Avoiding repetition
We sometimes
leave out or replace words to avoid repeating them. The meaning must be clear
from the context.
Leaving out words after the auxiliary
Have you seen the film? ~ Yes, I have.
Leaving out an infinitive clause
We didn't get the job finished, although we were hoping to.
Leaving out words after a question word
This photo was taken years ago. I forget where.
Leaving out the verb
Adrian chose a steak and Lucy
spaghetti.
Leaving out words at the beginning of a sentence
Enjoying your self ? (= Are you enjoying
yourself?)
Patterns with so, neither etc
I've seen the film. ~ So have I.
We were hoping to finish the job, but we didn't manage to do so.
Have you seen the film?~ Yes, I think so.
You're in this photo, look. ~ Oh,
so I am.
The economy is healthy now, but will it remain so?
Some other ways of avoiding repetition
We need some matches. Have we got any?
I saw the film, but I didn't like it.
Special styles
Words can be
left out in special styles: in labels, newspaper headlines, instructions and
postcards, and in note style.
Avoiding repetition
1. We sometimes
leave out a word or phrase, or we replace it by another word such as a pronoun.
Here is part of a real conversation in a shop.
CHOOSING A
JACKET
Assistant: There's this rather nice rose pink, or two
or three nice blues, burgundy, and here is one that's a very nice colour. I can
show it to you in the daylight. And this one runs at sixty-nine ninety-five.
Customer: Are they all the same price?
Assistant: Yes. These are cotton, the best cotton one
can get. The best quality. And
also a very nice green - I'm afraid I haven't the size fourteen.
Customer: It's a nice colour though. (from M.
Underwood and P. Barr Listeners) When
the customer went into the shop, she asked to look at jackets. While she and the assistant are looking at the
jackets, there is no need to repeat the word jacket. It is clear from the situation what the topic of the
conversation is. . . . and here is one that's a very nice colour. (=
here is a jacket...) I can show it to you in the daylight. (= ... show the jacket...) These are cotton. (= These jackets
are ...)
2 But
we sometimes repeat things for emphasis. There's
this rather nice rose pink, or
two or three nice blues,
burgundy, and here is one that's a very nice
colour. These are cotton, the
best cotton one can get.
The assistant
wants to emphasize that the colours are all nice and that the material is cotton.
Repeating words
in conversation can sometimes make things easier to express and to understand.
3 Sometimes the
words that are left out or replaced come later, not earlier. If you want to, you can pay by credit card. (=
If you want to pay by credit card,...)
After she had had a cup of tea, Phyllis felt much better. (=
After Phyllis had had...) Here she refers forward to Phyllis, which comes later in the
sentence. Leaving out words after the
auxiliary
1 A sentence can
end with an auxiliary if the meaning is clear from the context.
I'm getting old. ~ Yes, I'm afraid you are. Kate hadn't brought an umbrella. She was pleased to see that
Sue had. I don't want to answer
this letter, but perhaps I should.
Can you get satellite TV? We can.
If
the verb is in a simple tense, we use a form of do.
I don't enjoy parties as much as my wife does. We
can also end a sentence with the ordinary verb be. It's a nice colour. At least, I think it is. The stress can be on the auxiliary or the subject,
whichever is the new information. Yes,
I'm afraid you 'are. (emphasis on the fact)
She was pleased to see that 'Sue had. (emphasis on the person)
NOTE The
auxiliary cannot be a short form or weak form.
NOT She was pleased to see that Sue'd-.
2 Usually
everything after the auxiliary is left out.
I'm getting old. ~
Yes, I'm afraid you are.
After are we leave out getting old. But there are some
exceptions to this.
a We do not
leave out not/n't.
What did you have for breakfast? ~ I didn't. I'm not eating today.
b Sometimes we
have to use two auxiliary verbs. When the first is a new word, we
cannot leave out
the second.
Have the team won?~ Well, everyone's smiling, so they must have.
I don't know if Tom is still waiting. He might be.
When will the room be cleaned? ~ It just has been.
Here must, might and has are not in the previous sentence.
But when the two auxiliaries are both in the previous sentence, then we can
leave out the second. The corridor
hasn't been cleaned, but the room has
(been) You could have hurt yourself. ~ Yes, I could (have).
c In British
English do is sometimes used
after an auxiliary. I don't want to
answer this letter, but perhaps I should (do).
Have the team won?~ Well, everyone's smiling, so they must have (done).
Here do = answer the letter, and done = won.
d There can be
an adverbial or a tag.
It's a nice colour though. ~ Yes,
it is, isn't it?
Is there a market today? ~ I don't know. There was yesterday.
Here a market is left out of the answer,
but yesterday's new
information.
3 A short
question consists of an auxiliary + subject.
I've seen the film before. Have
you?~ No, I haven't.
I wanted Helen to pass her test. ~ And
did she? ~ Yes.
Here it is clear
from the context that And did she? = And
did she pass her test? Leaving out an
infinitive clause
1 When there is
no need to repeat a to-infinitive clause, we can leave it out.
To stands
for the whole clause.
Would you like to join us for lunch? ~ Yes, I'd love to. Jane got
the job, although she didn't expect to.
You've switched the machine off. I told you not to, didn't I?
I haven't washed up yet, but I'm going to. But
we repeat an auxiliary after to.
I haven't done as much work today as I'd like to have. Jane was chosen for the job, although she didn't expect to be.
2 Sometimes
we can also leave out to.
I don't work as hard as I ought (to).
Take one of these brochures if you want (to).
We usually leave
out to after an adjective.
We need people to serve refreshments. Are you willing?
NOTE
We usually leave
out to after like but not after would like.
Take one of these brochures if
you like.
Take one of these brochures if
you'd like to.
3 We can also
leave out a bare infinitive (without to).
I wanted to borrow Tim's cassettes, but he wouldn't let me.
(= ... let me borrow his cassettes.)
We can go somewhere else if you'd rather.
(= ... if
you'd rather go somewhere else.)
Leaving out words after a question word
We can leave out
the words after a question word or phrase rather than repeat
them.
The road is closed to traffic. No one knows why.
I'm going to the dentist this afternoon. ~ Oh, what time?
I put the certificate somewhere, and now I can't remember where.
When the
question word is the subject, the auxiliary can come after it.
Something rather strange has happened. ~ What (has)?
Leaving out the verb
When there are
two sentences with the same pattern and the same verb, then we
do not need to
repeat the verb.
The new warehouse contains furniture and the old one electrical goods.
(= ... and
the old one contains electrical
goods.)
Everton have played ten games but Liverpool only eight.
(= ... but
Liverpool have only played eight games.)
This happens
only in rather formal English.
Leaving out words at the beginning of
a sentence
In informal
English we can leave out some kinds of words from the beginning of a sentence
if the meaning is clear without them. Ready?
~ Sorry, no. Can't find my car keys. ~ Doesn't matter. We can go in my car.
~ OK. ~ Better get going, or we'll be late. Ready?
means 'Are you ready?', and it is clear that the question refers to the
person spoken to. Doesn't matter means
'It doesn't matter', and the meaning is clear without it. The same thing happens in informal writing, for example in
postcards.
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