ELLIPSIS_2

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE Discourse Analysis HP Instructor: Pho Phuong Dung, Ph.D. Võ Trần Phương Thảo Tăng Khánh Hòa Ellipsis • Omitting elements normally required by the grammar which the speaker/ writer assumes are obvious from the context. • E.g: Here are ten photos. Take any. Has he arrived? Yes, he has. Could you lend me some money? Sorry, can’t help you. • Ellipsis as a notion is probably a universal feature of languages, but the grammatical options which realise it in discourse may vary markedly. • E.g: 1/ *The children the small boxes, the adults will carry the larger ones. 2/ Because Alice won’t, Mary has to dust the furniture. Types Nominal ellipsis: Here are ten photos. Take any. Verbal ellipsis: Has he arrived? Yes, he has. Clausal ellipsis: Could you lend me some money? Sorry, can’t help you. Nominal ellipsis • The head noun is omitted and another element takes its function. E.g: He can’t answer the first question, but the second is easy. Here are my shirts. I can lend you one if you like. By a deictic • These, any, none, neither, either, each, all, both Possessive: John’s E.g: While his clothes are worn out, hers sparkles. I will take these pencils and those. Numeratives • Ordinals: first , second , third , fourth • Cardinal numerals: the three , these three , any three , all three • Indefinite quantifiers: much , many , more , most , few , several • E.G: 1. Have another dish. No, thanks, it is my second. 2. There are three chair in the room. All three are brown. Verbal Ellipsis • Ellipsis within the verbal group • 2 types: echoing & auxiliary contrasting • Echoing repeats an element from the verb group A: Will anyone be waiting? B: Jim will, I should think. A: Is he talking? B: Yes, he is.  Lexical ellipsis A: Has he bought a new car? B: No, he hasn’t. but *No, he hasn’t bought.  If the complement of the lexical verb is omitted, then the lexical verb must be omitted except be and have. . it is my second. 2. There are three chair in the room. All three are brown. Verbal Ellipsis • Ellipsis within the verbal group • 2 types: echoing. larger ones. 2/ Because Alice won’t, Mary has to dust the furniture. Types Nominal ellipsis: Here are ten photos. Take any. Verbal ellipsis: