Alex
Jon
Rebecca
Valen
James
Adam
Emma
Ronnie
Writing – How to use ETC., AND SO ON, …
Do you like studying, learning new things, practicing your English, etc.? Do you stop when you see ‘etc.’ and wonder what it means? This lesson will look at the little things in English, such as how to show a list continues without actually continuing it. You’ll learn how and when to use ‘etc.’, the ellipsis mark (…), as well as ‘and so on’.
Quiz
Test your understanding of this English lesson
Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.
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,You are born to teaching …Thank You
BR
all teachers should teach like him;)
thanks a lot dear adam
carry On
Adam, and what about fourth dot? When you started you said that you’d explane the meaning of the expression with fourth dots but never did it. Or I missed something?
Thanks for the lesson. I has wondered about it since the first time I learnt English.
thank you so much dear adam
That is great, I like it.
They were my questions for years.
thank you
Hi, I am very interesting with your lessons.
my question for you is what is the different between (different and difference). I hope you answer me, I do appreciated
Many Thanks
Hi Darin,
different= adjective
difference =noun.
does that help?
Thank u so much!! you´re amazing!
Thank you for the lesson Mr.Adam
This is an amazing posting!
Tks for the good lesson that we couldn’t be able to find in any other pages.
I love you Adam ♥
I didn’t know taht: “There should be no ‘and’ before ‘etc.’”, thanks
i didn’t understand whAT BLAH MEAN.
Hi Hiwot,
BLAH means ‘not so good,’ or ‘boring,’ or ‘plain,’ etc.
:)
hey adam,, what does “so on and so for” mean?
You did your hair cut. Looks good! Like Hasan I also was waiting till the end of the lesson. I don’t think I heard anything about it. Q2 is a bit tricky. I should have been more careful for each word. Thanks a lot.
Thank you so much Adam. You are as always, marvellous. But you forgot to explain the fourth dot in …(.)
thank Mr. Adam
thank you.
thank you so much
thanks Mr Adam, I wish you a Merry Christmas!!!
Very helpful lesson. Besides your teaching skills, you look like a typical english man.
Hello Adam,
Thank you for this lesson.Could you please explain me where we can use the word “over”?.You said that “my friend came over to my house”.i know this question is not related to this lesson.I have heard many people use this word with there(over there),here etc.,but you used different.Thank you in advance.
Hi Marryfa,
Actually, I could have said “My friend came to my house.” ‘Over’ is just an extra word we use. Basically, it means a little like ‘here.’ When we say “over there,” seems to make it a little more specific, like ‘in that place’ as though you are pointing. But if you take it out, it doesn’t affect the meaning.
Does that help?
Thank you for the lesson Adam, it was very useful.
PS: The gnocchi’s recipe was great, and it made me hungry…
You lesson was not ‘blah’ at all. That made me interested, open, happy, and so on…
Good teacher, thank you so much.
Adam, what about the fouth dot [...(.)]? And the lesson was really good. The way you explain is really easy to understand :). Thank you.
Thanks a lot Mr Adam. It was really helpful and interesting.
Thank you too much .it was the first time that i’ve checked your site and i should say it’s very good
Thanks a lot Adam, it’s very clear. But I’m little bit frustrated, you wrote three dot and you said, sometimes it’s possible to write four dot but you didn’t say the meaning of four dot… ;-)
Hi Everybody,
Sorry about forgetting to mention the 4th dot.
It’s actually pretty simple:
The 4th dot is a period. That is, it ends the sentence.
example: I like all kinds of fruit, such as apples, bananas, strawberries….
The last dot is a regular period for an end of sentence marker. If you list ends at the end of the sentence, you can’t use one of the dots as your period. That’s why you would have the fourth.
If you’re not sure about this, ask me.
Thanks.
Dear teachers,
I’d like to take this chance for telling you
” HAPPY NEW YEAR ” for every things that you did for us .
I wish you all the best and enjoyable time with. * MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR ALL *
Yours faithfully,
Ameen
Hello dear Adam,
I couldn’t catch ur last sentences completely,
“If u list ends at the…….”
What do u mean exactly plz?!
Tx in advance.
Hi Fatiima,
First, an apology. I meant ‘your’ list.
example: “I like fruits like apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries, pineapples, plums, and others.”
or:
“I like fruits like apples, bananas,…
The second one is wrong because only three dots means it is missing the period, so the sentence hasn’t ended. It should be:
“I like apples, bananas,….”
Last dot is the period.
“blah” is only used in spoken english?
PD: Happy Holydays engVid Team!
Adam you rock, thank you for the lesson.
BTW
In Russian language “blah” sounds like shit.)
I’ll keep that in mind :)
well thanks for your lesson sir. I just need to know the difference between “it’s been a long time and it has been a long time” pls help me out sir
Hi Dinesh,
It’s been… = It has been…
The ‘s is a shortened form.
Does that help?
Thank you very very, Adam! Could you please explain the origin of that mute “h” at the end of such words like “blah”, why not just write “bla” and be happy?!
Hi Kseniia,
Good question. Hard to answer with quiet words on a screen, but basically, the ‘h’ extends the ‘a’ sound, making it longer.
Thank you! One would never think about such things. Such a good lesson Adam! Many thanks.
Dear teacher thank you very much for very useful skills that you have provided us to help us to write proper sentenses and symbols.WISHING YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND PROSPERIOU NEW YEAR 2013.
thank you Adam, you are very simple to teach English
Hello,
Adam,I have a request.Could you teach us the active and passive voice of causative verbs and present,past and future conditionals?Please,please,please.
Kinds regards
Farooq
I’m sure some of these are already on engvid, but I’ll see what i can do for you Farooq
:)
BLAH BLAH BLAH …
Hello Adam,
I am a publisher living in Toronto. I came across this site while browsing,and I think it provides an excellent learning opportunity for all kinds of people. I was impressed by your teaching methods in particular, and found it educational and engaging.
I would be very interested to speak to you further and possibly discuss some very rewarding business ideas.
I look very forward to hearing from you.
Iraj Zargham
Thank you Iraj,
I appreciate the thought but can’t take on anything at the moment.
Perhaps in the near future.
Dear Adam,
Excellent communication demonstrated by you.I loved watching it.Today is 25th Dec 2012(Tuesday)I want to say merry Chrismis to you and to all of engvid team.Mazhar Jamil (Pakistan)
hi Adam
this is my first time watching your video and i have to confess that the lesson’s topic was my question also.
thanks for your assistance.
here is another question :Don’t we use “etc” solely in writings and so on in speech ?
Hi Kazem,
We can actually use both expressions in writing and speaking. In writing, though, etc. is more common; however, keep in mind that it is pretty informal.
thank you so much!
Thank you so much!
I’m a Korean. I hope I am good at English in the near future:-)
me too :) looks good so far
u are perfect man.
thanks adam i learn t which i was totally unawared till date
thanks for the lessons!
I wanna know if you can do a video about common poetic expressions or its rules?
have a great time!
=)
hmmm… You’ll have to give me an example of what you mean.
thanks thanks thanks … :)
What is the difference between “dot” and “period”?
I’m not 100% but I think the “dot” is a dot, :), a circle symbol and used in domain of website not in sentence. The “period” is a dot, used to end a sentence.( period, not dot).
I found this info , `AE` they called it period ,`BE` they called it full-stop .
The dissimilarity between dot and period ?
Is that dot used in computer filed names , internet addresses ,and email addresses such as www.(dot)EngVid.(dot)com,,also , it said that it used in name of IP addresses 145.260.123 , it pronounced dot .
on the other hand, period or full-stop it used in the end of sentence .
but there is something it still questioning me . We know that in BE it`s not used while in AE it`s necessary to used it after abbreviation .
such as = ^AE^ co. ,,S.S.,,St.,,^BE^ co ,, SS,,St what we called it here dot or period and why ? what is the differen !!
Too Right! :)
I’ve found the same.
But,about ur ? ,in my book it is dot after abbreviations like WWW.(dot) & as we know,we use full stop o period at the end of a statement.Right?!!
Have Fun!
yep, you have point here^^ it is dot not period
but I would like to know why BE never used and AE t
different
notwithstanding
yep,,you have point here , it is dot not period. But I would like to know why BE never used the dot after abbreviation while AE it is necessary to used it,,, is it kind of rules in AE or what !!!
It’s a rule.
Ok, but what if we have this situation:
I see something in the distance, a text, and I’m not sure if there is a comma or a dot(period). For example: “… , I …” or “… . I …” So, should I ask my friend: “Is there a comma or a dot” or “Is there a comma or a period”?
right it is somehow confusing . but I think there is nothing to special to distinguished between them ,so you showed came near to see it well
Nice dialogue here :)
Period for ending a sentence. Dot for everything else.
ellipsis always have at least 3 dots. If you use with a comma within a sentence, 3, but to end a sentence, 4.
It’s actually pretty complicated. This is the stuff of editors. But, if you are interested, it’s best to consult a style guide.
Many thanks to you T/Adam ^^
very nice keep on
Amazing!
All these explanations make the difference in my learning…
Thank you guys!
Hi,
Thanks.
I learned the lesson perfectly and scored 90% in QUIZ. Dot within the bracket (.) not been explained ?. Can you please.. K.Sundar.
thank you so much
i want to learn where to use ,:;”‘- while writing a sentence
Thank you adam this is very useful lesson
You are awesome
Extremely intelligent teacher, simple speech, interesting lessons, useful language tips, clear examples. Thank you, Adam, for this!
Happy holidays to everyone!
Hi engvid i want you to make a video about
anybody,everybody,anyone,everyone,someone,somebody. thanks
oh. you are a good teacher. your job is great! i hope you alway have a strong health.and thank you so much. i hope see you soon in next lesson.bye
Thank you Adam for your clear and smart way of teaching
Very nice, thank you…
i love this
your lesson some of those not esially making me sense
I have a question about “spaces” in writing. In my native language we use two rules:
1. Continuation of sentence. We use: word+space+tree dots. Sample: I like chips, coca cola, pizza … (<– notice space between pizza and three dots). Also, there are no four dots at the end of the sentence. If another sentence is written, then: I like, chips, coca cola, pizza … I also like to watch TV. (<– So pizza+space+tree dots+space+word_of_another_sentence).
2. Abbreviation of word: She is real bit… (<– notice no space between bit and tree words, because "bit…" is actually a abbreviation for bitch, so continuation of word is written without a space).
If I understand correctly, there are no additional spaces in English. Right? It is hard to see spaces from hand-writing.
Hi Alex,
You’re right, there aren’t extra spaces after the word. However, if you want to shorten a word, use a long dash, like bi–. It’s clearer.
Very interesting and cute lesson :-)
Thank you
Hey!! I need to understand one thing about the word “ever” in these words. What they really mean:
ever-deceptive, ever-present,….
Thanks
Hi Henrique,
In these cases, ‘ever-’ is used like ‘always.’
thanks, Adams thi is important…
This tips were so interesting!
tks
hi again dear adam ..what about this
on and on
thanks once more time<3
I think the meaning is entirely different from `and so on`
“on and on“ means something it happening for long time
e.g. The screaming went on and on . means continued for long time ^_^
thank you dear brother hicham
In fact,it’s an IDM.
On n on : without stopping,without a break.
Off n on : occasionally,from time 2 time.
:)
thank you dear sister fatima
Hi Nino,
‘on and on’ is more like ‘blah, blah, blah,’ than the others.
Good point. Thanks :)
thank you so Much adam
u r really great,,thanks a lot for teaching this lesson,,
Suggestion:at the end of each question you should explain why anwser a,b,c or d is correct.
Thank you for your lesson it was very useful and interesting.
Hi Adam,
Thank you so much for this useful lesson.
thank you Adam,your lessons are always useful.
I like this lesson very much.Also very useful for my studying.Thank you Adam..
Very interesting lesson.
thanks
Thanks a lot! I can learn more English form your excellent teaching videos.
Very useful video thx
Thank you so much teacher, you do great.
more harder, i need one best specializing lesson that would help me out alot as handy reference tool.
Thanks for your lesson. I really like the way you explain. I have problem with pronunciation Mr Mrs Miss Ms. Please could you explain how to pronunc and the difference. Thanks again
Hi Sabrina,
Hard with words, but I’ll try.
Mr.– mis ter (like mystery without the ee end)
Mrs. — mis sis
Miss — miss
Ms. — miz
hope that helps
Thank you very much for this so useful lesson. That’s exactly what we need when we want to address people formally.
Catch ya later
Dear MR. Adam,
I ‘am sow your video it is very interested. Thanks a lot about it. But please take care about the ideas you broadcasting “kids are (blah)”. Because there is so many family they have problem with this idea and working hard to make it not(blah). Again thanks….
Sorry, I mean “kids are blah blah blah” not {blah).
Hi Dilzar,
Thanks for pointing this out. I’ll be more careful. :)
thanks
Great lesson and great teacher as well. Thanks a lot.
Sir, can you elaborate more on the 4th dot.
Hello sir thank you very much for your advice . It’s really helpful for me to the way I have lifted me up
thank you very much. The class was very interesting.
your teaching easy to understand : )
thanks a lot
Adam, and what about fourth dot?
Thank u very well about interesting lesson.
hi tnx for this lesson
i like the last exemple
i hope the lesson wasn’t a blah
it wasn’t
Thank you
Thank you very very much :)
thank you very much ^_^
Thank you Adam-I learn this lesson very well.
your lesson was blah,blah,blah.
sorry, I was just joking your lesson was really good and interesting also I am looking forward to see your other lessons my teacher.
HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you. your lesson was great.
thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great lesson! Thank you :D
I just have a question on “and so on” thing. Someone, who is not a native speaker, mentioned about my writing one day. He said that “and so on” is a very unsual expression and native people seldom use it, because they like expressions that are accurate and have only one meaning. Is that true? I’m also wondering if I can use the expression “and so on” in a formal writing as well. I learned that expression when I was about 14 and I thought it was pretty common and formal.
Hi Vicky,
Well, it depends what you are writing. “and so on, is a bit of a cheat. This means it lets you get away with not saying enough. Writing is different from speech in that it needs to be sharp and words shouldn’t be wasted. It’s not an unusual expression, but maybe better used in speech than writing.
Does this help?
Yes, it did help. Then, in writing, should I use ‘etc.’ instead of ‘and so on’? In my language, it’s formal to say those expressions when I have a lot to list. So, I often use them when I translate my language into English. I’d like to know if you have any other suggestions.
Well, if you are writing a lot, for variety you can use both. But etc. is the first choice I’d say.
other expressions are “among others” or “and the like”. If you can combine lists that would save on these as well.
hiAdam, thank you for your teaching I have got 8 out of 10 really it is useful lesson for me thank you again
hi guys
I am Amal> I am arebain girl> I wanna improve my englisg so can any one help me by chatting please add me on my skype Amo0ol707
thank u so much
Thank you Adam!! You’re so a great teacher!!!
You did helped me a lot.
Your lesson is never a “blah, blah, blah”. I enjoy it! Thank you so much!
thank you teacher adam for this lesson
thank you so much teacher.
thanks
Hi everybody,
Happy new year. Hope it’s a good one for all of you.
For those who missed an earlier comment about the fourth dot, here it is:
The 4th dot is a period. That is, it ends the sentence.
example: I like all kinds of fruit, such as apples, bananas, strawberries….
The last dot is a regular period for an end of sentence marker. If you list ends at the end of the sentence, you can’t use one of the dots as your period. That’s why you would have the fourth.
See you soon
D Best of 2013 4 U!
Congrats!
:)
thank you
it wos a good lesson,thanks teacher
Hello Mr Adam! Before this lesson I couldn’t understand about etc . Now owing to you I get it! Thanks a lot!!! I’m from Kazakhstan!
thanks
Hi Mr.Adam
thank you for your lesson .it’s great but i’ve a question about the quiz. WHY THE MISTAKE IN ITEM 9 IS AT THE END ???!!!
your lesson is very intersting ;) thank you
Great lesson, not blah at all :)
UR CLASS WAS INTERESTING!!!…
THESE THINGS WERE NEVER TOLD 2 ME BY ANY TEACHER. THANK U
Awesome! This is the first time that I visit this site
It looks very useful
thanks y’all teachers
Great lesson, it is very interesting Adam, thank you very much for your teaching.
Thanks Adan,…excellent teaching
Great!
This man is awesome…
great, very interesting.. ;)
but since I’m from italy, when you said “..pizza: junk food..” I was like: “oh my god, he cannot be serious about it, it’s absolutely not junk food!!!” ahahah
Hi all, and my honorable teacher mr.ADAN.
easily understable and i already sent to my long memory.
That lesson worth it. Excellent explanations . I wasn’t really used to use ‘em but now I’d like to level up ’till advanced(C1-lang.certif. is my goal) so these gonna be useful definetely. I’m very pleased !!
Thanks so much Adan. All of you are the best teachers.
Informative, helpful. Thanks!
Hi Adam, you’re the best teacher I finally found!! I love the way you teach. Very Clear and simple :) this is my first time and I got 9 out to 10. THAAAAANKKKKSSS!!!
Very good lasson.
hi sir
you are such a great teacher
thanks
hi
Adam sir
the lesson although,though,despite,and in spite of is difficult for me how can i understand it.please help me.
thanks
hello Adam
I have a question but not about that topic.
I had been Amrica for 4 mounth.And ı will be there again 3 times for 4 mounth.I just wanna know if i dont study anything will i able to be goot at in toefl or this kind of exams in the future ? u got the idea i think.
Kind regards
hello Adam
i have a question, and please i wont you to answer me, what’s the different between: “and so on” and “and stuf like that” ?
thanks. :)
Thanks very much Adam!
Thank you very much Adam! Cheers !!!
OH! Well done, another D. But what ‘ D ‘ means?
I smiled because I can reply ‘ blah’ for the question ‘ How about you today ? ‘
thanks Dear Adam,
really your are using the easiest way of teaching, thanks again.
thank u so much. I am Vietnamese,so it help me a lot when I use these words.
very nice
Super, are you number one there, thank you.
Adam, have you ever been to Russia?
I like the way you teach, explain, giving example etc. Thank you very much teacher.
The lesson wasn’t at all blah :D. It was really useful.
I have a Q.
If I’m writing an academic essay (i mean in a formal way),am I allowed to write etc. in this form or I have to write etcetera ???
Thanks for lesson, Adam. From your lesson, i have to put a comma (,) before “and so on”. How about “etc.” and “…”?
In above examples, you use “…” with or without comma before. Both of them are correct?
And if “, and etc.” is fasle (I was wrong this question in the test). It should be “,etc.”. But, is is correct if I write “and etc.” (not comma before)?
thank you adam, you have a nice way :)
Shi sentences and a wonderful teacher
(blah) is funny!
very good lesson:D. i got 100:)
Thanks Adam,… I got 100 %
thanks teacher Adam =)
I used to write many dots, but now I know there should be three dots and the fourth one for an end marker. Thanks Adam!
I love this page, you´re a great teacher
hi Adam sir! your way of teaching excellent.
can you explain I am done= i did, i am scared, it is cleaned like this…
and to be as a word,
do you eat now? or will you eat now which one is better
to be as a word with sentences
Thanks you so much. I found this page a long time ago, but when my computer was broken,I seemed to forget it. In recent day, I have found this page again, and I think it’s really useful for me to enhance listening & writing skills. Your voice is so clear and attractive ^^