Today is National Punctuation Day. In honor of editors everywhere, let’s take a look at the proper use of ellipses, those humble sets of three dots so often misused and abused in a manuscript.

An ellipsis takes the place of words that have been removed from a sentence. For example, here is a full sentence:

His artwork is so striking and so beautiful that it belongs in a museum.

This is the same sentence with some of the words taken out and an ellipsis inserted:

His artwork is so striking … that it belongs in a museum.

Notice that there is a space on either side of the dots.

An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a thought that has trailed off, most commonly when writing dialogue.

Adam scratched his head and said, “I wonder …”

When in doubt about how and where to use an ellipsis (or any of 12 other punctuation marks), Jeff Rubin, the brain behind National Punctuation Day, has an excellent primer on his website.