We see '...' and wonder what they mean and why they're used. The three dots represent
an ellipse. The three dots show; you've left something out from a sentence. Mind
you, you haven't left out anything important, but something that wasn't needed.
I had to go to the market, there I needed to look for sugar, and I bought it when
I found it there.
Using an ellipse makes the sentence simpler and shorter.
I went to the market looking for sugar...and bought it there.
In formal writing an ellipsis is used to shorten a quote.
For example: "Charles went to meet Henry, whom he met at the garden even though
he didn't want to."
Would become: "At the garden Charles met Henry ... even though he didn't want to."
Use an ellipsis to simplify things for your reader. Note; shortening a quote is
allowed, changing its meaning is not.
Informally an ellipsis is used to show that the reader needs to take a pause.
"Shelly walked through the door … Sam was seated on her desk looking ghostly."
An ellipsis can also be used by a writer to show that he is taking his time to think
or that he wants to leave something up to the reader.
"Shelly found that her room door was ajar ..."
Make sure not to over use an ellipse; when overused it portrays a lack of proper
organization of thoughts. Keep in mind that when we think, we tend to hesitate.
An ellipse is the same thing in writing, it is okay to ponder or take a while. So
remember then to use an ellipsis wisely, but make sure you don't use it too often.