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Lesson planC260 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
If So, Say So: Ellipsis and substitution
Students learn ellipsis and substitution, like do so and that of, to avoid repetition, then write a review of a performance.
Style · Ellipsis · Substitution · Cohesion · Theatre
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Learn and use 14 words and phrases in 2 sets: In the theatre, Words that avoid repetition
- Read for detail: the understudy’s tour
- Writing task: a review without repetition
Stages · 60 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about style and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 5 minControlled practice: Ex. 2
- 10 minAccuracy practice: Ex. 3–4
- 5 minControlled practice: Ex. 5
- 10 minReading: Ex. 6
- 15 minWriting: Ex. 7
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 2 PDFs)Grammar notes
Substitution: replacing words
- Nouns: one / ones for countable nouns (a red scarf and a blue one); that / those (of) in formal comparisons, also for uncountable nouns (the quality of this production is higher than that of the last).
- Verb phrases: do so for actions (Anyone wishing to leave may do so). It does not replace states: Few actors enjoy touring, but those who do (not do so) stay for years.
- Clauses: so / not after hope, think, suppose, expect, be afraid, believe: I hope so. I’m afraid not. If so, …
Ellipsis: leaving words out
- Repeat only the auxiliary or modal: He said he would help, and he did. I didn’t want to, but I had to. She has more experience than they have.
- The auxiliary must match the first clause: has … have, is … are, did … did.
- Use neither / nor + auxiliary + subject to agree with a negative: I didn’t enjoy it, and neither did he.
- Doubt takes it, not so: I doubt it.
Study tips
- When you edit your writing, look for any phrase you have written twice. Can one, that, do so or an auxiliary replace the second one?
- Ellipsis makes writing sound natural, but too much can make it unclear. Your reader must always know what has been left out.
Glossary
- In the theatre8 items
- Words that avoid repetition6 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Words from the theatre
Match each word or phrase with its meaning. There is one extra meaning.
Tap an item…
…then its match
2
One word to avoid repetition
Write one word in each gap. The word replaces or points back to something already said.
- a
“Will the reviews be kind to us?” “I hope .”
- b
“Is the lead actor still unwell?” “I’m afraid .”
- c
The old costumes were far more elegant than the new .
- d
The set design this season is far more ambitious than of last season.
- e
Tom hadn’t expected to go on stage, but when the lead fell ill, he had .
- f
Imogen thought the second act dragged, and so most of the critics.
- g
The lead actor didn’t enjoy the tour, and did his understudy.
- h
“Will the show transfer to London?” “It might, but I doubt .”
3
Key word transformations
Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. Use the word in capitals and between two and five words, including the word given. Do not change the word given.
- a
Members of the company who want to leave the tour early can leave early, but they must give a month’s notice.
DO
Members of the company who want to leave the tour early , but they must give a month’s notice.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- b
Imogen didn’t like the new script, and the producer didn’t like it either.
NEITHER
Imogen didn’t like the new script, and .
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- c
The first performance was of a much higher quality than the second performance was.
THAT
The quality of the first performance was much higher second.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- d
Tom promised to learn the whole part in a week, and he learned it in a week.
DID
Tom promised to learn the whole part in a week, .
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- e
“Will the critics enjoy it?” “I don’t think the critics will enjoy it.”
SO
“Will the critics enjoy it?” “.”
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- f
Some of the costumes were damaged in the flood, and the costumes that were damaged were sent away for repair.
ONES
Some of the costumes were damaged in the flood, and were sent away for repair.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
4
Find and correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake with ellipsis or substitution. Write the correction.
- a
“Is tonight’s matinée cancelled?” “I hope not so.”
- b
The lighting in this theatre is far better than the one in the old hall.
- c
She has more stage experience than any of the other actors do.
- d
Tom wasn’t sure he could learn the part overnight, but in the end he could.
- e
Few actors enjoy touring, but those who do so tend to stay with the company for years.
- f
The director asked us to cut the final scene, and we did so it.
5
What is being replaced?
Look at the word that avoids repetition at the end of each sentence (so, not, one, ones, that, did, to, do so). Does it replace a noun, a verb phrase or a whole clause? Put each sentence in the right group.
- a
He said he would help, and he did.
- b
“Is the tour cancelled?” “I’m afraid not.”
- c
Her voice is stronger than that of her understudy.
- d
“Will the reviews be good?” “I hope so.”
- e
I prefer the new costumes to the old ones.
- f
The reviews may be harsh. If so, we’ll rewrite the ending.
- g
Anyone wishing to leave early may do so.
- h
She bought a red scarf and a blue one.
- i
I didn’t want to go on stage, but I had to.
6
Read: the understudy’s tour
Read the article. Are the sentences true, false or not given?
When the Larkspur Players announced their spring tour, few people expected it to succeed, and fewer still expected it to make money. It did both. The company, a twelve-strong ensemble based in a converted chapel, had lost its lead actor to a television contract only a week before the premiere. Most companies would have postponed; the Larkspur Players did not. Instead, the director, Imogen Hale, turned to the understudy, Tom Ashby, who had attended every rehearsal but had never once performed the part. “I asked him whether he felt ready,” Hale recalls. “He said he didn’t, but that he would be by Friday. And he was.” Ashby admits that he suffers from stage fright, and suffered from it badly that first night. “My hands were shaking so much that I dropped a letter I was supposed to read aloud, so I had to ad-lib the whole speech. Luckily, nobody noticed. Or if they did, they were too polite to say so.” Critics were divided over the production itself. One described the staging as bold; another, as merely cluttered. On Ashby, however, they agreed: he had not simply replaced the original lead but had arguably upstaged the memory of him. By the final week, tickets were selling faster than those for any previous Larkspur tour, and the company had added two extra dates. At the last performance, the curtain call lasted almost ten minutes. Will Ashby stay with the company now that other offers are arriving? He says he hopes so. Hale, asked whether she expected him to stay, said she hoped so but feared not.
- a
Many people doubted that the spring tour would be a success.
- b
The original lead actor left the company because of illness.
- c
Tom Ashby had performed the leading part in an earlier production.
- d
Ashby told the director that he felt ready to perform straight away.
- e
On the first night, Ashby invented a speech because he could no longer read his lines from the letter.
- f
All the critics praised the staging of the production.
- g
The company made more money from this tour than from any earlier one.
- h
Ashby has already accepted an offer from another company.
7
Write: a review without repetition
Write a review of a performance.
Write a review (220–260 words) of a play, concert, film or other performance, real or imagined, for a cultural website. Describe what you saw, what worked and what did not, and whether you would recommend it. Avoid repeating yourself: use at least five examples of substitution or ellipsis (so, not, one/ones, that of, do so, did, had to, neither did…). Try to include some of these words: understudy, rehearsal, ad-lib, upstage, curtain call, stage fright, ensemble, premiere.
Suggested minimum: 220 words
0 words · aim for at least 220
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Fix ItFind the mistake in each sentence, then correct it.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 14 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 2 sets.
In the theatre
- understudy
- an actor who learns another actor's part in order to replace them if necessary
- rehearsal
- a practice of a play or performance before it is shown to the public
- ad-lib
- to say something that is not in the script, inventing it as you go along
- upstage
- to draw attention away from someone so that they seem less important
- curtain call
- the moment at the end of a show when the actors return to be applauded
- stage fright
- nervousness felt before or during a performance in front of an audience
- ensemble
- a group of performers who work together, with no single star
- premiere
- the first public performance of a play or film
Words that avoid repetition
- one
- replaces a countable noun already mentioned: a red scarf and a blue one (plural: ones)
- do so
- replaces a verb phrase; slightly formal: Anyone wishing to leave may do so.
- I hope so
- so replaces a whole positive clause after hope, think, expect or believe
- afraid not
- not replaces a whole negative clause: I'm afraid not, I hope not
- if so
- if that is the case; replaces the clause just mentioned
- that of
- replaces the + noun + of to avoid repeating the noun (formal): stronger than that of her understudy
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