英文省略號（ellipsispoints）似是由三點組成；用於句末，則另加句子原有的句點（fullstop）、問號（questionmark）或感歎號（exclamationmark）。但第二版Fowler'sModernEnglishUsage（福勒現代英文用法）otherwise條下有一句說"astotheadvantagesordisadvantagesofatotemonopoly...."句末用四點；一句說"theapplicabilitytothepracticalaffairsofgovernmentoftheprincipleswhich..."句末用三點。究竟這三、四點怎樣分別？
Fowler'sModernEnglishUsage固然是經典著作，但有時仍欠統一。比如說，which,that,who條下列出"WhichinItis...that...."一節，而那一節的標題則是"WhichinItis...that..."句末一用四點，一用三點，我們當然不應強行分辨三、四點的含義。
然則哪個標點方式正確？請看WilliamCPaxson所撰TheMentorGuidetoPunctuation（孟托標點符號指南）PunctuatingOmissionsfromQuotations一節：Theuseofthreeellipsispointswithoutendingpunctuationisthesimplesttechniquebutnotthemostprecise.Amoreprecisetechniqueistoretainasentence'sendingpunctuation（只用三點的省略號而不用句末標點，是最簡單卻不是最精確的省略寫法。較精確的寫法是保留句末標點）。比如說，Jonathansaidhedidnotknowwhotheywere（約納山說不知道他們是誰）一語，隨便一點可略作Jonathansaidhedidnotknow...，準確一點則可略作Jonathansaidhedidnotknow....。句子開頭或中間的省略則當然只用三點：(1)...hedidnotknowwhotheywere。(2)Jonathan...didnotknowwhotheywere。