Punctuation The semicolon 1 between two coordinate sentences

Punctuation (补充内容)

The semicolon (; ) 1. between two coordinate sentences to make the two parts seem closer, e. g. : (1) No one is born with knowledge; knowledge must be taught and learned. (2) If she married that man, her parents would be unhappy; if she left him, she herself would be unhappy.

The semicolon (; ) 2. between two complex sentences, e. g. : (1) Unfortunately, Wang couldn’t come; and his absence made things difficult for us. (2) Before he came, we had expected him to help us; but when he was with us, he didn’t do much.

The semicolon (; ) 3. to separate a series of items which contain internal commas, e. g. : (1) On the committee are quite a few well -known people; for example, Professor Zhao, Dean of the Normal College; Mr. Han, editor-in-chief of the local evening paper; Miss Xu, a popular actress; and Mr. Hu, Director of the Bureau of Culture.

The semicolon (; ) 4. to join a sentence with a word or words omitted, e. g. : (1) Five students from Class Three won prizes in the competition; two from Class One; none from Class Two. (2)There are four Nobel Prize winners in their university; in our university, none.

Brackets (方括号) 1. to indicate editorial corrections or explanations(引用者改正或说明部分) in quoted matter, e. g. § He wrote: “One great poet of the Song Dynasty [Su Shi] said that in Wang Wei’s poetry there was painting and in his paintings there was poetry. ”

Brackets (方括号) 2. to replace parentheses within parentheses, e. g. • William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White wrote a very useful little book for students learning to write (The Elements of Style [New York: Macmillan, 1972]).

The dash is used: 1. to mark a break in thought or a change in tone, e. g. : § I went through a lot of terrible ordeals(严峻的考验) in those chaotic (disordered) years — but who didn’t? § He might do many good things for the people of the city — if he was elected.

The dash (破折号) 2. to introduce a final summarizing sentence after a series of nouns that refer to the subject of the sentence, e. g. : (1) Poor management, insufficient supply of raw material, and shortage of skilled workers—these were the main causes of the failure of the factory. (2) Father, Mother, John and Susan — all were surprised by my announcement.

The dash (破折号) 3. to indicate an unfinished or interrupted statement, e. g. : (1) “My idea is—” “You want to quit, don’t you? ” (2) “This is really— disappointing. ”

The dash (破折号) 4. to set off a parenthetical element, e. g. : (1) Three countries— Spain, Italy and Hungary—abstained. (2) His old problems— such as asthma and high blood pressure— are still worrying him.