..., ... . . .

[Kobold Catgirl]

. . . or . . . . ?

Personally, . . . . But I've been transitioning from ... for a while now.

[Mark Moreland]

. . . . is too much. ... is appropriate

[Hrothdane]

I was taught to use "...." at the end of the sentence to signify a trailing off instead of a pause like with "..."

[UnArcaneElection]

^That's what I thought ooo.

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

*through megaphone* YOUR DISTRESS SIGNAL HAS BEEN RECEIVED! PLEASE IDENTIFY YOUR VESSEL AND COORDINATES!

...AND HOW AM I REPLYING VIA MEGAPHONE WHEN YOU HAD TO SEND A RADIO SIGNAL OR SOMETHING?

But seriously: My understanding's always been that "..." is for the middle of a statement, while "...." is when it's at the end (essentially, one of them is the period).

[Scythia]

...!

[Orthos]

I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:

But seriously: My understanding's always been that "..." is for the middle of a statement, while "...." is when it's at the end (essentially, one of them is the period).

This. The ellipsis, regardless of location, is simply three dots. Other punctuation is added as is appropriate for its place in the sentence. So if the ellipsis comes before a break, ..., or ...; would be appropriate, depending on the type of break. At the end, .... (ellipsis plus period) is appropriate.

[Aranna]

I use ... myself.

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

Orthos wrote:

I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:

But seriously: My understanding's always been that "..." is for the middle of a statement, while "...." is when it's at the end (essentially, one of them is the period).

This. The ellipsis, regardless of location, is simply three dots. Other punctuation is added as is appropriate for its place in the sentence. So if the ellipsis comes before a break, ..., or ...; would be appropriate, depending on the type of break. At the end, .... (ellipsis plus period) is appropriate.

Did you learn this from That Damn Paper Clip?

[That Damn Paper Clip]

I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:

Orthos wrote:

I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:

But seriously: My understanding's always been that "..." is for the middle of a statement, while "...." is when it's at the end (essentially, one of them is the period).

This. The ellipsis, regardless of location, is simply three dots. Other punctuation is added as is appropriate for its place in the sentence. So if the ellipsis comes before a break, ..., or ...; would be appropriate, depending on the type of break. At the end, .... (ellipsis plus period) is appropriate.

Did you learn this from That Damn Paper Clip?

... maybe.

[Fergie]

At some point in the past, I recall learning that '...' isn't three periods, but rather it's own symbol. Anyone know the keyboard short cut for that? (Or am I mistaken about the symbol thing?)

[MoFiddy]

Fergie wrote:

At some point in the past, I recall learning that '...' isn't three periods, but rather it's own symbol. Anyone know the keyboard short cut for that? (Or am I mistaken about the symbol thing?)

You are correct about it being its own symbol. Three periods can be called an ellipsis.

The keyboard shortcut for MS Office is ctl + alt + .

[Hunt, the PugWumpus]

{sings (badly):} ♪ ♫
Once upon a rhyme
I was wordsmything with love
But now my grammar's all falling apart
Too much time Tweeting caused
A total ellipse of my smarts ♩ ♬

[Kajehase]

If you're writing for someone else, check their style guide if they have one, or ask what they prefer. If you're writing for yourself, pick the one you like best.

[Kobold Catgirl]

Mark Moreland wrote:

. . . . is too much. ... is appropriate

Oh, I agree, . . . . is way too much. I use . . . .

I think I may have some trouble getting this across. Look, all I'm saying is, I definitely don't use . . . . .

[Sharoth]

.?.?.?

[Krensky]

And I thought this was going to be some sort of Morse code puzzle.

I'm very disappointed in you KC.

[Clippy]

You seem to be debating punctuation. Would you like some help with that?

[Vic Wertz]

Kajehase wrote:

If you're writing for someone else, check their style guide if they have one, or ask what they prefer. If you're writing for yourself, pick the one you like best.

Yep. Different style guides have different opinions on whether to use the ellipsis character, or three dots with spaces in between, or three dots with no spaces. They may also differ on whether you should four dots in some situations, and will advise whether the first dot or the last dot in those situations is the period (which is important when you're using the ellipsis character).

[zylphryx]

Hunt, the PugWumpus wrote:

{sings (badly):} ♪ ♫

Once upon a rhyme
I was wordsmything with love
But now my grammar's all falling apart
Too much time Tweeting caused
A total ellipse .... ♩ ♬

Fixed it for you.

[R2-FU]

*beepbeepbeepbeepBOOOOOPBOOOOOPBOOOOOPBOOOOOPbeepbeepbeepbeepbwiiiiiiipBWOR P!**

* = filty, filthy signal directed at That Damn Paper Clip

[Hunt, the PugWumpus]

I bet 20 quatloos on R2-FU over Clippy.

[Clippy]

Hunt, the PugWumpus wrote:

I bet 20 quatloos on R2-FU over Clippy.

You seem to be trying to improve your economic situation. Would you like some help with that?

[Clippy]

R2-FU wrote:

*beepbeepbeepbeepBOOOOOPBOOOOOPBOOOOOPBOOOOOPbeepbeepbeepbeepbwiiiiiiipBWOR P!**

* = filty, filthy signal directed at That Damn Paper Clip

You seem to be trying to communicate. Would you like some help with that?