In what situation do you put a full-stop after an ellipsis?
In some style guides, I see this mention of putting a full-stop after an ellipsis when you are stopping the paused sentence and going onto another new sentence, but when reading several very well-known novels, I have just seen either the ellipsis alone or ellipis followed by a SPACE between two sentences so am confused as to whether I should be putting the extra full-stop in and when.
E.g. "I was ashamed...and afraid." Normal pause, so just ellipsis.
But how about:
"I was ashamed...You couldn't understand."
Is the above ok or should it be:
"I was ashamed... You couldn't understand." SPACE AFTER ELLIPSIS.
How about:
"I am not sure if I will every be able to forgive him...."
If this is the end of the character's thought, are we supposed to add the extra full-stop?
If not, when do we use it and do authors really use it? I rarely see it.
Thanks so much to anyone who has an idea!
As an aside, I see some authors use small letters after the ellipsis even when they are starting a new clause or sentence, rather than capitals to start a new sentence.
E.g. "I was ashamed...you couldn't understand."
Is the above also acceptable?
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1 answer
Please note I am describing American English punctuation convention, where the quotes go outside the final punctuation mark. I am aware that British English punctuation is handlded differently.
The ellipsis is used to indicate a trailing pause.
If it's in the middle of a sentence, and you're continuing a thought, usually there's no space after the ellipsis, and the next word remains lowercase.
"I was ashamed...to tell you."
If it's at the end of a sentence — indicating that the speaker trails off but then resumes speaking, although the next words are a new sentence — you use an ellipsis, a period (closing your quotes wherever necessary), and a space. A new sentence starts with a capital letter.
"I was ashamed.... You don't know what it's like."
"I am not sure I will ever be able to forgive him...." He swallowed hard.
I personally like to use a space after an ellipsis because I think it's easier to read, but I don't think this typographical convention is widespread.
"I was ashamed... to tell you."
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