Noun ellipsis (N-ellipsis), also noun phrase ellipsis (NPE), is a mechanism that elides, or appears to elide, part of a noun phrase that can be recovered from context. The mechanism occurs in many languages like English, which uses it less than related languages. Theoretical analyses of N-ellipsis vary, with at least three types of approaches to the phenomenon that a theory can pursue: 1) the true ellipsis analysis, 2) the covert pronoun analysis, and 3) the overt pronoun analysis.
Examples Standard instances of N-ellipsis in English are introduced by a limited set of determiner- and adjective-like elements (possessives, cardinal and ordinal numbers, other quantifiers). In the examples throughout this article, the ellipsis is indicated using a smaller font and subscripts, the element that introduces the ellipsis is in bold, and the antecedent to the ellipsis is underlined:
When Susan brings her dog, Sam brings his dog too. - N-ellipsis introduced by possessive Jill likes your story even though she hates Bill's story. - N-ellipsis introduced by possessive -s Because you bought two donuts, I bought three donuts. - N-ellipsis introduced by cardinal number I caught the first train before you caught the second train. - N-ellipsis introduced by ordinal number Some school kids like syntax, and some school kids don't. - N-ellipsis introduced by a quantifier Each student was helped so that each student would understand. - N-ellipsis introduced by a quantifier The set of elements that can introduce N-ellipsis in English is limited. Similar quantificational elements, for instance, cannot introduce N-ellipsis:
*No school kid likes syntax, and no school kid likes semantics. - Failed attempt to introduce N-ellipsis with no *Every student was helped, so that every student would understand. - Failed attempt to introduce N-ellipsis with every Most adjectives in English are also incapable of introducing N-ellipsis:
*Fred watches stupid programs, but Jim watches intelligent programs. - Failed attempt to introduce N-ellipsis with a standard adjective *I value long walks although I only get to take short walks. - Failed attempt to introduce N-ellipsis with a standard adjective This aspect of N-ellipsis in English distinguishes English from other languages (e.g. German and Dutch), which are much more permissive; they allow almost any determiner or adjective to introduce N-ellipsis. Note that English employs the indefinite pronoun one to make such sentences acceptable, e.g. Fred watches stupid programs, but Jim watches intelligent ones. The examples so far all have the ellipsis following its antecedent. The opposite arrangement is also possible: the N-ellipsis can precede its "antecedent":
If he brings his dog, I'll bring my dog too. - N-ellipsis preceding its "antecedent" Because he did the first two problems, she is going to do that last three problems. - N-ellipsis preceding its "antecedent" Even though he skipped one task, he did do the rest of the tasks. - N-ellipsis preceding its "antecedent" N-ellipsis behaves like standard personal pronouns in this area; personal pronouns can also precede their antecedents at times, e.g. When he arrives, Bill immediately takes a shower.
Systematic variation There is systematic variation in forms across some noun phrases that do and do not involve N-ellipsis. This variation is apparent in English with possessives. Possessive determiners cannot introduce N-ellipsis, whereas one can interpret possessive pronouns as doing so. The following table summarizes the competing forms:
The possessive determiners are systematically incapable of introducing N-ellipsis; if a possessive appears in such cases, it must be the possessive pronoun:
a. *You like your dog, but you don't like my dog. - Possessive determiner my cannot introduce N-ellipsis b. You like your dog, but you don't like mine dog. - Possessive pronoun mine can introduce N-ellipsis a. *We helped your friends, before we helped our friends. - Possessive determiner our cannot introduce N-ellipsis b. We helped your friends, before we helped ours friends. - Possessive pronoun ours can introduce N-ellipsis This same sort of data occurs in numerous other languages, where the variation is visible with many other determiner- and adjective-like elements (not just with possessives). The obvious conclusion that one can reach based upon this variation is that the possessive pronouns are in fact in no way introducing N-ellipsis, but rather they are, as their name suggests, simply pronouns. In other words, there is no ellipsis in such cases. This observation is important for the theory N-ellipsis in general, and the discussion returns to the point below.
The elided material An important aspect of N-ellipsis concerns the material that can (and cannot) be elided. Much more than just a noun can be included in the ellipsis, e.g.
a. Susan likes her big red fish with a stripe and Tom likes his big red fish with a stripe too. b. Susan likes her big red fish with a stripe and Tom likes his big red fish with spots. a. I will read your first long draft on gapping from last semester if you read my second long draft on gapping from last semester. b. I will read your first long draft on gapping from last semester if you read mine first long draft on gapping from this semester. c. I will read your long draft on gapping from last semester if you read mine long draft on stripping. The preferred readings for these sentences are the ones indicated by the underlines and small subscripts. Each time, N-ellipsis appears to be eliding more than just the noun. A more extensive examination of such data would demonstrate that N-ellipsis elides minimally a noun and maximally everything else in the noun phrase that follows the word that introduces the ellipsis. At times, the elided material can appear medially in the noun phrase, as just illustrated here with the b- and c-examples. A related point is that N-ellipsis must be introduced by a pre-noun element in the noun phrase. In other words, the ellipsis cannot be phrase-initial, e.g.
*He likes papers about gapping and she likes papers about stripping. - Failed attempt at N-ellipsis; the ellipsis must be "introduced" *We have pictures of Sam, and we have pictures of Bill too. - Failed attempt at N-ellipsis; the ellipsis must be "introduced" These data are (also) important because they bear on the formal account of N-ellipsis, a point that is considered in the next section.
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