ellipsis (leaving words out)

ellipsis (leaving words out)

At the beginning of a sentence

Car's running badly. ( = The car's . . . )
Wife's on holiday. ( = My wife's . . . )
Couldn't understand a word ( = I couldn't understand . . . )
Seen Joe(= Have you seen Joe?)

With and, but and or

He sang and (he) played the guitar.
Would you like some tea or (some) coffee? young boys and (young) girls in France and (in) Germany He opened his eyes once, but (he) didn't wake up.
We can leave out more than one word.
She washed (her jeans) and ironed her jeans.
You could have come and (you could have) told me.

After auxiliary verbs

'Get up.' I am /asm/.' ( = I am getting up.")
He said he 'd write, but he hasn't ( = . . . hasn't written)
I can't see you today, but I can tomorrow.
'You're getting better at tennis.' 'Yes, i am '
I've forgotten the address.' 'So have I. '
'You wouldn't have won if I hadn't helped you. ' 'Yes I would In clauses without an auxiliary verb, we can use do instead of repeating a verb or clause.
She likes walking in the mountains, and I do too.

After as and than

The weather isn 't as good as last year. ( = • as good as it was...)
I found more blackberries than you. (= • than you found.)

Infinitives

'Are you and Gillian getting married?' 'We hope to
I don't dance much now, but I used to a lot.
To is not necessary after conjunction + want/like
Come when you want. I'll do what I like. Stay as long as you like.