Ellipsis & Substitution Exercises
Ellipsis and substitution exercises online with answers — practise avoiding repetition using one/ones, do/does/did, do so, so/not, and verb phrase ellipsis. Multiple choice and worksheet modes for B1–B2 learners mastering reference substitution and ellipsis in English. 4 exercise sets with 80 questions (B1 - C1 Level).
Ellipsis & Substitution exercises: choose your exercise set
Start with Multiple Choice to build confidence with Ellipsis & Substitution exercises, or try Worksheet to practice all questions on one page.
Prefer to read first? Learn Ellipsis & Substitution
One & Ones — Nominal Substitution & Ellipsis
Ellipsis & Substitution Exercises
B1 ReadingNEWVolunteers Fight Indonesia's Peat Fires, Smoke Spreads
Thousands of volunteers are fighting huge fires in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. The fires ar…
Verb Phrase Ellipsis & Verbal Substitution
Ellipsis & Substitution Exercises
So & Not — Clausal Substitution & Mixed Practice
Ellipsis & Substitution Exercises
“'Is it going to rain this afternoon?' 'I hope ___.'”
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B2 ReadingNEWVolunteers Fight Indonesia's Peat Fires as Smoke Spreads
Thousands of volunteer firefighters in Indonesian Borneo are fighting huge peatland fires that have spread toxic smoke a…
C1 Advanced Ellipsis & Substitution — Formal Register & Inversion
Ellipsis & Substitution Exercises
“'I have never encountered such a complex case in my career.' 'Neither ___ I, and I've been practising law for twenty years.'”
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C1 ReadingNEWVolunteers Battle Indonesia's Peat Fires as Haze Spreads
Thousands of volunteer firefighters in Indonesian Borneo are battling vast peatland fires that have spread a toxic haze …
Why practice Ellipsis & Substitution exercises?
Repeating the same words makes your English sound unnatural. Native speakers constantly use ellipsis (leaving words out) and substitution (replacing words with one, do, so) to keep speech and writing smooth. Start with nominal substitution — using 'one' and 'ones' to replace nouns — at B1, then move to verb phrase ellipsis with auxiliaries and 'do so/do it/do that' at B2. Finally, master clausal substitution with 'so' and 'not' (I think so, I hope not) and mixed practice to build real fluency in avoiding repetition.