“Hey, what are you up to tonight…” “I’m home alone…” “Do you have a boyfriend…”
“I’ve never thought about it that way…” “Wow, that’s intense…” “Let me think this through…”
“You got a second to talk later today…” “Hey are you gonna be home tonight? I kinda need someone to talk to…” “Are you free for coffee tomorrow? I’d like to chat about some things…”
“I guess so…” “No problem…” “…”
Consider what you just told him: is it something he’d be taken aback by? Ideally, if this is the context in which you received a dot dot dot, he won’t just leave you with a single ellipsis as a response, but will follow it up with actual words.
“Favorite movies? Hmm. I like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Rogue One. . . " “Such a busy weekend. Running errands, hanging out with my dad, meal-prepping, working…” “‘Imagine there’s no heaven…’”
“I heard back about that job I interviewed for…” “So I stopped by Jeff’s house today…” “I thought I did terribly on that science test but…”
Pay attention to how often this happens and after which sentences. If you notice it occurring often for no apparent reason, it’s probably just part of his writing style. “I had a sub sandwich for lunch today…” “My favorite subject is math…” “I’m going to be Shrek for Halloween this year…”
Be cryptic and make him wonder what you’re really up to: “Just going out for a bit…” Or be more obvious: “I’m just here, all alone…” The nice thing about the flirty ellipsis is it’s not direct. If you don’t feel the same way about him, you can just ignore his ellipsis and spare his feelings. If you don’t want to lead him on, reply to a “What are you up to tonight…” text as sincerely as possible. “I’m probably watching movies with my dog and then heading to bed. ”
It’s generally best to give someone the benefit of the doubt when texting, so ask for clarification if you need it or assume good intent. [9] X Trustworthy Source Greater Good Magazine Journal published by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, which uses scientific research to promote happier living Go to source “Hey, is everything all right? Wasn’t sure if that ellipsis had an irritated tone or not!” “We good? I know this is a heavy topic. ” “Just want to make sure I’m not reading into things—can you describe the tone of that last text?”
Respond to “We baked cookies, sang carols, went sledding…” with “. . . wrapped presents, built snowmen, the whole shebang!” or something like “Sounds like you did all the classics!” “‘Oops, I did it again…’” could be followed up with “‘I played with your heaaaart, got lost in the game!’” (Or even just “Best song ever!”)
“I took Fido to the vet today…” “Oh no, is anything wrong? I really hope Fido is OK!” “I heard back about that job I interviewed for…” “Don’t leave me hanging, man! How did it go?” “So I stopped by Jeff’s house today…” “And? What happened?”
“. . . ” “Hey! Sorry, I got hung up. Replying now. ” “. . . ” “Lol hold your horses! I’m just in the middle of something. ” “. . . ” “Like I said, I’m at work for the next 6 hours and can’t chat now. ”
Of course, there’s always room for the benefit of the doubt, so to be sure his period is a hostile one, consider both the context of the period and his usual texting style. If he’s not much of a texter, he might genuinely not realize periods are a no-no—or maybe his phone autocorrected and he didn’t fix it. The angry period doesn’t necessarily mean he’s upset with you: if the convo was about something difficult—say, he failed a test and doesn’t want to talk about it—he might be upset in the moment, but will be back to normal again soon.
A guy might use an exclamation point in a text in essentially the same way he’d use it in everyday writing: to show he’s excited or shocked, to add emphasis, or to indicate the preceding text is being shouted or screamed. [12] X Research source Receiving a text of nothing but a lone exclamation point may be somewhat confusing, but it usually suggests the texter is surprised or excited by something you’ve said. If you haven’t said anything, they’ll likely be following up their exclamation point with their own shocking or exciting story.
“Oh, yeah, I just LOVE getting called into work at the last second… eyeroll” “Aww thank you for the kind words! blushes” “I saw somebody at the gym this morning… cough Jeremy cough”
