Saturday, April 18, 2009

I Never Knew ...

I don't think I ever heard of the word "ellipsis" [eclipse yes, even elliptical, but not ellipsis] and certainly never wondered if the 'three dots' had a name. I just use it in every other sentence in lieu of et cetera, wrongly so. I never knew 'the slash' had a proper name either - solidus. Solar system; solitaire; but solidus? How many times have I used miles/hour and worked on mathematical fractions over the years. Still I never heard the word solidus before. Truly, learning is lifelong.

"Ellipsis...

Ellipses, which are never more than three points (...), indicate an omission in the text. Should an ellipsis fall at the end of a sentence there is no final full stop.

It can also be used to replace a line, sentence or paragraph of the text.

When placed at the beginning of the text, it is followed by a normal space.

When replacing one or more words in the middle of a sentence, it is preceded and followed by a normal space.

Continental practice also uses the ellipsis in the same way as the word ‘etc.’ is used in English. Avoid this -Lol.

Solidus/

The solidus, also known variously as an oblique stroke, a slash or a shilling stroke, is used for alternatives (and/or), to mean ‘per’ (km/day) and fractions (19/100). "

2 comments:

CathM said...

I guess you learn something new every day, hey (smile)!

IJ said...

Yes, I sure do.