英語教學:英文寫作中有哪些常見的標點符號問題?
在列舉各個標點符號的常見問題之前,這裡先說一個經常會被忽略的格式問題(尤其是在手機和電腦上的英文寫作):空格。在英語書寫格式中,標點符號後面至少要留一個半形空格。比如對於逗號,在逗號後面要留有一個字元長度的空格。比較下面兩個句子:
(1)They would have married sooner, but they had to wait for her divorce.
(2)They would have married sooner,but they had to wait for her divorce.
第二個句子不符合英語書寫規範,因為逗號後面沒有一個字元的空格。事實上,如果你經常使用Word寫文章,應該會留意到上面的錯誤提示:
Neither of them thought of turning on the lunch-time news.Thus Caroline didn't hear of John's death until Peter telephoned.
要改為:
Neither of them thought of turning on the lunch-time news. Thus Caroline didn't hear of John's death until Peter telephoned.
如果你不清楚應該怎麼加空格,可以在Word文件上打幾行字,觀察Word給出的修改建議。
接下來是一些常見的標點符號問題:
1.逗號
在句子並列結構的最後成分前往往會使用連詞 and, or, but 等,在這些連詞前加不加逗號會對句子意思造成影響,舉個例子:
(1) You should buy some pens, red bags and notebooks.
(2) You should buy some pens, red bags, and notebooks.
兩個句子的表意有所不同,第二個句子 red 只修飾 bags,但第一個句子 red 可以解讀為修飾 bags 以及 notebooks,因此為了避免歧義,要學會正確使用逗號。
還有另外一個例子:
(1) All the books which had pictures in them were sent to the library.
(2) All the books, which had pictures in them, were sent to the library.
在非限制性定語從句中逗號會對句子的意思造成影響。這裡第一個句子的意思是“所有帶插圖的圖書都被送到了圖書館”,第二個句子的意思是“所有的圖書都被送到了圖書館,這些圖書都帶有插圖”。在使用非限制性定語從句時要注意逗號的使用。
英文中兩個完整的句子或者兩個並列分句之間一般不能用逗號隔開,這一點在平時寫作中很多人都能注意到,但當遇到 however,thus 這類詞時,有時候很容易犯錯。比如:
(1) This is a cheap and simple process, however, there are dangers.
(2) Most of the evidence was destroyed in the fire, thus it would be almost impossible to prove him guilty.
第一個句子中當 however 表示轉折含義時它是副詞,不能當連詞用,因此逗號應該改為分號或者句號。即:
This is a cheap and simple process; however, there are dangers. / This is a cheap and simple process. However, there are dangers.
第二個句子中 thus 是副詞,同樣不能當連詞用,因此句子要改成:
Most of the evidence was destroyed in the fire. Thus it would be almost impossible to prove him guilty. / Most of the evidence was destroyed in the fire; thus it would be almost impossible to prove him guilty.
此外,在日期寫法中的逗號使用也要注意規範。如果日期格式是 month day, year 則中間需要加逗號(例如 April 21, 2017),如果是 day month year 則不需要加逗號(例如 21 April 2017)。值得注意的一點是 month day, year 這種日期寫法全世界只有美國一家有,網際網路上甚至還有不少文章在討論為什麼美國人會使用這麼奇怪的日期格式:
漢語中書名號《》可以用來標明書名、文章名、報刊名等等,但英文中沒有漢語書名號的寫法。在英文中,標明書籍、報刊、戲劇、電影、繪畫作品等名稱時, 通常採用斜體、下劃線、引號、黑體或黑體基礎上的下劃線。比如
In his remarkable new book, Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future, Peter Thiel comes off as a brilliant young man with a tendency toward exaggeration.
在英文寫作中要避免出現漢語書名號,諸如《The Economist》,《All the Light We Cannot See》這樣的寫法都是錯誤的。
3.破折號,連線號,連字元
英語中也有和漢語類似的“破折號”,我們稱為 Em dash(—),它的長度等於大寫字母M,主要用於將特定的概念從一個句子的主要從句中分離出來,或者分隔一個插入的想法或從句,比如:
But such shortcomings—and South Africa’s failings since his retirement from active politics—pale into insignificance when set against the magnitude of his overall achievement.
除了破折號Em dash 之外,還有連線號En dash (–),它的長度等於大寫字母N,是 Em dash 的一半,主要用於連線數字表示起止範圍(比如1:00–2:00 p.m.),以及表示兩者之間的關係和聯絡(比如 Boston–Hartford route)。
此外,還有連字號Hyphen (-),它主要用於行末單詞換行以及連線複合詞的各個組成部分(比如 20-year-old son)。
4.省略號
英語和漢語中的省略號在書寫上不同,漢語省略號一般為六點,且位置在中間(……),英語省略號只有三點,且位置在下邊,即( ... ),在寫英文時記得不要混淆,類似這樣的用法:
Resilient Ireland, booming South Sudan, tumultuous Turkey: our country of the year is……
要改為:
Resilient Ireland, booming South Sudan, tumultuous Turkey: our country of the year is...
5.縮略符
在考場作文以及學術論文寫作中要避免使用縮略符的表達法,即 What's more,I'll 這類縮寫要還原為完整形式( a manager's job 這類所有格形式除外)。類似下面這樣的句子:
People who can't afford to go to the theatre or concerts can afford to go to football matches.
要改為:
People who cannot afford to go to the theatre or concerts can afford to go to football matches.
以上是英語標點符號使用的幾點注意事項,對於寫作中不確定的標點符號用法,可以多查查語法書和維基百科,爭取完全掌握標點符號用法。