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Is such an ellipsis acceptable?

English Language & Usage Asked on March 4, 2021

If we have the sentence

She is interested in philosophy (especially philosophy of mathematics).

is the following ellipsis acceptable in modern (American) English?

She is interested in philosophy (especially of mathematics).

I am asking because I’m weirded out by the fact that to my nonnative ear the second sentence is right between sounding completely fine and sounding a tiny bit odd.

One Answer

I am a native speaker and I think this is perfectly acceptable and understandable. It might not be appropriate in really formal settings but the ellipsis is pretty clear, and the meaning is plainly conveyed. I'd recommend using a comma rather than brackets though:

She is interested in philosophy, especially of mathematics.

Correct answer by Fraser Orr on March 4, 2021

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