Definition
An elliptical construction is a construction that lacks an element that is recoverable or inferable from the context.
Examples
(English)
- In the following construction, you are is understood, as in Fire when you are ready.
- Fire when ready.
Sources 3
- Pei and Gaynor 1954, 65
- Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, and Svartvik 1985, 900, 904, 910
- Crystal 1985, 107–108