2016年3月28日
英语中使用的标点符号主要有下面这些：
1） 句号（.） (Periods 或 Full Stops)
2） 逗号（,） （Commas）
3） 分号（；） （Semicolons）
4） 冒号（：） （Colons）
5） 问号（？） （Question Marks）
6） 撇号（’） (Apostrophes)
7） 引号（双引号“ ” 和单引号 ‘ ’） （Quotation Marks）
8） 感叹号（!） （Exclamation Marks）
9） 破折号（—） （Dashes）
10）连字号（–） （Hyphens）
11）括号（( )） (Parentheses)
12) 省略号（…） （Ellipses）
下面就具体介绍每个标点的用法。
1. 句号 (Full stops or periods)
句号的用法比较简单，一个句子写完了就用句号结尾。几乎所有专家或杂志都建议写手把句子写短，勤用、多用句号。受 George Orwell的影响，国际著名杂志《经济学人》（The Economist） 在其写作风格指南（Style Guide）里对句号是这样建议的：
Use plenty. They keep sentences short. This helps the reader.
2. 逗号 (Commas)
一个句子里如果有两个以上项目并列，用逗号分开，记住在最后一项之前必须加and。
The flag is red, white, and blue.
She looked up, down, and all around.
He walked in the room, hung up his coat, and sat in the chair.
如果从句较短，可以不加加逗号。但如果从句较长，之后应该加个逗号。
When night fell he fell too.
When day broke and he was able at last to see what had happened, he realized he had fallen through the roof and into the Big Brother house.
如果在句子中插入一个句子或短语，要么前后各一个逗号，要么一个也不用，不能只有一个逗号。
Marjorie’s husband, Colonel Nelson paid us a visit yesterday. (不正确)
Marjorie’s husband, Colonel Nelson, paid us a visit yesterday.
The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.
And, though he denies it, he couldn’t tell a corncrake from a cornflake.
逗号有时会改变一个句子的内涵。例如，“Mozart’s 40th symphony, in G minor” 表示这个交响曲是G小调。如果不用逗号，“Mozart’s 40th symphony in G minor”则意味着莫扎特还有其他39个G小调交响曲。对这种微妙的区别，我们还应该多观察，仔细体会。下面是另外一个例子：
Lois’s sister, Mary, will visit tomorrow. （Lois 只有一位sister，她的名字叫Mary）
Lois’s sister Mary will visit tomorrow. （Lois 不止一个sister，明天来访的那位叫 Mary）
逗号主要用于一个句子里的短暂停顿，比如下面这个句子，一口气用了七个逗号：
Meanwhile, the control and good “social order” there attracted admirers, too, including Chinese leaders, notably Deng Xiaoping, who was, like Mr Lee, a member of the Hakka Chinese minority.
相对句号，逗号比较难以掌握。最容易犯的错误，是在两个独立句子之间只用逗号隔开，没有加上其它连接词如and 或 but。这种错误被称为“comma fault” 或 “comma splice”。例如下面这两个句子：
Stevenson’s romances are entertaining, they are full of exciting adventures.
It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.
以上两句里的逗号用错了。正确的标点应该是句号，用分号也可以。如果非要用逗号，应该在逗号前加上“and”。
当然，任何规矩都有例外。The Elements of Style 这本经典小册子指出，两个短小精悍的警句之间，或者几个短小的排比句之间，可以只用逗号隔开：
Man proposes, God disposes.
The gate swung apart, the bridge fell, the portcullis was drawn up.
名言和名家可以例外。我们外国人学英语，最好还是老老实实地按规矩来。
3. 分号 (semi-colons)
分号争议比较大。有些人很喜欢用分号。英国著名女作家 Jane Austin 的作品里到处都是分号。但有些人则特别不待见分号，他们认为分号没必要，只是用来显摆自己有学问。
在两种情况下，分号特别合适。首先，如果并列的一些事物里面已经含有逗号，再用逗号隔开就容易引起混乱, 这时用分号断开是最佳的选择。且看下面的一些例句：
Science fiction includes Star Trek, with Mr. Spock; Battlestar Galactica, with its Cylons; and Star Wars, with Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
I bought fruits such as apples, pears, and bananas; meats such as chicken and pork; and cereals such as Cheerios, Kix, Crispix, and Circus Fun.
The committee included Mary Ladd, chairperson; Oliver Greenwood, treasurer; and Nellie Kim, secretary.
They brought with them from New Orleans a box of gumbo; a large, green suitcase; and a change of clothes.
He is afraid of bears; lions; skunks; black widow spiders; and big, ugly rats.
The new store will have groceries on the lower level; luggage, housewares, and electronics on the ground floor; men’s and women’s clothing on the second floor; and books, music, and stationery on the third floor.
其次，如果两个句子有连贯或前后联系，应该用分号隔开。
My brother was sixteen years old that winter; I was thirteen.
He had a Mustang; I, however, wanted a Denali.
Even baby giraffes are tall; their average height is six feet!
除了上述两种情况必须用分号外，一般来讲，如果两个独立句子有些关联，但用逗号或句号断开都不太妥当，这时可以考虑用分号。比如以下两个句子：
He loved that car; it was his greatest treasure.
In Western films, dark hats often represent bad or evil characters; a white hat does just the opposite.
此外，分号可以用来断开几个并列的短语或句子：
They see flaws in “Western-style democracy”: its short-termism; its disregard for non-voters such as children and foreigners; and its habit of throwing up unqualified leaders.
They provided a framework to understand all sorts of human behavior that economists, athletic coaches, and other “experts” have trouble explaining: why people who play the lottery also buy insurance; why people are less likely to sell their houses and their stock portfolios in falling markets; why, most sensationally, professional golfers become better putters when they’re trying to save par (avoid losing a stroke) than when they’re trying to make a birdie (and gain a stroke).
They agreed on only three points: the ceasefire should be immediate; it should be internationally supervised, preferably by the AU; and a peace conference should be held, either in Geneva or in Ouagadougou.
分号还可以与逗号合用，以便简化句子，避免重复。例如，
In 1992, Starbucks had under 200 stores; ten years later, over 5,000.
Some people brought food; others, clothing; yet others, merely a willingness to help.
4. 冒号 (Colons)
在完整的句子后面加冒号，用来引入更多信息：
The author always disliked his critics: “If they can’t write, they become critics!”
Chris is taking three courses：Economics 101, Politics 101, and English 101.
My roommate wants to buy a car, and he has a lot of brands to choose from: Toyota, Ford, VW, and more.
注意，在下面这个句子里，必须用逗号：
The author complains, “If they can’t write, they become critics!”
此外，在which引导的定语从句前加逗号，但如果是由that引导的限定从句，则不要加逗号。
The computer that is broken is in the shop. (意思是 I have several computers)
The computer, which is broken, is in the shop. (意思是 I have one computer and it’s broken)
5. 问号 (Question-marks)
这个不用多解释了。有一点需要提醒：Except in sentences that include a question in inverted commas, question-marks always come at the end of the sentence. 于是:
Where could he get a drink, he wondered?
Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
6. 撇号 (Apostrophes)
1) 拥有者为单数，后面加 ’s 表示所有格：
boss’s
St James’s
caucus’s
Jones’s
Delors’s
Shanks’s
John’s dog will quickly attack Mary’s cat.
2) 如果拥有者是复数且以字母s结尾，那么撇号后面不用加 s ：
Danes’
bosses’
Joneses’
The diplomats’ briefcases were searched.
3) 如果拥有者是复数但不以字母s结尾，那么撇号后面要加 s ：
children’s
Frenchmen’s
media’s
4) 如果拥有者为复数形式，但平时当作单数对待，那么他们的所有格只用撇号，不加s：
Barclays’
Stewarts & Lloyds’
Reuters’
Salomon Brothers’
the United States’
the United Nations’
the Philippines’
5）如果拥有者有两位或多位，但共同拥有，就在最后一位拥有者后面加 ’s。
Have you seen David and Alena’s new camper?
但是，如果多位拥有者分别拥有，那么每位后面都得加撇号：
Jack’s and Berta’s expectations of marriage were very different.
如果省略字母或数字，用撇号表达，如 the class of ’81。
用撇号加s 表示单个字母或数字的复数形式：
She got straight A’s in graduate school.
Her scores were all 6’s and 7’s.
Watch your P’s and Q’s.
The French student isn’t rolling his r’s.
7. 引号 (quotation marks)
引号本身比较简单，但跟其他标号合用，会变得比较复杂。
1）最简单的用法：
He explained, “Commas are tricky business.”
“Commas are tricky business,” he explained.
2) 引号分双引号和单引号。引用的话里如果再有引用，就应该用单引号（美式英语）：
“When I say ‘immediately’, I mean some time before April,” said the spokesman.
My dad said to me, “Your long-haired, so-called ‘best friend’ was just over here asking if you could loan her some money. I told him ‘absolutely not.’”
3) 如果被引的内容本身以句号，问号或感叹号结尾，那么这些标点应该放在引号之内。
Someone yelled, “Help!”
She asked me, “Do you like jazz?”
His maxim was that “love follows laughter.”
In this spirit came his opening gambit: “What’s the difference between a buffalo and a bison?”
4) 如果被引的内容结尾本来就不带任何标点，那么句子中的任何标点都应在反引号之外。
She had already noticed that the “young man” looked about as young as the New Testament is new.
Although he had been described as “fawnlike in his energy and playfulness”, “a stripling with all the vigour and freshness of youth”, and even as “every woman’s dream toyboy”, he struck his companion-to-be as the kind of old man warned of by her mother as “not safe in taxis”.
Where, now that she needed him, was “Mr Right”?
I want to hear the song “Forever Young”!
What don’t you like about the song “Forever Young”?
5) 如果被引的内容在某处打断，该处应该使用什么标点要看打断处原文有没有标点。例如
“If you’ll let me see you home,” he said, “I think I know where we can find a cab.”
“My bicycle”, she assured him, “awaits me.”
在第一个例子里，home 后的逗号放在反引号内，这是因为该逗号在引句里本来就有。可是在第二个例子里，逗号就放在反引号之外。
8. 感叹号（Exclamation Marks）
为了在必要时更好地到达效果（惊讶，感叹，讽刺），平时尽量少用感叹号。有人建议，学术文章最好不用感叹号。
1）用在句尾的感叹号
The exclamation point is a mark of terminal punctuation. As such, it should not be followed by a period or question mark. Some writers will use both a question mark and exclamation point for an exclamatory question, but only the exclamation point is truly necessary.
正确: I cannot believe I win the lottery!
正确: What in the world are you doing up there!
不正确: What in the world are you doing up there?!
2）用在句子中间的感叹号
When a quotation ends with an exclamation point, a comma that would ordinarily be placed inside the closing quotation mark is omitted.
正确: “Get out,” Marcus said.
正确: “Get out!” Marcus yelled.
不正确: “Get out!,” Marcus yelled.
但是，如果感叹号是书名或其它名称的一部分，这时逗号需要保留。
His latest short story, “Don’t Make a Sound!,” is his most suspenseful yet.
After five years in the sales department at Yahoo!, he took a marketing job at Google.
3）多重感叹号（！！！）
多重感叹号（！！！）表示作者非常非常惊讶，或特别特别强调。建议写作时尽量避免使用多重感叹号。
9. 破折号 (Dashes)
破折号表示间断或思维的停顿，并且对断开的内容表示强调。
Without fanfare—indeed, with some misgivings about its new status—China has just overtaken the United States as the world’s largest economy.
Creative destruction takes time: previous episodes of peak profits—for example, in the late 1960s—ended abruptly.
Everything that was broken – from the cracked window to the worn‐out carpet – was blamed on the dog.
Lately, Peter has been making changes in his life –reading more books and exercising more regularly.
10. 连字号（Hyphens）
1）如果两个字一起用做形容词，用连字号把这两个字连起来:
The teacher gave Toshiko a newspaper‐wrapped fish and a seashell.
Dr. Jill Stein is not a well‐known presidential candidate.
Can you believe that she bought first‐class tickets?
但是在下面两个句子里，不要用连字号：
This presidential candidate is not well known.
Their hotel was often described as first rate.
2）与前缀词一起用。这些前缀包括 self‐, quasi‐, all‐, elect‐, post-, anti-, and ex‐):
Her ex‐husband often expressed anti‐American ideas.
This organization supports self‐help projects that support low‐income families.
3) Use a hyphen for written‐out numbers* (but not before/after category numbers like hundred, thousand, or million) and fractions:
She was widely believed to be one hundred twenty‐two years old.
One‐fourth of his income went to childcare expenses.
4). Use a hyphen to avoid misreading, especially if the prefix would result in a double letter, or to avoid misreading:
James and Daniel are co‐owners of the restaurant.
The film was praised for its re‐creation of nineteenth-century London.
Bicycling is my favorite form of recreation.
11. 括号 (Parentheses)
Parenthetical phrases and clauses need to fit the grammar of the whole sentence.
My brother was driving, and I was jealous. (I was only thirteen that winter.)
My brother was driving, and I was jealous (I was only thirteen that winter).
My brother was driving (I was thirteen), and I was jealous.
My brother was driving, and I was jealous (was I thirteen that winter?).
12. 省略号（Ellipses）
省略号只用于引用内容的省略。用三个点（…）表示省略了一些字，而用四个点（….）则表示省略了句子。
Smith (2012) acknowledges that treatment for autism is expensive: “Sensory therapy…can cost up to $200 per hour.”
Jackson, a researcher with the CDC, explained: “AIDS is still a massive problem…. It is a pressing health issue.”
注意: 省略号的用法似乎没有统一标准，例如 MLA style 和 Chicago style 就有些不同。
主要参考资料：
The Elements of Style，by Skunt and White
The Economist Style Guide (https://www.economist.com/styleguide/introduction ）
中华人民共和国国家标准《标点符号用法》，2011年底发布，2012年6月实施