# Ellipsis and Substitution

https://langs123.com/en/english/sentence-building/ellipsis-substitution/
CEFR B2–C1 · 2026-10-19 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> Ellipsis drops words the listener can supply, and so, one and do so replace longer phrases. An agreeing reply puts the auxiliary before the new subject: So do I. Neither can she.

## Cheatsheet

| Point | Rule | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Agreeing | So / Neither + helper + subject; informally Me too / Me neither | I like tea. — So do I. |
| So and not | so or not replaces a clause after think, hope and suppose | Is it open? — I think so. |
| One | one or ones replaces a countable noun | I like the red one. |
| Do so | do so is formal; do it and do that are informal | I asked him to leave, and he did so. |
| Coordination | the second clause drops a repeated verb or auxiliary | Tom likes tea and Ann coffee. |
| To | to stays when its verb goes | Come if you want to. |
| Reduced clause | the subject and be go after if, when and although | If necessary, call me. |
| Nouns | those, that of and the latter point back to a noun | Prices here are higher than those in town. |
| Speech | the start of a clause goes: the subject and the first auxiliary | Got a minute? |
| A whole clause | it, this, that and which refer to a whole clause | He passed, which surprised us. |
| Short replies | a wh-question gets the missing phrase alone; a stripped clause adds one phrase | Tom left, and Ann too. |
| Trap | neither and nor are negative, so the auxiliary stays positive | I can't swim. — Neither can I. |

## Overview

| Device | What it does | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ellipsis | leaves out words that the context supplies | Which film did you like? — The first. |
| Substitution | puts a short word in the place of a longer phrase | Pass me the blue pen, not the black one. |
| Speech and notes | drops the start of a clause | Coming? |

- The listener or reader must be able to supply every word that is left out.
- A question tag repeats the auxiliary in the same way. See Question Tags.

## Form: agreeing with so and too

| Reply uses | Statement | So + helper + subject | subject + helper + too |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| am / is / are | She's late. | So am I. | I am too. |
| was / were | He was ill. | So was she. | She was too. |
| do | We like tea. | So do I. | I do too. |
| does | I like tea. | So does she. | She does too. |
| did | I missed the bus. | So did he. | He did too. |
| have / has | We've finished. | So have they. | They have too. |
| can / will / would | She can swim. | So can I. | I can too. |

- The reply repeats the auxiliary of the statement; a verb with no auxiliary takes do, does or did.
- Be answers be, and the reply agrees with its own subject. She's late. — So am I.
- Me too is informal and takes no auxiliary. I love this song. — Me too.

## Form: agreeing with neither, nor and either

| Reply uses | Statement | Neither / Nor + helper + subject | subject + negative helper + either |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| am / is / are | She isn't ready. | Neither am I. | I'm not either. |
| was / were | He wasn't there. | Neither was she. | She wasn't either. |
| do | We don't like tea. | Neither do I. | I don't either. |
| does | I don't like tea. | Neither does she. | She doesn't either. |
| did | She didn't call. | Nor did I. | I didn't either. |
| have / has | We haven't finished. | Neither have they. | They haven't either. |
| can / will / would | He can't swim. | Neither can I. | I can't either. |

- Neither and nor are already negative, so the auxiliary after them stays positive. I can't sleep. — Neither can I.
- Me neither is informal and takes no auxiliary. I can't sleep. — Me neither.

## Use: so and not for a clause

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| A positive answer after think, hope, suppose, expect and believe: I + verb + so | Is the shop open? — I think so. / Will she come? — I hope so. |
| A yes that brings bad news: I'm afraid so | Is the flight delayed? — I'm afraid so. |
| A negative answer after hope and be afraid: I hope / I'm afraid + not | Will it rain? — I hope not. / Is there any cake left? — I'm afraid not. |
| A negative answer after think, believe, expect and suppose: I + don't + verb + so | Is she in? — I don't think so. |
| A formal negative answer: I think not | Is it too late? — I think not. |
| A condition: if so and if not | Are you free tonight? If so, join us. / Bring a coat. If not, you will be cold. |
| A reply that asks the reason, or accepts an offer: Why not? | I can't come. — Why not? / Shall we eat out? — Why not? |
| After say and tell: say so, tell sb so | It's true: the doctor said so. / I told you so. |

- so stands for a whole positive clause and not for a negative one. I think so. = I think that it is open.

## One and ones

| Pattern | Use | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| adjective + one / ones | an adjective names the difference | Do you have a bigger one? / I prefer the cheaper ones. |
| this / that / which / another / the other + one | a choice between things | Which one is yours? / I'll take that one. / Have another one. |
| which / the other + ones | the plural of a choice | Which ones do you want? / I'll take the other ones. |
| the one / the ones + with / in / on / that | a phrase or clause says which one | The one with the blue door is mine. / I like the ones that you bought. |

- one stands for a countable noun; an uncountable noun is left out. She likes black coffee, and I like white.
- A number or quantifier stands alone, or takes an adjective and ones. I bought two. / I bought two red ones.
- A possessive pronoun stands alone: mine, yours, hers. Take my bag; yours is heavy.
- this one and that one are in This, That, These, Those.
- Quantifiers without a noun are in Quantifiers: some, any, much, many.

## Do so, do it, do that

| Form | Use | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| do so | formal; replaces a verb and its object | I asked him to leave, and he did so at once. / Anyone may apply, and may do so online. |
| do it | informal; the action just named or about to happen | Can you lock up? — Yes, I'll do it now. |
| do that | informal; an action that can be seen or was just named | Please don't do that. |

- do takes the tense and the person: do so, does so, did so, doing so. By doing so, you save time.

## Ellipsis in coordination

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| A repeated verb: the second clause keeps only what is new | Tom likes tea and Ann coffee. / He bought a car and she a bike. |
| A shared auxiliary: one helper for two verbs | He has read it and enjoyed it. |
| A shared object: one object for two verbs | She washed and I dried the plates. |

- A shared auxiliary needs the same verb form each time: has washed and dried.
- Linking words are in Conjunctions and Linkers.

## To without its verb

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| After a verb or adjective that takes to: want, like, love, try, hope, glad | Are you coming? — I'd love to. / You can stay if you want to. |
| A reminder: Don't forget to | Post the letter, and don't forget to. |
| After have to, ought to, used to and be going to: the whole phrase stays | I didn't want to go, but I had to. / I don't smoke now, but I used to. |
| The verb be stays after to | He isn't shy now, but he used to be. |

- to stays and its verb goes; the earlier clause supplies the verb. I haven't called her, but I'd like to.
- A modal stands alone, with no to. Will you help? — I will.
- Verbs that take to are in Gerund vs Infinitive.

## Reduced adverbial clauses

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| A condition: if + adjective | If necessary, call me. / Come early if possible. |
| Time: when, while and once with an adjective, a participle or a place | When young, she lived in Rome. / While waiting, I read the news. / Once inside, take your coat off. |
| Contrast: although and though | Although tired, he kept working. |
| Circumstance: where possible, where necessary | Use cash where possible. |
| Two alternatives: or not after whether | I'll go whether you come or not. |

- A reduced clause leaves out its subject and be; the main clause supplies the subject. Although tired, he kept working. = Although he was tired, he kept working.
- See also Participle Clauses.

## Nominal substitution

| Form | Use | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| the same | something just named | I'll have tea. — I'll have the same. |
| such | a general state of affairs, in fixed phrases | Such is life. / He is the manager and, as such, signs the cheques. |
| those | the plural noun already named, before of, in or a phrase | Prices here are higher than those in town. / This year's results beat those of last year. |
| that of | the singular noun already named | The climate here is milder than that of Spain. |
| the former, the latter | the first and the second of two things named | Ann and Tom came; the former brought cake and the latter brought wine. |
| do | a verb phrase after than and as | She runs faster than he does. / He earns as much as she does. |

- those and that of suit writing; speech says the ones in town.

## Situational ellipsis in speech and notes

| What goes | Example |
| --- | --- |
| The subject and the helper of a question | Seen him? = Have you seen him? |
| The subject and the helper before got | Got a minute? = Have you got a minute? |
| The subject and do before the verb | Want some? = Do you want some? |
| The subject of a statement | Sounds good. = That sounds good. / No idea. = I have no idea. |
| A diary or note: the subject, mostly I | Missed the bus. Walked to work. |
| A headline: the articles and be | Storm hits coast / Minister to resign |

- Speakers drop only what the situation supplies, from the start of a clause: I, you, it, the first auxiliary.
- The main verb and the words after it stay.

## Reference to a clause

| Word | Use | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| it | a fact or idea already named | She said she would resign, and I didn't expect it. |
| this | what the speaker has just said or is about to explain | Prices rose sharply. This led to protests. |
| that | what someone else said or did | She quit her job. — That surprised everyone. |
| which | a comment on a whole clause, after a comma | He passed the test, which surprised us. |
| a chain | each sentence picks up the one before | The council closed the road. This caused delays, which led to protests. That in turn forced a review. |

- When it, this or that could point at a noun, add a noun: this decision, that remark.
- which clauses are in Relative Clauses.

## Short replies and stripping

| Use | Example |
| --- | --- |
| A wh-question answered by the missing phrase alone | Who wants coffee? — Me. / When shall we meet? — Tomorrow. |
| A wh-word alone asks for the missing part | I met someone yesterday. — Who? / I'm leaving soon. — When? |
| A wh-word and its preposition, with the preposition last | I'm going out tonight. — Who with? / I need some money. — What for? |
| Stripping: one phrase after and or but | Tom left, and Ann too. / Tom left, but not Ann. |

- A bare answer takes the object pronoun: me, him, her, us, them. Who broke it? — Him.

## Identity condition

| Rule | Example |
| --- | --- |
| The left-out words repeat what was said; the auxiliary left behind stands for the whole verb group | He isn't going, but I am. |
| The auxiliary may change its polarity or tense, if it still fits the left-out verb | She didn't phone, but she should have. / He doesn't swim now, but he did once. |
| A different form of be or have returns in full | He was here at nine, and she has been here since eight. |

- A different verb is never left out: it appears in the clause. Tom plays the guitar, and Ann sings.

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| So I do. | So do I. | after so, the auxiliary comes before the new subject |
| Neither don't I. | Neither do I. | neither is negative, so the auxiliary stays positive |
| She is late, and so does he. | She is late, and so is he. | be is answered by be |
| I hope it not. | I hope not. | not replaces the whole clause after hope |
| He asked me to wait, and I did it so. | He asked me to wait, and I did so. | so follows do directly; do it takes no so |
| I bought two ones. | I bought two. | a number stands alone, or takes an adjective before ones |
| I didn't want to go, but I had. | I didn't want to go, but I had to. | to stays when its verb goes |
| The prices here are higher than that in town. | The prices here are higher than those in town. | that stands for a singular noun and those for a plural one |
| Ann, Tom and Sue came, and the latter stayed late. | Ann, Tom and Sue came, and Sue stayed late. | the former and the latter name one of two things |
| He passed the test, what surprised us. | He passed the test, which surprised us. | a comment on a whole clause takes which |
| Who wants tea? I. | Who wants tea? Me. | a bare answer takes the object pronoun |