# 逗号

# 有用的逗号

• 连接独立从句之前的连词

  and, but, for, nor, or, yet, so

  He never worked, for his father had left him a fortune. （避免误解为 work for his father）

  两处例外： 1. 当连接词连接 heavily punctuated clauses，用分号代替逗号 2. 如果从句很短而且与前文关系紧密，则不用

• 在相邻的平行项

  逗号应该跟随每个 item，除了最后一个

  The agency lists openings in publishing, broadcasting, advertising**, and** public relations.

• 在附加说明周围的元素

  一般成对出现

  The current five-year expansion program**,** culminating in approximately 100 building materials supermarts by the end of fiscal 1980**,** is continuing on schedule.

  两个逗号连接起了被切割分离的主语和谓语

  • 非限制性修饰语

    The Yucatan, which offers beaches as well as ruins, is a popular vacation area.

    • 限制性 和 非限制性强调部分不一样

      Gray, a popular color this season, is not becoming to me.

      The color gray is not becoming to me. 灰色不适合我

    • 副词短语和句子

      不加逗号，意思可能会变

      You should water the plants, as Jim suggested.

      You should water the plants as Jim suggested.

      当 since、because 前置词为否定动词时，忽略逗号意思变化会非常多

      Employees are not shirking their responsibilities, as the editorial states.

      Employees are not shirking their responsibilities as the editorial states.

  • 填充语及其他可删除元素

    非限制性修饰词和其他 by-the-way 的句子均需要封闭的逗号

    感叹词 well, yes, oh 直接表示某个人的名字 darling, stupid, Senator, Pat, Mom

    过渡语 on the other hand, to begin with 插入语 perhaps, incidentally, I believe

    逗号应该引出一个替代或对比的短语来美化其他单词，但同时不能有其他含义

    有些句子添加逗号会更改句子原意

      A poor but happy person is hard to find.

    但有些特殊结构必须添加逗号，一个与句子剩余部分完全无关的名词和其修饰语

      We will be there, weather permitting, by six on Saturday.

  • 中断语

    当一个次要元素中断了句子的语义表达，则必须使用逗号引出

      She was interested in, but also apprehensive about, the new project.

    在动词与主语之间的限制性修饰语往往是必须的，无须添加逗号

      The wheel that squeaks gets the grease.

  • 介绍性修饰语

    当一个句子中，主语在动词之前，那么我们需要在它的一个副词 / 形容词短语或句子前添加逗号。

      Running toward us, the man was shouting something and waving a newspaper.

• 在句子易被误解的位置

  虽然简短的介绍性从句，逗号是可选的。但如果从句以动词结尾，则需要添加逗号，避免主语成为从句动词的直接宾语。

    If he enjoys driving, a car would make an ideal graduation gift.

  如果连接词容易让读者误以为两者并列，则添加逗号。

    I expected them to be selected, and prepared for this eventuality.

  有时改句子比插入一个预防性的逗号更好。

    The obsession leads the candidate to solicit and accept money from those most able to provide it, and to adjust his behavior in office to the need for money.

  逗号会让人误以为 to provide 和 to adjust 并列，替换修改如下

    The obsession leads the candidate to solicit and accept money from those most capable of providing it and to adjust his behavior in office to the need for money.

• 在特殊的上下文结构中

  month-day-year

    November 13, 1972, that …

  after the addressee, the street, and the city

    Send applications to L.H. Dreher, 506 High Street, Cranford, NJ07016.

  连续使用同一个单词时

    He says that what provisions there are, are hardly enough for six weeks, but i doubt that that’s true.

  用逗号代替省略

    The first guests to arrive brought champagne; the second, flowers; and the third, dessert; the first had spend a lot of money, the others very little.

# 有害的逗号

逗号不应分割主语和动词，动词和宾语，宾语和介词，形容词以及其修饰的名词

对于相关的组合，也不能用逗号切分。例如 *both . . . and, neither . . . nor, either . . . or, not only . . . but also。* 除非这些相关词在一个独立从句之前

not only . . . but also 连接的是对等元素， 而 not-but 则是对比两者，所以适用不同的标点规则

  I go to Los Angeles about six times a year, not because I enjoy the city, but because I have business there.

若否定与肯定同等重要，则可省略逗号

# 可任意使用的逗号

• 在简单的介绍性短语或句子后

  By 1952(,) he was ready to forsake the literary life for a steady job.

  In the afternoon(,) the committee reconvened.

• 在过渡副词及类似的插入语后

  therefore, accordingly, indeed, certainly, of course

  如果想强调副词的话，可以添加逗号，因为副词会打断句子的连贯性

    I should (,) perhaps(,) add that we have no investments in that country.

• 在连接短而密切相关的独立从句之前

  一般可选，除非避免歧义

  The sun is up(,) and the birds are singing.

• 在连接意义或形式不同的短语、从句的连接词之前

• 在连词和介绍性的修饰语之间

  We can speed up the schedule, but**,** as I explained at the outset, a rush job will increase your costs.

  修饰语和连词没有直接关联，所以需要加逗号区分，否则会产生误解

• 在 that 之后，插入的修饰语之前

  The teacher told the students that, if they failed to complete any of the three major assignments, they would fail the course.

# 总结

1. 使用逗号

   • 在连接独立从句的连词前 He never worked, for his father had left him a fortune.

   • 在并列元素之间 The agency lists openings in publishing, broadcasting, advertising*, and** public relations.*

   • 在附加元素前后（非必要 / 破坏性的元素 异位修饰词）

     1. 非限制性形容词、副词、从句 The Yucatan, which offers beaches as well as ruins, is a popular vacation area.

     2. 任何其他对于句子基本结构多余的元素 You should water the plants, as Jim suggested.

     3. 插入语，打破了句子结构 She was interested in, but also apprehensive about, the new project.

     4. 介绍性修饰语 Running toward us, the man was shouting something and waving a newspaper.

   • 在必须分开以避免误解的邻近元素中 If he enjoys driving, a car would make an ideal graduation gift.

   • 特殊上下文

     1. month-day-year order November 13, 1972, that …
     2. 地址、街道、小镇、邮编 Send applications to L.H. Dreher, 506 High Street, Cranford, NJ07016.
     3. 同一个词连续使用，若有必要
     4. 省略 The first guests to arrive brought champagne; the second, flowers; and the third, dessert; the first had spend a lot of money, the others very little.
     5. 在跟在合适名称后的标题 / 缩写前后
     6. 在所有 the more . . . the merrier 结构中，除非他们特别简短
     7. 在直接引用和 say 动词间 She said, “xxx”. “I promised I would,” I replied.
     8. 在未加引号的直接问句前 The question we have to ask is, By what criteria do we determine our priorities?

2. 不使用逗号

   • 与结构相关的元素之间，主谓宾

   • 并列连词前，除非是最后一项 A and B

   • 相匹配的一对，除非两者是单独的句子 either . . . or

   • 以形容词为首的逆序语句

   • 在限制性修饰语前后

3. 可用可不用

   • 在一个简单的状语短语或从句之后，其在全句的主语之前

     In the afternoon(,) I play game.

   • 在常规放置的过渡副词和类似词之前和之后，可以不显眼地融入句子中

     therefore, accordingly, indeed, certainly, of course

     You would(,) therefore(,) have a stake in the outcome.

   • 在并列连词加入短而密切相关的独立从句之前

     The sun is up(,) and the birds are singing.

   • 在并列连词之前加入形式或重点不同或涉及决定性思维中断的从句元素

     We can speed up the schedule, but, as I explained at the outset, a rush job will increase your costs.

   • 在打断 that 从句的限制性状语修饰语之前，将连词与主语分开

     The teacher told the students that, if they failed to complete any of the three major assignments, they would fail the course.

# 分号；

分号只有两个必要的功能：1）分离不以连词连接的紧密从句 2）区分每一项内部的逗号

• 许多有名的 “逗号使用错误” 或 “逗号拼接” 都是那些并未通过 and, but, for, nor, or, yet, so 连接的句子

  逗号使用错误示例，应该用分号：

    Students exhaust themselves during exam week**,** many of them stay up for days.

    They considered taking the product off the market**,** its prospects looked bleak.

• 当有三个及以上的独立句子时，使用逗号是合法的。

    Mary claimed that she had been reading in her room, the vicar said that he had been working in his study, and John refused to account for his whereabouts.

• 当第二个句子是对第一个句子思想的完善补充，可以用逗号。

    It is true, isn’t it?

    It’s not only a pity, it’s a crime.

• 相似但不相同的句子间，应该使用分号。

    They had to stop finally; they were exhausted.

• 当并列连词连接一个句子，特别是其内部存在逗号的情况下，需要用分号。

    Although the cafe specializes in vegetarian dishes, it offers a few fish entrees, including lemon sole, smoked eel, and scampi; and these three, some food critics claim, rival comparable dishes at the best seafood restaurants.

如果不想用分号，就需要避免生成复杂的语句序列。

# 冒号:

• 通常，冒号用来引入一段正式的说明、引用、例子、或者刚刚说过的解释。

    To solve the problem, use the Pythagorean theorem: The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

# 破折号和括号

• 像一对逗号一样，一对破折号或者一对括号都包括了附属说明的元素。但后两者是更强的停顿。

    My old dog—the whole neighborhood remembers him—always whined outside a closed door.

    If you practice diligently (teachers recommend at least four hours a day), you can be giving recitals within a year.

• 如果附属元素含有内部逗号，则需要用到破折号或者括号。

• 成对的括号是用来引出附属说明的元素，而单个破折号则是介绍总结前面的术语。

    Skill, courage, stamina, and heart—all these qualities are essential if the team is going to finish on top.
    Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon—our presidents during the Vietnam years still await the definitive judgment of history.

• 正式写作时，破折号还可取代冒号来引入解释或例子。相当于 namely 或 that is

    Paul stressed three virtues—faith, hope, and charity.