1. period is used when a sentence is completely finished.
2. The period can also be used for abbreviations of English words, such as Mrs, Dr, P.S, etc. But be careful not to use a period when abbreviations form a word. Such as IBM, DNA and so on.
? question mark
Question marks should be used in direct questions, not indirect questions.
For example, how would you solve the problem? Is the correct usage, but is it used in I wonder how you will solve this problem? That is wrong. You should use a period instead of a question mark.
In addition, in polite language, a period is also used instead of a question mark.
Please give me a call tomorrow.
! exclamation mark
Exclamation marks are used for exclamation and exclamation, so we should pay attention to the application of exclamation marks in business writing, because improper use will appear abrupt and unstable.
; semicolon
1. Like Chinese, semicolons are used to separate independent clauses with equal status. In some cases, using semicolons can show the close relationship between clauses better than using periods. In addition, semicolons are often used with connective adverbs thus, how and there (before these words). For example, I realize that I need to exercise; However, I will lie down and think about it first.
2. If commas are used in the sentence, to avoid ambiguity, semicolons are used to separate similar contents. For example, the employee is the manager Tom Hanks; Engineer Jim White; And Dr. Jack Lee.
It should be noted that a complete sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. When writing English, replacing periods, semicolons, colons or dashes with commas is called "comma error", which is exactly what China students should avoid.
Compare the following examples:
It's raining hard, so they can't work in the fields.
(Note: The underlined parts in the above sentences are two different subjects, and the sentences before and after the comma are complete-they can represent a complete meaning by themselves. Therefore, the use of commas violates the rule that a sentence can only have one set of trunks in English. )
Positive: it's raining heavily; They can't work in the fields.
It's raining hard. They can't work in the fields.
It's raining so hard that they can't work in the fields.
Because it is raining hard, they can't work in the fields.
It's raining hard, so they can't work in the fields.
As it is raining hard, they can't work in the fields.
Error: This article is poorly organized and has no central idea.
Positive: the essay is poorly organized; No central idea.
This article is poorly organized: it has no central idea.
: colon
1. colon is used to introduce or explain the following, such as this is her plan: going shopping.
2. Colons are used before lists, especially vertical lists.
We transferred three employees to the new branch:
Tony Wang to new york.
Mike Jackson went to Tokyo
Marc forster goes to Paris.
When the list is horizontal, the colon should be used after a complete sentence. For example, we need seven people: three students, three engineers and one professor.
3. The colon is used before the official quotation. As the professor said, "It's really scary."
A colon can also be used after the address of a business letter or formal letter, such as Dear Mr. Li (In American English, the address of a letter or speech is followed by a colon, while in British English, a comma is often used. )
5. Colons are used to indicate numerical time, such as 16:45 or 4: 45 pm.
6. Colons are used between main headings and subheadings, such as Web Directory: World and Non-American Economic Data.
, comma
1. comma is used to separate a series of simple contents, such as I'm going to Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen.
2. Commas are used to modify nouns between adjectives, such as a small and chic bicycle.
3. Commas are used to connect two long independent clauses, each with a different subject. For example, the Grizzlies ran out of time and Miller missed a desperate three-pointer when the time expired.
Use commas between related clauses. If he is your brother, please take good care of him.
Comma is used after long modifier phrases, for example, in the coldest winter on record, the pipe froze.
6. Commas are used before direct speech sentences, such as Mary saying, "Let's go fishing." (Note: The colon mentioned here is not for direct reference. If you quote a more formal speech, you should use colons, usually commas. )
If the sentence contains indirect quotations, there is no need for commas, for example, Mary said we should go fishing.
Use commas before rhetorical questions,
He works hard, doesn't he?
The above are common punctuation marks. Here are some punctuation marks that are not commonly used.
-hyphen
Hyphenation is mainly used after some prefixes (such as self-, ex- and all-) to form compound words.
For example: ex-husband (ex-husband), brand-new (brand-new), poorly dressed (ragged)
I have 40,000 to 50,000 dollars.
I want to get a full-year or half-year lease for the apartment.
When two or more compound words are used together, and the part after the hyphen of each compound word is the same, the same part of each compound word only appears once, and it should be leased for a whole year or half a year.
2. Used to distinguish the same etymology
3. When repeated letters or too many vowels appear in a compound word, which makes reading difficult, you can use hyphens to separate the prefix from the root. Non-nuclear, reusable and semi-independent
4. Form some compound numbers (in English writing, numbers below 100 should be written in English words, not Arabic numerals).
1949- 1999 from 2 1
Sometimes, fractions used as nouns can be separated by hyphens, but all participles used as adjectives must be connected by hyphens. For example, a quarter [or a quarter] of the respondents.
5. When a part of a word needs to be moved, a hyphen is usually used to break the word between syllables (for example, ha-ppy, which cannot be broken into hap-py ...), or according to pronunciation, don't leave a single letter at the end or beginning of a line. Note that the last word on one page cannot be hyphenated on two pages.
() brackets
1. Numbers and letters (such as (1), (2), etc.) indicating the order of the table. )
2. Used to indicate inserted or additional explanatory elements. This inserted element can be a word, phrase or sentence. However, it should be noted that parentheses will weaken the emphasis, so if you want to emphasize the inserted sentence elements, you should use dashes.
They may take a walk together (remember their feet) and see their neighbors with fresh and new eyes.
""""quotation marks
Quotes are divided into single quotes and double quotes. Single quotation marks are only used for another direct speech contained in one direct speech.
1. stands for direct speech. When the direct quotation is more than four lines or more than 40 words, quotation marks are generally not used, but bold characters are used to make the boundary with other parts of the article clear.
"Well," the foreigner said to him, "you look like an engineer."
Periods and commas must be enclosed in quotation marks (double quotation marks and single quotation marks).
He told the gunman, "I refuse to do that"; However, when he said these words, his knees were shaking.
She calls this activity schedule her "load": work, study, exercise, entertainment and sleep.
Colons and semicolons must be enclosed in quotation marks.
The teacher asked, "Can you understand me"?
Did the teacher ask "Are they gone?"?
Did the teacher ask, "Are they gone?"
The frightened girl screamed, "Help"!
The guy just said, "I'm sorry!" "
He interrupted me, "Now, listen"-go on.
Question marks, exclamation points and dashes are sometimes placed inside quotation marks and sometimes outside nicknames. If the quoted content itself is a question or an exclamatory sentence or has a dash, the question mark, exclamation point or dash are generally put in quotation marks. Otherwise, put it outside quotation marks.
2. Indicate the titles of short publications, such as magazines, newspaper articles, short poems, short stories and a chapter of the whole book.
Have you read The Old Man and the Sea?
The third chapter is entitled "Internet"
3. The words used have special meanings. In addition, when slang appears in more formal articles, it will also be quoted, indicating that it intends to change the style of writing.
The report contains the facts of the case.
The speaker owns a "weight loss farm" in California, which costs $2,500 a week to lose weight for the gluttonous rich.
4. Used to express words that attract readers' attention or special words that readers are not familiar with.
Whenever someone says "thank you", it is customary to say "welcome"
"SOS" is a distress signal sent by a ship or plane when it is in danger.
... omitted
No matter whether this ellipsis appears at the beginning, middle or end of a sentence, it indicates the omission of a word.
1. indicates ellipsis in direct speech.
Marx wrote ... in a word, man's consciousness changes with every change of his material living conditions.
The ellipsis and period after the sentence should be written as four black dots on a straight line. The first three black dots indicate ellipsis, and the last black dot indicates a period.
2. Express hesitation or hesitation when speaking.
"If that's what you think ... go back to school," he said.
3. A whole line of black dots should be used to indicate the omission of a paragraph or a whole line of words.
Apostrophe or provincial font size
1. constitutes the possessive case of a noun.
Let my son rest.
A moment's book
Three weeks' salary
2. Represents the plural form of words, letters, numbers, symbols, etc.
Don't use so many and in the sentence.
How many fives do you have?
This is different from the plural form of ordinary words. Formal writing must begin with "",and remember these rules.
In addition to the abbreviated form of verbs, it also indicates the omission of one or more letters and numbers.
I see. "Yes, madam," said the waiter.
Note: A considerable number of omitted words are used in spoken language and should not appear in written language. I am willing (I am willing to write in written language)
Underline and italics
Italic is a unique way of writing in English, but it has the function of punctuation, just like underline.
1. Used under the names of trains, planes, ships and spaceships.
Challenger (aircraft) Apollo 9 (spacecraft)
2. Used under the title of books, newspapers, magazines, long poems, movies and compositions with a certain thickness.
Have you read Gone with the Wind?
In writing, if the title of a novel is printed in italics, it should be underlined.
Washington Post times magazine
3. Represents a foreign word or phrase that is not commonly used or accepted in English. But the animal and plant subjects in loanwords must be represented by the bottom line.
In Korea, his longing for 6 1 birthday is called "the beginning of a new life"
Sweet life.
4. Emphasize some words in the article to attract readers' attention, which is equivalent to bullets in Chinese (that is, add a black dot under the emphasized Chinese characters).
Differences between Chinese and English punctuation marks
The punctuation marks currently used in Chinese are drawn from the western punctuation system, which not only retains the main characteristics of western punctuation, but also has the characteristics suitable for Chinese. Therefore, there are some differences in punctuation between Chinese and English.
Some punctuation marks in Chinese are not found in English.
(1) pause (,): pause plays a role in dividing coordinate components in sentences in Chinese; There is no pause in English, and commas are often used as coordinate elements in clauses.
She moved the box slowly, carefully and carefully.
Note: In similar situations, and can be added after the last comma, and this comma can also be omitted-she moves the box slowly and carefully (,) and subtly.
⑵ Title (): There is no title in English, and the titles of books and newspapers are indicated in italics or underlined.
For example, Hamlet/Hamlet "Hamlet"
Winter Story/Winter Story "Winter Fairy Tale"
The New York Times/new york Times The New York Times
In addition, the names of articles, poems, music, movies, paintings, vehicles, spacecraft and other proper nouns in English are often expressed in italics.
⑶ Interval number (): There are interval numbers in Chinese, which are used among words that need to be separated, such as "December 9th" and "Audrey Hepburn". There are no Chinese interval symbols in English, so commas are often used when intervals are needed.
(4) Bullets: Chinese sometimes uses solid dots under words to indicate words that need to be emphasized. These solid dots are bullets. However, there is no such symbol in English. When you need to emphasize some elements, you can use italics, some emphasized words, special sentence patterns, punctuation pauses and other methods.
Some punctuation marks in English are not found in Chinese.
(1) apostrophe-apostrophe (')
(2) hyphen-hyphen (-)
⑶ slash symbol-virgule or slash (/): This symbol mainly plays the role of division, for example, it can be used for employees and/or students. It is also often used for phonetic notation, such as bed /bed/.
3. Some symbols have different forms in Chinese and English.
(1) The period in Chinese is a hollow circle (. )
The period in English is a solid dot (. ).
② The ellipsis in English is three dots (...), which are located at the bottom of the line;
Six points in Chinese (...), living in the industry.
(3) The dash in English is (-)
Chinese is (-)
Common Punctuation Errors of Students in China
(1) Incorrect pause, title, period and ellipsis. Comparing Chinese and English punctuation marks, we can see that there are no Chinese pauses, titles, periods and ellipsis in English punctuation marks. These four punctuation marks have become frequently quoted symbols in college English writing.
For example:
[Error] 1. While she was reading Gone with the Wind, I was cooking.
[Error] 2. My sister bought me a lot of fruits, such as bananas, oranges, apples and pears.
In English, the names of books, newspapers, plays, movies, paintings, etc. It is expressed in italics in printed form and in italics in written or typed text; Comma is often used instead of colon in English; And the period is indicated by solid black dots.
Therefore, the above two sentences should be changed to:
[revised] 1. While she was reading Gone with the Wind, I was cooking.
Or when she was watching Gone with the Wind, I was cooking.
[Modification] 2. My sister bought me a lot of fruits, such as bananas, oranges, apples and pears.
Also, the ellipsis in English is actually the juxtaposition of three periods. Many students often mispronounce English ellipsis as six points because of the influence of Chinese.
(2) The colon is wrong. Colons are punctuation marks in both Chinese and English. In Chinese, a colon is a pause after a suggestive speech. It is often used after verbs such as "say, say, talk, ask, sing, answer, shout and roar" to indicate who said the following words.
This usage affects the punctuation of the following English sentences:
[Error] 3. I thought to myself, "What kind of trap is Salaying?"
[Error] 4. He asked, "Where are you from?"
In both cases, colons need to be represented by English commas. The colon in Chinese can also be used to prompt "such as time" as follows "such as" like "to cause the following. In English expressions, words like "for example" are often followed by commas instead of colons.
[Error] 5. Good manners can be seen in daily life. For example, a polite person is kind and helpful.
[Modification] 5. Good manners can be seen in daily life. For example, a polite person is kind and helpful.
(3) The dash is incorrect. In Chinese, dashes represent the explanatory part of the text, and English appositives also have the same explanatory function, so it is not uncommon to use dashes to connect appositive components in English writing. For example:
6. We study and live in a famous university-Peking University.
6. We study and live in Peking University, a famous university.
For appositives, English generally uses commas instead of dashes. The use of dashes in English is far less abundant than that in Chinese.
In college English writing, punctuation errors related to grammar knowledge mainly include:
(1) Understand non-restrictive attributive clauses as restrictive attributive clauses and ignore commas. For example:
[Error] 7. We were taken into the nearest cloth shop, which was divided into two parts.
Judging from the meaning of the clause, the last sentence is a non-restrictive attributive clause, so a comma should be added after shop, and that should be changed to which accordingly:
7. We were led into the nearest cloth shop, which was divided into two parts.
(2) Adverbial clauses are separated by commas wherever they are in the whole sentence.
[Error] 8. If it is fine tomorrow, we will go there.
Adverbial clauses can be placed at the beginning or end of a sentence. When placed at the beginning of a sentence, it is generally separated by punctuation marks; When it is placed at the end of the sentence, it is not necessary to separate it from the main sentence, so the above sentence should be changed to:
[Amendment] 8. If it is fine tomorrow, we will go there. If it is fine tomorrow, we will go there.
(3) Use a question mark after the declarative sentence of the question.
[Error] 9. What fun can we girls expect, staying in the same class and studying with them for four years? I want to know.
[Modification] 9. I wonder what fun we girls can expect, staying in the same class and studying with them for four years.
English interrogative sentences can be expressed not only by question marks, but also by word order. So the problem in the above example can be represented by commas.
(4) Mistreating adverbs such as how, there, because, and so on as coordinate conjunctions leads to comma splicing errors in writing.
[Error] 10. She thinks what the teacher pointed out is right, but she doesn't care anyway.
Two complete sentences or two compound sentences cannot be separated by commas, but they can be decorated with periods and semicolons, or they can be followed by coordinate conjunctions (and, but, or, for, so, nor, yet).
Therefore, the above example can be changed to:
[Amendment] 10. She thinks what the teacher pointed out is right. Anyway, she doesn't care about this. Or she thinks what the teacher pointed out is right; Anyway, she doesn't care. Or she thinks what the teacher pointed out is right, but she doesn't care.
(5) Compared with comma splicing, many students seldom consider the logical relationship between sentences. A comma connects the beginning and the end, which leads to many fused sentences. For example:
[Error] 1 1. Young people like blue jeans. They always wear them.
[modified] 1 1. Young men like blue jeans; They wear them all the time.
Or young men like blue jeans. They wear them all the time.
Or young men like blue jeans, and they always wear them.
Or young men like blue jeans; They wear them all the time.
Or because young men like blue jeans, they always wear them.
(6) Use and instead of comma between two coordinate adjectives.
[Error] 12. Through the window, there is a large green field in front of me, which reminds me of the small clearing where I spent my lonely and hard childhood.
Modern English expressions generally do not use and between two adjectives, but are separated by commas.
[Modify] 12. Through the window, there is a large green field in front of me, which reminds me of the small clearing where I spent my lonely and difficult childhood.
Punctuation errors caused by stylistic dislocation. English writing is the output of written language. The characteristics of its written language require it to be different from spoken language. A large number of contracts in spoken language should be avoided as much as possible in written language. However, many students use the provincial font size (') in their written compositions, and almost 1/3' s compositions have stylistic loopholes, which cannot be tolerated by the development of modern English. For example:
1. I am willing to share my happiness with you. (I do)
2.。 You can't do that. (You can't)
3.。 There are so many beautiful toys for me to choose from. (Yes)
Other errors:
(1) Wrong quotation mark.
[Error] 13. "No pains, no gains." If you.
[Modify] 13. As the saying goes, "No pains, no gains."
In English, short quotations are separated from the words "so-and-so" prompted by the author by commas and placed in quotation marks. You can't omit the prompt "so-and-so" and quote it directly.
[Error] 14. Glaring at this article entitled "Why not more?" Dr Jefferson frowned thoughtfully.
[Modify] 14. Glaring at this article entitled "Why not have more? Dr Jefferson frowned thoughtfully.
Many students are confused about the punctuation positions such as quotation marks in the above example, and are not clear about the following common methods: periods and commas must be put in quotation marks; Colons and semicolons must be placed outside quotation marks; If the quoted content itself is a question or an exclamatory sentence, generally put the question mark and exclamation mark in quotation marks, otherwise put the question mark and exclamation mark outside quotation marks.
(2) There is a comma error in the date in the day-month-year series. English dates can be expressed in the order of month-day-year and day-month-year, with commas between day and year and no commas between month and year. For example, "13 August 2002" was wrongly written as "13 August 2002".
(3) Add commas after some adverbs, such as "maybe" and "so". For example:
[Error] 16. Maybe, I won't have such a good chance again.
Therefore, they now keep in touch only by writing letters and making phone calls.
The way to modify the above two sentences is to remove the comma in the sentence.
(4) hyphenation error. Many English learners often use hyphens to derive words at will, such as writing "boyfriend" as "boy-friend"; "Middle school" is written as "middle -school". When the words at the end of the line have branches, there are many mistakes in the use of conjunctions. On the contrary, if the proper hyphen is accidentally deleted, its meaning may be very different.
For example, one year, the US government listed some goods imported duty-free, one of which was foreign fruit. Later, due to the negligence of typists, it became a foreign fruit plant. As a result, in the second year, a large number of fruits, such as oranges and grapes, flooded into the American market from all over the world duty-free, which caused the American government to lose about $2 million that year.