Developing cohesion
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Ellipsis | page 10 of 11 |
Forward-referring ellipsis
Forward-referring ellipsis occurs quite frequently, although it is much less common
than the other types of ellipsis examined in this file, where the reference is always
backwards. Forward-looking ellipsis almost always occurs in a subordinate
clause 
:
If you prefer [^], you can choose to live in an apartment with other students. (Bank of English)
Whenever he could [^], he would preach on Sunday - and wherever he was! (Bank of English)
Teaching implications
Students need to be aware that forward-referring ellipsis is quite rare and should be confined to subordinate clauses. Otherwise, they may confuse their readers as the writer of an article on the growth of the Internet in UK schools did:
Although these schools claimed they recognised their presence on the Internet to be important, they did not, as schools in the other two typologies did [^], use the additional options the electronic medium afforded to them. (Magazine Article)
This sentence can be much improved by moving the clause in which the ellipsis occurs to the end of the sentence, so that the ellipsis refers back not forwards:
Although these schools claimed they recognised their presence on the Internet to be important, they did not use the additional options the electronic medium afforded to them, as schools in the other two typologies did [^].
Introduction
Forward-referring ellipsis
