Day 274: Criticize elliptical expressions carefully.

Elliptical expressions are phrases and clauses that leave out implied words. Consider this sentence.

“I like cookies more than cake.”

Here, the elliptical expression is “more than cake.” It implies the words “I like,” as in “I like cookies more than I like cake.” This elliptical expression won’t cause clarity problems. Now consider this sentence.

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“I like cookies more than John.”

This sentence could have two very different meanings.

 
  1. I like cookies more than John likes cookies.
  2. I like cookies more than I like John.

 

 

The problem is that the sentence doesn’t give the reader any clues to figure out which interpretation is correct. The solution is to provide sufficient clues so that only one interpretation is possible. Assuming that the sentence means that I like cookies more than John likes cookies, I could revise the sentence as follows.

“I like cookies more than John does.”

Criticize your elliptical expressions carefully to make sure they mean only what you intend.