英语文章中标点符号的运用.doc

Punctuation Punctuation helps to clarify and sometimes emphasize the meaning of a sentence. It is necessary to learn to use all the puncruation marks correctly.标点符号有助于明确或强调句子的意思，因而有必要学会各种标点符号的使用方法。I The Comma逗号 （，）逗号表示句子内部的一般性停顿。假如你说下面这句话： When he came, I was busy cleaning my room. 你说完came后稍停了一下，那也就是说把这个句子写出来时该打一个逗号的地方。但有时由于句子的结构需要也用逗号，即使在没有停顿的地方也一样。A complete sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. This simple rule is important for Chinese to remember, for in Chinese writing comma may be used to separate complete sentences. The use of a comma in place of a period, a semi colon, a colon, or a dash in English writing is called the comma fault. Faulty:It was raining hard, they could not work in the fields.Improved:It was raining hard; they could not work in the fields.It was raining hard. They could not work in the fields.It was raining so hard that they couldnt work in the fields.They couldnt work in the fields because it was raining hard. It was raining hard, so they could not work in the fields. As it was raining hard, they could not work in the fields.Of course, it is easy to see that the improved sentences lay stress in different points. Which one is preferable depends on the context and the writers intention.在并列句中，连词（and, but , or , for , so , nor , yet）的前面用逗号：He asked the question in a loud voice, but no one answered.We were tired, and we decided to have a rest.Come early, or you ll miss the show.She couldnt go to the airport to meet him, nor could she send anyone in her stead.It must have rained last night ,for the ground is wet.He is an eccentric boy, yet you cant help liking him.如果两个或三个并列从句都很简短，意思又紧密相连，它们之间可不用连词而用逗号：A memoir is history, it is based on evidence. - E. M. forster 逗号的这种用法是特殊情况，有时可在文学作品中见到。状语从句或短语（包括介词短语和分词短语）如放在句子的主语前面，或放在句子中间时，后面应用逗号： When the bell rang, the teacher dismissed the class. In the ancient palace, they saw the throne where emperors used to sit . To see the importance of this railway , one has to look at a map, Born and brought up in the South, she is not used to eating wheat. The audience, interested in the topic, asked the speaker many questions. 如主语前的状语成分很短，其后可不加逗号，当然也要考虑避免造成误解： On hearing the big noise I knew something terrible had happened, In one corner of the room they found the injured cat.主要从句在前，状语成分在后时，一般省去逗号： I was trying to reach her by phone when she walked 410 into my office. Youll be unable to finish the work in time if you dont start at once. 一系列起同样作用的词语或短语要用逗号分开： The little girl likes to sing, to dance, and to act .She buys bread, butter, vegetables, and many other things from this supermarket.连词前的那个逗号，如省去不会造成误解，则可以省略。非限定性从句或短语和句子的主要部分之间要逗号隔开： Wang Ling, who is the best singer of the class, will teach us to sing the song .He had to leave his hometown , where he had lived ever since he was born.Dr. Li, the new chairman of the department, will speak at the meeting.An old lady, nodding and smiling, invited us in. 限定性从句和短语则不用逗号分开： The young man(who is) talking with the foreign reporters is the inventor of the machine.This is the house where the famous poet was born.插入语的前后用逗号分开： Your work, I m sorry to say ,is not satisfactory.The director , in fact , has done very little work.To call a spade a spade, the experiment was a failure.They have many course: Chinese, English, Mathematics, History, to name just a few. 逗号经常用于下列例句所显示的地方：Yes, I think so.No, its not very good.She is the new secretary, isnt she?The delegation will arrive on January 5,1993.He said , “The Summer Palace is like a fairyland.” “The Summer Palace is like a fairyland,” he said. “The Summer Palace,” he said, “is like a fairyland.”写日期时，如次序是一月一日一年，在日和年之间加逗号。如次序是日一月一年，则不加逗号: She was born on May 24 , 1979 . She was born on 24 May 1979.千以上的数字可用逗号按千数把数字分开，也就是从右往左每三个数字后加一个逗号： 319 ，087 23，654，085注意：英语不用顿号（、）。中文用顿号处，英语可用逗号。II The Period句号（。）句号用在陈述句、语气舒缓的祈使句和间接引语问句之后，如： Every student should learn to use the punctuation marks.Learn to use the punctuation marks.They asked how the semicolon should be used. 句号表示句子末尾的停顿。如继续往下写的话，下一个词就该大写了，因为那是又一句的开始。省略词一般加句号：Mr. Mrs. Ms. Dr. Ph. D. U.S.A a.m.U.K N.Y. I.Q. B.C. B.A. Bros. p.m.现在的趋势是在省略词后不加句号，尤其是在团体、通讯社和广播电台的名称后面：UN UNESCO NATO BBC NBC YMCA 如对省略词后是否加句号没有把握，可查阅较好的词典。稍稍分开的三个句号就成了省略号，表示在引语中省略了一个或更多的词。下面是一段引文：The descriptions of appropriate usage are based on the dicta of recognized authorities; on my own experience as reader , writer, teacher ,linguist, editor, and observer of the linguistic scene; and occasionally, simply on my own preferences and prejudices如省略其中的词，就可写成这样： The descriptions of appropriate usage are based on the dicta of recognized authorities; on my own experience as reader, writer, teacher; and occasionally simply on my own preferences and prejudices三个稍稍分开的句号有时也表示说话停顿或延迟： “What do you mean?” “I mean well ,I mean you neednt be involved in it.”如在一句之末用省略号，后面还得加句号。这样一来，四个句号就用在一起了。III The Semicolon（；）两个并列从句之间如不用连词(and, but , or , for , so , yet ),则应用分号；No one is born with knowledge; knowledge must be taught and learned.If she married that man, her parents would be unhappy; if she left him, she herself would be unhappy.以上各句都可以分成两个独立的句子而不改变原意。但连成一句使俩部分的联系比分成两句时要紧密一些。分号的主要功能便是表示意思相关的句子之间的联系。 The trip was not very well planned or prepared; therefore, it was not a pleasant one. She planned to go with them on the trip; however, her sons sudden illness prevented her from leaving home. Buses are always crowed; hence he prefers to cycle. The invention brought him fame; moreover, it brought him money.在上列各句中，分号均不可用逗号来代替。有的作家在so 和yet前用分号而不用逗号，那是因为他们认为这两个词是副词。如若干项内已有逗号，可用分号将各项分开： IV The Colon（：）冒号可引进解释、小结或同位语：She showed me the books she had just borrowed from the library: two novels by jane Austen and a book on the history of English literature. Three causes have been given for the failure: poor planning, insufficient manpower, and the shortage of material.冒号用于引语或陈述句之前：My grandpa often mentions one saying by Confucius: “To say you know when you know, and to say you do not when you do not ,that is knowledge.”At the meeting he made an important announcement: he would resign from the committee in two weeks.冒号在记时间时可用来区分小时与分钟，可表示赛事的比分，可在事务性信件中放在称呼之后，可在演讲稿中放在对主席和挺重的称呼之后： The train leaves at 10:45 a.m. China beat Japan 3:2 in the womens volleyball tournament. Dear Mr. Brown:(在个人信件中逗号更常见) Mr. Chairman ,ladies and gentlemen：（演讲的开端）V The Question Mark（？） 1问号用在直接问句之中，但间接问句后不用问号： Did you study English literature at college? Who cleaned the room? He asked,Where did you put my dictionary?” “Where are you from?” she asked. She asked me where I had put his bike.陈述句和祈使句被用作问句时，句末也加问好：You cleaned the room this morning？Five yuan is enough?Pay ten yuan?3.一个问句涉及多项时，各项之后皆可打问号： Did she buy milk? Butter? Eggs?问号的这种用法表示每个名词后都有一停顿，从而加重了对各项进行提问的语气。4.放在括号中的问号表示不能肯定它前面的那个词、数字或日期的准确性： The author of this strange book born in 1078(?) and died in 1135VIThe Exclamation Mark感叹号(!)感叹号用于感叹句以及抒发某种强烈感情的感叹词或短语之后：Act now or never!What a beautiful day!How can you believe that dishonest mans words!Help !help! A boy has fallen into the river!“get out !”he yelled.Wow !what a strange hat!感叹号宜少用。语气舒缓的不强烈的感叹句之后，不妨用逗号或句号：“What a nice day,” he said.Oh, dont bother about it.有时在表示愿望的口号之后用感叹号:Long live the peoples republic of china!VII. Quotation Mark引号（“”或 ）直接引语的两端用double双引号（间接引语不用引号），无论是对话还是引文都如此。引语中的引语则用single单引号：“shall I turn off the radio?” he asked his mother.“Yes ,please ,” she answered.“one may ask why parents permitted their children to work in mines and factories,” the author writes . “The answer is tragic ,but simple ,there was usually nothing else to do,except to starve .”Why did parents permit their children to work in mines and factories ? in answering this question ,the author says that there was usually nothing else to do, “except to statve” (直接引用句子的部分成分)“What do you mean by evolutionary mechanism?”one of the students asked.(引语中的引语)下面是一个带有间接引语的例子： The author writes that the reason why parents permitted their children to work in mines and factories was that there was usually nothing else to do, except to starve.2.在打印的文稿中，一段较长的引语各行之间不留空行；两侧都缩进，或只在左侧缩进。引号可用可不用。如引语又分几段，每段的开头和最后一段的末端可加引号，或都不加。记录两人或更多人的谈话时，每个人说的话以及表示说的动词和有关的描写，不管长短，都应成一段。“Did you go to the zoo yesterday ?” she asked her son,smiling.“Yes, I did ,” he said . “I had a good time there.”“Im sure you saw the pandas.”“Of course . But there was such a crowd around them that I couldnt get enough to see them clearly ,” he said with sigh.文章、短篇故事、短诗及歌曲等的题目和书中各章节的题目，应用引号标出。但书刊名称应用斜体字下线标明。The Peoples Daily carries an important article today: “The Present Situation in the Balkans.”“Life in the Cave,” one of the chapters of My Adventures ,is very interesting .有特殊意义的词有时用引号括起来：Pointing to a small desk in a corner of the room, he said , “My headquarters is there.”引号和其他标点符号配合使用时，美国的通行办法如下：句号和逗号放在引号之内： “John ,” she said , “Ive lost my gloves.”You should read his article on the “New Critcism,”Which contains some interesting ideas.冒号和分号放在引号之外：First he talked about the “New Critcism”; then he discussed “postmodernism.”This dictionary gives a brief explanation of “postmodernism”: a style of building ,decoration, art ,etc, which uses an unusual mixing of old and new forms.破折号、问号和感叹号、如只是与引语有关、放在引号之内；如与整个句子有关，则放在引语之内：She asked, “What does modernism mean?”What is the meaning of the “New Criticism”?“Help ! Help!” she cried.Stop crying “I want it”!VIII.Parentheses圆括号圆括号用来标明插入性的、补充性的或注释性的词语：A PLO(Palestinian Liberation Organization) delegation is to visit china next month . Bai Juyi(772-846) was a great poet of the Tang Dynasty .He is teaching two courses (Linguistics and Theoretical Grammar) this semester.如圆括号中还需用括号，则用方括号Brackets代替圆括号:William Strunk Jr . and E .B. White wrote a very useful little book for students learning to write (The Elements of Style New York : Macmillan,1972) X.The Dash破折号（一） 1.破折号表示思想的中断或语气的改变I went through a lot of terrible ordeals in those chaotic years-but who didnt ?He might do many good things for the people of the city-if he was elected . 2.破折号表示没说完或被打断的话：“My idea is” “You want to quit ,dont you?” “Th