英语中的标点符号的正确用法,英语常见标点符号的写法有哪些呢

首页 > 经验 > 作者:YD1662022-10-27 23:39:10

英语中的标点符号的正确用法,英语常见标点符号的写法有哪些呢(1)

我在之前写过一篇关于常见标点符号错误的文章英文写作中有哪些常见的标点符号问题?这里再补充几点英文标点符号使用的小知识。

(1) Oxford comma

“牛津逗号”(Oxford comma/serial comma/Harvard comma)是指在几个并列结构中最后一个结构前的逗号。维基百科对此的定义是:

In English language punctuation, a serial comma, or series comma (also called an Oxford comma or Harvard comma), is a comma placed immediately after the penultimate term in a series of three or more terms.

举个例子:Please bring me a pencil, eraser, and notebook. 这个句子中eraser后面的逗号即为牛津逗号。如果不使用牛津逗号,句子则变成:Please bring me a pencil, eraser and notebook.

目前人们关于牛津逗号的使用并没有达成统一意见,比如美式英语中牛津逗号的使用非常广泛,很多美式英语写作指南(比如The Elements of Style)也规定要使用牛津逗号。而英式英语中没有强制规定一定要使用牛津逗号,著名的《经济学人写作指南》(The Economist Style Guide)也提到大部分英国作家只有在需要避免歧义的情况下才使用牛津逗号。

在一些情况下,使用牛津逗号能够消除句子中的歧义,举个例子:

I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.

这一句子有两种解读方式,第一种将我的父母,Lady Gaga和Humpty Dumpty视为并列的三者。第二种则将Lady Gaga和Humpty Dumpty解读为我父母的名字,即:我爱我的父母,他们是Lady Gaga和Humpty Dumpty。

使用牛津逗号后,句子变成:

I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty.

此时句子就只剩一种解读,即将我的父母,Lady Gaga和Humpty Dumpty视为并列的三者。

不过也有反对牛津逗号的人指出,要消除歧义并不一定要用牛津逗号,更好的方法是改写句子,比如上面句子可以改成:

I love Lady Gaga, Humpty Dumpty and my parents.

这样也能消除歧义。

(2)分号

分号(semicolon)在地道英文中的使用很广泛,但在中国学生的习作中很少见到有同学能够主动用好它。

分号用来表示分句之间的停顿,其表示的停顿强于逗号,但弱于句号。分号最常见的用法是分隔地位平等且联系紧密的两个句子,比如:

(1) My wife would like tea; I would prefer coffee.

(2) I went to the basketball court; I was told it was closed for cleaning.

同时,在however/therefore/thus/hence/meanwhile等词的前面要用分号连接,或者前面用句号,然后另起一句。很多同学写作文时经常在however前面使用逗号,比如:

Some of the food crops failed, however, the cotton did quite well.

这种写法是错误的,因为however在这里不能当连词使用,应该写成:

Some of the food crops failed; however, the cotton did quite well. / Some of the food crops failed. However, the cotton did quite well.

韦氏词典中也有这样的例句:I'd like to go; however, I'd better not. [=I'd like to go, but I should not]

英语中的标点符号的正确用法,英语常见标点符号的写法有哪些呢(2)

此外,当句子中并列项太多时,如果仅用逗号来分隔可能会有歧义,这个时候可以使用分号,比如:

The people present were Jamie, a man from New Zealand; John, the milkman's son; and George, a gaunt kind of man with no friends.

(3)冒号

冒号(colon)也是很多同学不太熟悉的一个标点符号,它主要的用法有列举、连接意思紧密的分句或者强调等。

1. 列举

在对并列项目进行列举时,我们可以使用冒号来引入列举项,例如:

The bookstore specializes in three subjects: art, architecture, and graphic design.

需要注意的是,英文冒号需要用在一个完整的句子后面,也就是说,句子的主语和谓语之间、谓语和宾语之间、介词和宾语之间、系动词和表语之间都不能使用冒号。举个例子:

(1) The bookstore specializes in: art, architecture, and graphic design.

(2) When I graduate, I want to go to: Rome, Israel, and Egypt.

上面两个句子的冒号使用都出现了错误,因为冒号前面的部分"The bookstore specializes in", "When I graduate, I want to go to" 都不是完整的句子,此时冒号将句子的谓语和宾语分开了。正确的写法应该是:

(1) The bookstore specializes in art, architecture, and graphic design. / The bookstore specializes in three subjects: art, architecture, and graphic design.

(2) When I graduate, I want to go to Rome, Israel, and Egypt.

2. 连接意思紧密的分句

同分号一样,冒号也可以连接两个分句,此时第二个句子通常是对第一个句子进行解释。比如:

A dolphin is not fish: it is a warm-blooded mammal.

值得注意的一点是,冒号后面的句子首字母不需要大写,但如果冒号后面跟着两个或两个以上的句子,则句子首字母要大写,比如:

He made three points: First, the company was losing over a million dollars each month. Second, the stock price was lower than it had ever been. Third, no banks were willing to loan the company any more money.

3. 强调

冒号在句子中也可以起到强调的作用,此时它的作用跟破折号(em dash)类似,比如:

After three weeks of deliberation, the jury finally reached a verdict: guilty.

以上是英语标点符号使用的几点注意事项,关于英文标点符号的更多使用规范,也可以访问这个网站:

https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/index.html

网站对常见英文标点符号进行了详细说明,同时还有大量例句可供参考,对标点符号用法有疑惑的同学推荐去看一看。

英语中的标点符号的正确用法,英语常见标点符号的写法有哪些呢(3)


参考资料:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colon_(punctuation)

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_comma

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semicolon

[4] https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/colon.html

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