PRO FORMS AND ELLIPSIS: EXERCISES

REWRITE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES OMITTING WHATEVER CAN

BE ELLIPTED WITHOUT CHANGE OF MEANING:
1. When you are in Rome, do as Rome does.
2. When J ohn was pressed to take part in politics, he firmly declined.
3. There were no stores of boots that there were readily available.
4. Bob threw himself from his horse and lay still as if he had been shot.
5. Any foreigner, however innocent he might be, was attacked.
6. If you were left alone on a desert island, what would you do first?
7. If other people are willing to make and use machines for my benefit, I am not
less willing to let them make and use machines for my benefit.
8. I do not wish to take part in this protest, and I do not intend to take part in this
protest.
9. Unless you are travelling by the coach, please let the Secretary know when you
expect to arrive.
10. The castle, which was built in the twelfth century, has dominated the valley
ever since.
11. Much of the earths surface is formed by sedimentary rocks that is to say, rocks
which were formed by the deposition of sand, silt and clay.
12. Our atmosphere, while it is beneficial for life in general, prevents us from seeing
the universe in any but a very restricted range of light.
EXPAND THE FOLLOWING ELLIPTED SENTENCES SO AS TO MAKE
THEIR MEANING CLEARER:
1. See you tomorrow then.
2. See anything interesting?
3. Anybody coming my way?
4. Any body telephone?
5. Had a good time?
6. Sorry, had to find my coat.
7. Sorry you didnt come with us?
8. Thought you were never coming.
9. Anything else you want?
10. Anything on the news last night?
11. Anything the matter with your foot?
12. Surprised you didnt hurt yourself more seriously.
OMIT THE SUBJECT ONLY, IN ANY CLAUSE OTHER THAN THE FIRST
WHEN SUCH ELLIPSIS WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE:
1. The Director took a dislike to us and he did not attempt to conceal it.

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2. he took a dislike to us because he objected to our being together so much.
3. he made life difficult for us, because he guessed we knew of his involvement
in the conspiracy and because he thought we would report him.
4. we knew all about the plot, yet we said nothing to our comrades.
5. he was not sure of this, so he kept an eye on us continually.
6. we pretended to whisper to our colleagues, so that we gave him the
impression that we were talking about him.
7. one morning, he waited for us, then he asked us to come into his office.
8. we told him we had both been on the premises that evening; however, we did
not say that we had seen him there.
REWRITE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES OMITTING WHATEVER CAN
BE ELLIPTED WITHOUT CHANGE OF MEANING:
1. The Chinese are as interested in food as are the French, and the Chinese go
to immense trouble to see that it is properly cooked.
2. The Cantonese have developed an astonishing variety in their cooking and
they have brought the preparation of sharkskin soup to an exceedingly fine
art.
3. Chinese food has to be served in small pieces, it has to be picked up little by
little with chopsticks, and it has to be eaten slowly.
4. Rice is generally eaten in the south of the country, but wheat is generally
eaten in the north.
5. The meat and vegetables are cut up very small in the kitchen, they are
cooked in a large iron bowl, and they are served hot.
6. Fat is used for cooking in northern Europe, but oil is used for cooking in
China.
7. Szechuan is the best place for chillies and Canton is the best place for stuffed
snails.
8. The Chinese eat their food with chopsticks, the European eat their food with
knives and forks.
9. A western-style dinner would not include bread on the menu, nor would a
Chinese dinner include rice on the menu.
10. European marriages are often celebrated with champagne, Chinese marriages
are often celebrated with a meal of at least a dozen courses.
11. Many people have been suffering from influenza, and many people still are
suffering from influenza.
12. You say people have influenza two or three times a year, but they dont
really have influenza two or three times a year.
13. During an epidemic many people seem to escape infection but they do not
really escape infection.
14. A young animal has to decide which of the things around it are to be eaten
and which of the things around it are to be avoided.

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15. Some animals swallow highly dangerous objects, others instinctively avoid
highly dangerous objects.
16. The young animal is playing a game which can be very dangerous and often
is very dangerous.
17. The young animal is protected from danger by its parents, or is protected
from danger by some mechanism built into its nervous system from the start.
18. Some people require eight hours sleep a night, others are satisfied with six
hours sleeping a night or less.
19. We cannot give a formula for individual sleep requirements, nor can we give
a reliable average of sleep requirements for different age groups.
20. People who pride themselves on needing little sleep may imagine themselves
more efficient than others, but in fact they often prove to be less efficient
than others.
REWRITE OMITTING WHATEVER CAN BE ELLIPTED WITHOUT
CHANGE OF MEANING:
1. Ellipsis is possible in noun phrases and prepositional phrases.
2. Ellipsis can be used to shorten long sentences and cumbersome sentences.
3. Sentences in legal documents and sentences in students essays are often too
long.
4. For these reasons and other reasons it is worth considering how to male
sentences shorter.
5. Your experience and my experience are equally useful.
6. Your experience and you common sense are a great asset to us.
7. He has worked to the full extend of his obligations and beyond his
obligations.
8. I do not write to a pre-arranged plot, and have never written to a pre-
arranged plot.
WORDS IN CONTEXT: REFERENCE
A relatively new feature on radio broadcasts in the United States is the call-in therapy shows,
in which callers get the opportunity to air problems, however intimate, while the hosts offer
them free, and immediate advice. They started, like so many other self-help psychology ideas,
in California in the early 1970s, but now they have spread to many other parts of the country
and enjoy considerable popularity. This phenomenon certainly does not please all
psychologists and the shows have become a matter of some concern to their professional
association, the APA.
Present APA guidelines merely prohibit psychologists from diagnosing problems, or
from offering psychotherapy on the radio, while the earlier ones had prohibited all
giving of advice outside the traditional therapist-patient relationship. This prohibition
fails to satisfy many psychologists. Some consider all giving of psychological advice
over the radio totally unacceptable, but there are others who believe there should be
even more of it.

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The former are typified by a Hastings Center psychiatrist, who describes the activity as
disgusting. On one occasion, he backed up his view by walking out of a radio program when
the host insisted he answered listeners calls. But radio therapy hosts, who are mostly
attractive, youngish and qualified women, are fully capable of backing up theirs, and do so
charmingly and effectively, as might be expected from professionals combining psychological
expertise with entertainment know-how.
1. them (line 3) refers to
a. problems
b. call-in therapy shows
c. callers
d. hosts
2.they (line 3) refers to
a. problems
b. call-in therapy shows
c. callers
d. hosts
1. This phenomenon (line 5) refers to
a. the fact that the shows started in California
b. the fact that callers air intimate problems
c. the fact that the shows started in the early 1970s
d. the fact that the shows enjoy considerable popularity
4. their (line 7) refers to
a. therapy shows
b. self-help
c. the hosts
d. psychologists
5. ones (line 9) refers to
a. APA guidelines
b. Psychologists
c. Problems
d. The shows
6. this prohibition (line 10) refers to
a. that no advice be given outside the traditional therapist-patient relationship
b. that psychologists do not diagnose problems or offer psychotherapy on the radio
c. that not all psychologists are pleased
d. that it is a matter of some concern to the APA
7. it (line 13) refers to
a. this prohibition
b. the traditional therapist-patient relationship
c. giving of psychological advice over the radio
d. psychological advice
8. the former (line 14) refers to

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a. psychologists who object to call-in therapy shows
b. psychologists who advocate more advice-giving over the radio
c. the APAs present prohibitions
d. dispensing psychological advice
9. he (line 15) refers to
a. a Hastings Center psychiatrist
b. the host
c. a listener
d. the former
10. theirs (line 18) refers to
a. activity
b. radio-therapy programs
c. listeners
d. views



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