Today we are going to learn how to use ellipsis in Spanish. If you want to improve your writing skills in Spanish by learning to use punctuation correctly, take a look at our blog. Our Spanish school, El Rincón del Tándem, helps you easily achieve your goal 😊
Ellipsis in Spanish are a punctuation mark that is frequently used in both formal and informal written texts. Especially when using social media or e-mail, people often use it disregarding the Spanish punctuation rules.
So, to help our student write properly in Spanish, our Spanish school provides below some simple and practical tips.
Let’s start!
WHEN to use ellipsis in Spanish:
The use of ellipsis in Spanish is aimed to fulfil different purpose in communication.
1. To mark the end or the interruption of a conversation
- Bueno, seguro que todo irá bien… = Well, I am sure everything will be fine
- Pensaba que habías dejado de fumar… = I thought you gave up smoking…
2. To express fear, doubt or suspense by making a pause
- Fue una experiencia muy desafiante…No sé cuánto tiempo tardaré en recuperarme = It was a very challenging experience…I don’t know how long it will take me to recover
- Estaba todo muy oscuro y entonces…oímos un ruido muy extraño = It was really dark and then… we heard a very strange noise
3. To intentionally leave the message incomplete. In this case we assume that the person we are writing to already knows how the sentence will end or what we are going to say.
- Ayer vi a tu hermana y… ya sabes lo que me dijo = Yesterday I met your sister and..you already know what she told me
4. To leave a list of items incomplete.
In this case ellipsis works the same as etc. By using ellipsis, we intentionally stop enumerate things.
- En el hotel había de todo: piscina, sauna, bares… = In the hotel there was everything: swimming pool, sauna, bars…
5. When we won’t write a bad word 😉
HOW to use ellipsis:
– After ellipses, we can use a comma, a semicolon or a colon. When we do it, we do not leave any space between them and ellipses.
– Words that go after the ellipses, go in capital letter when ellipsis is used to end a completed sentence. When the statement that precedes is uncomplete, we start the following statement with lower case letter.
– Ellipsis in Spanish is formed by three dots (not more!)
We hope this short explanation on ellipsis in Spanish help you use punctuation properly 😊
Finally, we remind you that our Spanish school, El Rincón del Tándem, is happy to provide you with Spanish classes in a cosy space and friendly environment, here in Valencia.
¡Hasta pronto!
