Grammar: 🚀 Advanced Grammar Concepts (C1) - Lesson 6: Understanding Ellipsis and Substitution for cohesion and naturalness

🚀 C1 Lesson 6: Ellipsis & Substitution

To achieve true mastery of English, you need to understand how native speakers create natural-sounding speech. We don't always speak in long, perfect sentences. Instead, we use techniques that create cohesion¹ and avoid unnecessary repetition². Today, we will master two of the most important techniques: ellipsis and substitution.

Ellipsis: Omitting Understood Words

Ellipsis³ is the practice of leaving out (omitting) words from a sentence when the meaning can be understood from the context. It is extremely common in spoken English.

Example 1: In responses

→ Full: "A: Would you like to go for a coffee? B: Yes, I would like to go for a coffee."
→ Natural with Ellipsis: "A: Would you like to go for a coffee? B: Yes, I'd love to."

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Example 2: In comparisons

→ Full: "She speaks Khmer much more fluently than I speak Khmer."
→ Natural with Ellipsis: "She speaks Khmer much more fluently than I do."

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Example 3: Informal questions/statements

→ Full: "Are you coming with us?"
→ Natural with Ellipsis: "Coming with us?"

Substitution: Replacing Words and Phrases

Substitution⁴ is the technique of replacing a word or phrase with a shorter word to avoid repeating it.

Using 'one' or 'ones' to replace nouns:
"I need to buy a new phone. The one I have is very old." (one = phone)
"I prefer the red scarves to the blue ones." (ones = scarves)

Using 'so', 'not', or 'do so' to replace clauses:
A: "Do you think the tour will be busy?" B: "I hope not." (not = the tour won't be busy)
A: "Will we arrive on time?" B: "I think so." (so = we will arrive on time)
"The guide told us to be quiet inside the temple, and we did so." (did so = were quiet)

🧠 Practice Quiz: Sound More Natural

Choose the most natural-sounding response using ellipsis or substitution.

1. "Do you have a pen I can borrow?"
   a) Yes, I have a pen you can borrow.
   b) Yes, you can borrow this one.
   Answer: b. It uses 'one' to substitute for 'pen'.
2. "Did you enjoy your trip to Angkor Wat?"
   a) Yes, I did. It was amazing.
   b) Yes, I enjoyed my trip to Angkor Wat. It was amazing.
   Answer: a. It uses the auxiliary 'did' to replace the whole phrase 'enjoyed my trip'. This is a form of ellipsis.
3. "I prefer this painting. The other _______ isn't as interesting."
   Answer: one
4. "She can't speak Japanese, but her brother _______."
   Answer: can
5. "Are you ready yet?" → This is a more natural, informal version of what full question?
   Answer: "Are you ready to go yet?" (or similar, with the verb omitted).

📝 Homework: Avoid Repetition

Rewrite the second sentence or response in each item to make it sound more natural and less repetitive.

1. I lost my old guidebook. I need to buy a new guidebook.
   Answer: I lost my old guidebook. I need to buy a new one.
2. A: Is this the bus to Phnom Penh? B: No, this is not the bus to Phnom Penh.
   Answer: B: No, it isn't.
3. He asked me to send the email, and I sent the email immediately.
   Answer: He asked me to send the email, and I did so immediately.

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Cohesion: (Noun) - ភាពស្អិតរមួត (phéap s'ăt'rŭm'muət) - The way in which different parts of a text are linked together to create a unified whole. ↩
2. Repetition: (Noun) - ពាក្យដដែលៗ (péak dâ'dael dâ'dael) - The act of saying or writing something again. ↩
3. Ellipsis: (Noun) - ការលុបពាក្យ (kaa lŭp'péak) - The omission of words from speech or writing because they are understood from the context. ↩
4. Substitution: (Noun) - ការជំនួស (kaa chŭm'nuəh) - The use of a word or phrase to replace another word or phrase to avoid repetition. ↩
5. Omit: (Verb) - លុបចោល (lŭp'chaol) - To leave out or not include something. ↩