Business Ellipsis Substitution BE - Exercise Worksheet

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Ellipsis & Substitution

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

The Strait of Malacca carries roughly 40 percent of global maritime trade. Remove either choke point, and supply chains do not just slow down. Hapag-Lloyd rerouted its vessels, and Maersk did so too. Two routes were proposed; the shorter one was rejected.

Grammar Reference · Ellipsis & Substitution

Formal ellipsis —

The Arctic route, though faster, carries significant ice risk. — subject + auxiliary omitted after conjunction in formal reports

Nominal substitution

Two routes were proposed; the shorter one was rejected. — 'one' replaces a repeated noun phrase

Auxiliary substitution

Hapag-Lloyd rerouted its fleet, and Maersk did so too. — 'do so' replaces a repeated verb phrase

Common error

Maersk rerouted, and so Hapag-Lloyd did. ✗ → and so did Hapag-Lloyd. ✓ — invert subject after 'so'

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Ellipsis & Substitution

1.Two Arctic transit proposals were reviewed; that required Russian escorts was rejected.

2.COSCO completed the Northern Sea Route in 2013, and several European carriers have since.

3.The board approved the Cape route, longer, because ice risk was deemed unacceptable.

4.Freight costs rose sharply after the Suez closure, and insurance premiums .

5.Three contingency plans were submitted; involving nearshoring was the most cost-effective.

6.The logistics director recommended rerouting via Africa, significantly more expensive.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.Maersk rerouted its ships. Hapag-Lloyd also rerouted its ships.

2.Two corridors were proposed. The northern corridor was approved.

3.The Arctic route is faster. The Arctic route still carries significant risk.

4.COSCO completed the passage. Several European carriers also completed the passage.

5.Three options were on the table. The option that avoided Suez was chosen.

6.The proposal was detailed. The proposal did not include a contingency plan.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Ellipsis & Substitution01EnglishPlans.com