Lesson 4: Informal Ellipsis

We often make specific types of ellipsis in informal contexts. This can be either for speaking or for writing informal texts, including texts and letters to friends. 

One typical way to do this is by dropping the subject pronoun, if the context is clear. This is especially common with the pronoun 'I':

·       (I) Wonder what she's doing?

·       (I) Think so. 

·       (I) Hope not.

·       (I) Don't know. 

We can also drop third person pronouns (he, she, it, they) if the context is clear.

·       I saw your mum yesterday. (She) told me about your problems at work.

·       Apparently, the kids weren't happy. (They) started crying at bedtime.

We can sometimes drop the subject and an auxiliary verb if the context is clear. This is common with 'I' and 'you', although we sometimes do it with third person subjects too. It's especially easy to see in questions:

·       (Do you) need something?

·       (Have you) finished?

·       (Have you) seen my slippers anywhere?

·       (Are you) coming?

·       (I'm) afraid so.

We sometimes drop only the auxiliary verb from very informal questions. This can happen with the subject 'you', or with the name of a person.

·       (Have) you made tea?

·       (Is) she waiting for you?

·       (Is) it still raining out there?

·       (Is) Julie still living at home?

Another common structure in very informal speech is to drop the subject pronoun and auxiliary verb at the beginning of the sentence, and add a question tag at the end. These questions sound more confident, as if we are checking the information in the normal question tag way. There is more information about question tags at B1 level. 

·       (You) got bored, did you?

·       (He) wasn't angry, was he?

·       (I'm) not late, am I?

There are some particular phrases with dropped subjects and auxiliary verbs that we often use in informal speech and letters:

·       Hope you're well. (Instead of 'I hope'.)

·       Sounds great. (Instead of 'that sounds great'.)

·       Looking forward to it. (Instead of 'I'm looking forward to it'.)

·       Can't wait. (Instead of 'I can't wait'.)

·       Got to go. (Instead of 'I've got to go'.)

·       Must go. (Instead of 'I must go'.)

·       Talk to you soon. (Instead of 'I'll talk to you soon'.)