漢語中的標點符號是根據英文的標點而制定的。對於一個普通的英語學習者來說,常用的標點符號不外乎四個:逗號,句號,問號和感嘆號。
然而,中英文標點符號之間存在著一定的差異。例如,漢語中有頓號(、),書名號(《》),間隔號()而英語中沒有這些符號。同樣,英文中有撇號apostrophe(』), 連字符hyphen(-),斜槓slash(/)和反斜槓backslash(\)而漢語中卻沒有這些符號。
此外,某些符號在漢英兩種語言中的形式不同。例如,中文的句號是空心圈(。)而英文的句號是實心點(.);英文的省略號是三個點(...)且位置在行底而中文的省略號為六個點(……)並且居於行中。以下為英文中常用標點符號的作用及例子。
一、逗號(,comma)
1. 用於一系列並列的內容之間,如:
I will be travelling to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
3. 用於連接兩個並列句,如:
Work hard, and you』ll be likely to achieve success.
4. 用於連接含有狀語從句的複合句中,如:
When I got home from work, it was almost midnight.
5. 用於以副詞、介詞短語、名詞短語放在句首作狀語的句子中,如:
Fortunately, they survived the earthquake.
In the end, we won the first prize in the speech competition.
6. 用於直接引語中,如:
Tom shouted, 「Would you please shut up?"
「I’m tired to death,」 Charlie said.
7. 用於反意疑問句中,如:
You don’t trust me, do you?
Let’s go shopping together, shall we?
8. 用於含有同位語的句子中,如:
I am Li Hua, president of the school students』 union.
Beijing, the capital of China, is the center of politics, economy and culture.
二、句號(.full stop/period)
1. 用於結束一個完整的句子,如:
The game is over.
Whatever you do and wherever you go, I』ll be right here waiting for you. 2. 用於某些英文單詞的縮寫中,如:
Mr. and Mrs. Brown, Dr. Smith, P.S. 等。
三、問號(?question mark)
用於各種疑問句中,如:Do you love me?
What’re you going to do tomorrow, staying home or hanging out with friends?
Don’t you understand so far?
Why do you ask me the same stupid question again and again?
Let’s get started, shall we?
Lucy asked angrily, 「Are you deaf or something?」
四、感嘆號(!Exclamation mark)
用於表達驚訝,憤怒,興奮等強烈的情感和語氣的句子中。值得注意的是,在商業寫作中要注意感嘆號的應用,否則會顯得突兀,造成不必要的誤會。
Hi! It’s great to see you again!
How dare you!
I will never let you down again!
五、縮略號(』apostrophe)
1. 表示一個或幾個字母和數字的省略。如:
It’s; I’m; we’re; there’s; don’t; ma』am
2. 構成名詞所有格形式。如:students』 union
The People’s Republic of China
3. 表示複數形式,正式的寫法須在s 前加「 』 」。如:
In the 1990s = in the 1990’s
六、分號(;semicolon)
1. 用於分隔兩個並列的句子。另外分號也經常與連接副詞 thus, however, therefore, on the other hand等一起使用。如:
Boys tend to like sports; girls tend to like music.
We got up very early; however, the bus had left when we got to the bus station.
On the one hand, I often want to eat out; but on the other hand, I have to save money to support my family.2. 用於分隔相似的內容。如:
The kids are fooling around in the house. Some are singing and dancing to the crazy music; some are fighting and crying; others are running and screaming.
七、冒號(:colon)
1. 用於對後面內容的作介紹或解釋。如:
Here are my personal items: a pen, a notebook, a laptop and a pair of glasses.
2. 用於列出並列信息的清單,如:
We』d like to order the following items:
·T-shirts
·jeans
·socks
·Sports shoes
3. 用於直接引語中,傾向於書面語,但在非正式英語中常用逗號。如:
The woman yelled: "Get off your paws, or I』ll call the police."
4. 用於信函或演講詞的稱呼之後,而在英國英語中多用逗號。如:
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith:
Ladies and gentlemen:
5. 用於表示數字時間和比例關係。如:
9:00a.m. 3:30PM 10:6
6. 用於標示網站名稱,如:http://www.dotdot.com/
八、連字符(-hyphen)
1. 用於某些前綴和複合詞。如:
non-recyclable; ex-chairman; open-minded; peace-lover
good-for-nothing; out-of-town; commander-in-chief; a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
2. 用於構成某些複合數字。如:
thirty-four; three-year-old; 1949-2020
3. 用於書寫中一個單詞的換行, 一般按音節來劃分。如:
You are supposed to be self-confident and inde-
pendent so that you』ll be successful.
九、破折號(—dash)
1. 主要用於解釋或補充說明
It was a very important event in the computerization of life — a sign that the informal, friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails.
That may sound impossibly grand — as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings.
2. 用來表示「從……到……」的概念,尤指時間年份。例如:
WilliamShakespeare, 1564—1616, isoneofthegreatestpoetsanddramatistsinthehistoryofBritishLiterature.
十、括號(() brackets)
1. 表示順序的數字和字母。如:
(1)、(2)、(3) ; (a)、(b)、(c); (i)、(ii)、(iii)
2. 表示附加的解釋成分,可以是單詞、詞組或句子。如:
If you initiate the contact and wish to keep the tone formal, use a title (i.e. Mr., Mrs. or Ms.)
E-mail addresses are made up of two parts: the username (also called the 'userid) and the domain.
If they are introduced when still young (less than 6 months for cats, a year for dogs), it is highly probable that the two pets will get along swimmingly.
十一、引號(『』單引號single quotation marks, 「」雙引號double quotation marks)
引號分單引號(single quotation marks) 和雙引號(double quotation marks) 。單引號只用在一個直接引語中所含有的另一個直接引語上,屬於非常用符號。
表示直接引語。如:「Alice invited me to dinner. 『All right then,』 I said. 『Okay, here we go.』 So we went out together for something delicious.」
「I’m awfully sorry,」 I said and stepped forward only to run into it again.2. 表示文章、報告、評論、短篇故事、詩歌、戲劇、電影等標題/篇名等。如:Gorge W. Bush wrote a book entitled 「The Turning points」.3. 表示反語、綽號等特殊意義。如:
The kids often bullied him, calling him 「fat bear」.
4. 表示專有名詞或引用某個短語或句子。如:
One is supposed to say 「You’re welcome」 whenever someone says 「Thank you」 to you.
十二、省略號(... ellipsis)
用於列舉、避免重複或故意省略不想呈現的內容和信息。如:As for snacks, I love chocolate, candy, cookies, cakes, …
Joan hurried home, only to find that her beloved dog lying in a pool of blood…
2. 表示強調、猶豫、遲疑或停頓等。如:
But he’s nervous. 「I’m here to tell you today why you should … should…」 Chris trips on the 「-ld,」 a pronunciation difficulty for many non-native English speakers.
His teacher, Thomas Whaley, is next to him, whispering support. 「…Vote for …me …」
十三、特殊符號(@ at; each)
用於表示e-mail地址,單價或速度。如:
info@southeastasiabank.com
We sell it @ $19.99 per item.
The car was running @ 160km per hour.