies short. With agreement, note the patterns 'I do too' and 'Neither do I'.
Ejemplos
She loves coffee. — I do too.
'do' replaces 'love coffee'.
I don't smoke. — Neither do I.
Negative agreement: Neither do I.
Which book? — The red one.
'one' replaces the noun 'book'.
I do too
/aɪ duː tuː/
She loves coffee. — I do too.
neither do I
/ˈniːðər duː aɪ/
I don't smoke. — Neither do I.
the red one
/ðə red wʌn/
Which book? — The red one.
the blue ones
/ðə bluː wʌnz/
I prefer the blue ones.
Agree with a negative: I don't smoke. — ___ do I.
Replace the noun 'book': Which book? — The red ___.
In casual speech, emails and notes, we often drop the subject (and sometimes the auxiliary) at the start: 'Sounds good' (= That sounds good), 'Hope you're well' (= I hope you're well).
This is informal but extremely common in friendly writing and conversation.
Ejemplos
Sounds good. (= That sounds good.)
Subject 'that' dropped.
Hope you're well. (= I hope you're well.)
Subject 'I' dropped in friendly writing.
See you later. (= I'll see you later.)
Subject + auxiliary dropped.
Sounds good
/saʊndz ɡʊd/
Sounds good. (= That sounds good.)
Hope you're well
/hoʊp jʊər wel/
Hope you're well. (= I hope you're well.)
See you later
/siː juː ˈleɪtər/
See you later. (= I'll see you later.)
What is the full form of 'Hope you're well'?
Full form of 'Sounds good': ___ sounds good. (dropped subject)
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