英文稿件中常用标点符号的使用

焦维棉

（河北教育出版社，河北 石家庄 050061）

英文稿件中常用标点符号的使用

焦维棉

（河北教育出版社，河北 石家庄 050061）

作为标明句读和语气的符号，标点符号是书面语的重要组成部分。英文标点在形式、功能和用法方面和中文标点有很多差异，使用不当就会出现造成语义的表达不清，出现编校甚至知识性错误。本文就英文中常用的句号、问号、逗号、冒号等标点符号的使用及容易出现的一些问题做了比较详尽的说明。

英文；标点符号；用法；编校

随着我国对外开放的不断深入，编辑出版涉及到的英文稿件越来越多，在加工英文稿件经常会碰到英文标点的使用问题。英文标点在形式、功能和用法方面和中文标点有很多差异，且英文标点的使用比中文标点的使用要严格很多，在编校英文稿件中对标点符号使用不当就会出现造成语义的表达不清，出现编校甚至知识性错误。现就编校中句号、问号、感叹号、逗号、冒号、分号、破折号的使用及容易出现的一些问题等梳理如下。

一、常用英文标点符号

二、英文标点符号与中文标点符号的主要区别

1.外形不同的标点。

（1）英文的句号是实心点（.）；中文的句号是空心圈（。）。

（2）英文中的破折号短（-），中文的破折号（——）。

（3）英文的省略号位于下标，三个点（...）；中文的居于行中，六个点（……）。

例如：Jim：Hmm... Wednesday is not good for me.

2.中文独有而英文中没有的标点。

英文中没有顿号（、）、间隔号（·）、书名号（中文中的《》）等。英文书名、电影、戏剧、文章、报刊等用斜体表示。例如：

（1）Jenny read a novel called Jane Eyre.

（2）And some movies，like Titanic，can take years to make and cost a lot of money.

（3）My group wrote a play called The Fisherman and the Goldfish.

（4）Eugene O’Neill wrote serious plays on the problems of life in New England. The Hairy Ape，Desire under the Elms，and Mourning Becomes Electra are the best known of these.

3.英文中独有而中文中没有的标点。

撇号：Apostrophe（’）、连字号：Hyphen（-）、斜线号：Virgule or Slash（/）等标点只在英文中使用，中文中没有相应的标点符号。

三、几种常见英文标点的用法

我们先来看一下这段文字：Save water！Did you know that a leaky toilet can waste 20 to 40 litres of water an hour？In a year，that would fill a large swimming pool！In environment clubs，students fix leaky toilets and sinks.

以上文字每个句子或以句号、或以问号、或以感叹号来结束。根据英语的语法规则：“书面上的句子必须以大写字母开头，并以句号（．）、问号（？）或者感叹号（！）结尾。”也就是说一个完整的句子总是以大写字母开始，以句末标点符号结束。英文句末标点符号包括句号、问号和感叹号。下面就三个句末符号以及逗号、冒号等常见用法做一简要介绍。

（一）句号

英文中使用句号的频率大大多于中文中的句号使用。这是由其两种语言的不同特点所决定的。英文中，在一个完整的陈述句的最后必定使用句号，如：

（1）My name is Michael，and I live in Canada. There is a pond near my house. During the winter it freezes，and I can play hockey on it with my friends. In Canada，many people like hockey.

（2）Hawking was confined to a wheelchair. However，he found both comfort，and a reason to live in his future wife Jane Wilde.

（二）问号

英文中问号的使用同中文相同，用在问句后面。例如：

Brian：I think travelling is a good way to learn geography. Have you ever been abroad，Danny？

Danny：Yes. Jenny and I have been to China twice.

【编校小贴士】

问号必须用在直接的问句后面，而非间接的问句后面。如：

（错误）I always wonder what life would be like without computers or mobile phones？

（正确）I always wonder what life would be like without computers or mobile phones.

此句为复合句，虽然里面含了一个问句，但是句子主体是陈述句，故而不能用问号结尾。又如：

（错误）We knew what fun we could expect when one of those envelopes arrived？

（正确）We knew what fun we could expect when one of those envelopes arrived.

（三）感叹号

顾名思义，感叹句带有强烈的感情色彩，一般用在感叹句及祈使句句尾，表示感叹、赞赏、强调、呼吁、决心、命令等。例如：

（1）Jenny：Wow！How exciting！I don’t have any big plans for this weekend.（感叹句）

（2）Danny：Hold on，Debbie！Don’t fall off！（祈使句）

【编校小贴士】

感叹句除了用于以上两种句型，还可用于陈述句或者疑问句后面，生动表现说话人说话时的强烈的情感，加强语气。例如：

Peter felt so happy. After school，he told Krista the good news.“I made it！”he said.“It’s all because of your help！Thank you so much！”

上句中“I made it！”“It’s all because of your help！”“Thank you so much！”三句话虽然不是标准的感叹句型，但是说话者带有非常强的感情色彩，感叹号表示强调、赞赏。

（四）逗号

逗号主要用于语意的停顿，在英文中，逗点的主要用法如下。

1.分隔并列的词汇、短语或从句。例如：

（1）We meet at the school theatre every Monday，Wednesday and Friday.

（2）I often read English storybooks，magazines and newspapers.

（3）It is always sunny here，and we have lots of beaches.

（4）English only has 26 letters，but those 26 letters can make a lot of words.

2.用于较长的修饰短语之后。例如：

（1）Kim，from Grade 7，won first place in four events.

（2）Every lunch hour，since arriving at his new school，Sam sat alone in the dining hall.

（3）In 1963，Hawking’s life changed dramatically when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease，a disease that affects the body’s mobility.

（4）In Mexico，the butterflies always return to the same small piece of forest，which is only 20 kilometres wide.

3.直接引用的句子之前。例如：

（1）One day，God said to Noah，“There are too many bad people in the world，so I will send a great flood. Everyone will die—all except you and your family.”

（2）The perfect motto for this shop would be，“Take what you need.Give what you can.We trust you！”

4.分隔句首状语，用于状语从句或很长的短语与主句之间。例如：

（1）On the first day of school，something terrible happened.

（2）With friends，we make ourselves.

（3）Whether the sayings are in Chinese，English，or any other language，they share something in common.

5.分隔附加问句或类似的词或短语。例如：

（1）It’s a nice day today，isn’t it？

（2）Your home is a safe place，right？

（3）Ms.Cox said we could write a story or a poem，right？

【编校小贴士】

1.英文中没有顿号（、）标点。中文中使用顿号来分割句子中的并列成分，英文中多用逗号。例如：

（1）Choose a type of ad—TV，bus，magazine，newspaper or Internet.

（2）No matter what you have，a computer，a tablet，a laptop，an e-reader or a real book，keep on reading！

而连接词汇或短语一般不在and之前使用逗号。例如：

（1）（错误）It connects Europe，and Asia.

（正确）It connects Europe and Asia.

（2）（错误）Turkey is modern and old，rich，and poor.

（正确）Turkey is modern and old，rich and poor.

2.限定定语从句前后均不用逗号，而非限制性定语从句前必须用逗点。例如：

（1）（错误）I guess that people，who know how to communicate well with others，are happier and more satisfied with their lives.

（正确）I guess that people who know how to communicate well with others are happier and more satisfied with their lives.

（2）（错误）Recently I saw a movie called The Chronicles of Narnia which is based on a series of novels.

（正确）Recently I saw a movie called The Chronicles of Narnia，which is based on a series of novels.

3.“however”作为副词使用时，要注意避免逗号粘连错误。例如：

（错误）These suggestions can make your product really shine，however，good quality is the most important thing.

（正确）These suggestions can make your product really shine. However，good quality is the most important thing.

我们可以区别“however”作为连词的用法：

His field of study，however，is very theoretical and is difficult to support with provable experiment or observation.

4.两个完整的句子或两个并列句之间不能简单用逗号分隔，可在逗点后加并列连词，或者断为两句话。例如：

（1）（错误）She doesn’t like the colour，she likes the style.

（正确）She doesn’t like the colour，but she likes the style.

（2）（错误）June had a bad headache，she stayed in bed to rest.

（正确）June had a bad headache，so she stayed in bed to rest.

（3）（错误）In the evening，the dove came back with a green olive branch in its mouth，this meant that land was near and that the danger had passed.

（正确）In the evening，the dove came back with a green olive branch in its mouth. This meant that land was near and that the danger had passed.

5.状语从句根据其在句子中所处的位置决定是否使用逗号。状语从句在句首时，一般要用标点隔开；而在句末时，则不要隔开。例如：

（1）（错误）If each of us does something for the environment all of us will have a better life.

（正确）If each of us does something for the environment，all of us will have a better life.

（2）（错误）People usually take up their first hobby，when they are kids

（正确）People usually take up their first hobby when they are kids

（3）（错误）People will be happy to talk to you，if you are listening carefully.

（正确）People will be happy to talk to you if you are listening carefully.

（五）冒号

冒号用来引起读者注意下文，是一个补充、连贯的符号。冒号多用于对后面内容的介绍或解释。例如：

（1）That day，she learned many more words：mother，father，sister and teacher.

（2）When this happens，remember this：there is no such thing as true failure.

（3）The next day，the giant built a high wall around his garden and put up a notice：DO NOT ENTER！

冒号也经常用于清单之前。例如：

You can interview these people：

·the victim

·the witness

·the doctor

冒号也可用来引出大段引语。例如：

（1）On the way home，Mum told me an old German saying：Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.

（2）NORTH TOWN，Alberta：Thirteen-year-old Ann Brown was hit by a car at 15 Park Road…

冒号还能用来表示数字时间。例如：

（1）The accident happened at about 7：30 a.m.

（2）Detective Monkey thinks the baby was stolen between 9：30 and 10：00 the night before.

【编校小贴士】

要注意区分与中文冒号的使用。在中文中，冒号一般用在“说、问”等动词的后边，提示下面的话是谁说的，还可用在“例如”、“如下”等提示语后边。在英文表达中，以上两种情景常用逗点。例如：

（1）（错误）There are copies of your DNA in every part of your body. For example：your finger has the same DNA as your hair.

（正确）There are copies of your DNA in every part of your body. For example，your finger has the same DNA as your hair.

（2）（错误）Dr. Hu smiled at me and said：“See，I told you it would be OK.”

（正确）Dr. Hu smiled at me and said，“See，I told you it would be OK.”

（六）分号

分号主要用于分隔地位平等的独立子句。分号用来连接两个独立句子，比起逗号，用分号连接的两个句子联系更为紧密。例如：

A jade stone is useless before it is processed；a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.

【编校小贴士】

要注意分号与逗号的区别。分号隔开的是分句，逗号用在独立句子之中。例如：

（1）（错误）This was a group project，if one person didn’t do a good job，it meant the whole group would suffer.

（正确）This was a group project；If one person didn’t do a good job，it meant the whole group would suffer.

（2）（错误）A jade stone is useless before it is processed，a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.

（正确）A jade stone is useless before it is processed；a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.

正如有学者所指出的：同其他标点符号不同，在各种情况下分号都可以用其他标点来代替，因此其使用在逐渐下滑。上述两个例句也可以用其他方式表达：

This was a group project. If one person didn’t do a good

job，it meant the whole group would suffer.

A jade stone is useless before it is processed and a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.

（七）破折号

破折号主要用于强调，意思突然中断、发生转折或者犹豫不决，用法和冒号、分号相似，不如二者正式，但是表达的语气更强。例如：

（1）With a lot of hard work，he found new ways to help people with T.B.—a disease that damages the lungs.

（2）The girl didn’t see the car. And the street was icy—the car couldn’t stop in time.

Bourke-White was fearless and hardworking. When she first began working，few North American women had jobs，as most people thought women should stay at home. But Bourke-White had a job—and it was a dangerous job，too.

【编校小贴士】

1.注意区分英文的破折号与中文的破折号。前者为后者的一半。在加工英文稿件时，不要错用中文的破折号。

（错误）There is no reply—only the sound of the waves crashing on the coast.

（正确）There is no reply—only the sound of the waves crashing on the coast.

2.注意区分英文破折号与连字符（-）。破折号使句子的结构更清晰，英文连字符是将词连接为一体，没有句法功能。

（错 误）These plays have been on stage for many years-and still are today.

（正确）These plays have been on stage for many years—and still are today.

作为标明句读和语气的符号，标点符号是书面语的重要组成部分。而“英语标点符号的使用要比汉语严格得多，汉语作者很多时候可以有较大的自由去使用标点；而英语却不可以。‘英语语法是刚性的，汉语语法是柔性的。’（潘文国 1997：136）正是两种语言的不同特点造成了标点符号使用的差异。英语标点使用要求严格，汉语则较为宽松。”（英汉语翻译与标点符号研究 孙坤）所以我们在书写、编辑加工英文稿件时应该格外注意。

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1674-9324（2014）13-0125-04