標點符號用法說明
Apostrophe [ ’ ]用於特別的複數：
Please underline the which’s and that’s in this passage.
There are three Ph.D.’s on this team.
The 1960’s (or 1960s) were quite remarkable years.
在縮寫字中表示動詞字尾變化：
The boss OK’d(or okayed) the project.
I wouldn’t count on his O.K.’ing(or okaying) the project.
Brackets [ [ ] ]
在引用句中加入編輯說明：
“She was born in 1923 near London.”
表示括弧中的括弧：
A number of linguists have tried to make their subject understandable to the general public (see Charlton Laird, The Miracle of Language ).
Colon [ : ]
引導正式的發言：
The witness made this declaration: “I know of no attempt to defraud the public.”
引導一個作說明用的片段或系列：
John will never become a competent leader: he has no sense of responsibility at all.
Imports rose sharply: steel, cars, and electronic equipment.
Comma [ , ]
用於對等連接詞如 and, but, or 之前，隔開兩個對等子句：
That was the best meal we had ever enjoyed, and we were delighted with the service.
以 A, B, and C 的形式呈現一個系列：
The menu offered the usual choices of steak, chops, and chicken.
If you study hard, concentrate, and take your time, you’re sure to pass.
將主要子句前面的從屬子句或引介性的片語隔開：
When he had tired of the mad pace of Taipei, he moved to Sanchi.
In the beginning, she liked the work well enough.
隔開主要子句前面的獨立片語與分詞構句：
Winter having arrived early, we left for the South.
Lying on the couch, the boy had a dream.
分隔地址、頭銜、年月日：
He lived at 21 Baker Street, Elyria, Ohio, for 20 years.
This is Dr. Peter Haws, Director of Admissions.
The letter was dated July 14, 1987, and was mailed from Paris.
在平行對稱結構中代表省略：
You will take the first cab and I, the second.
Bert always brings his lunch; Susan, hardly ever.
標示出句中元素不正常的調動：
That they would accept the money, none of us seriously doubted.
隔開名詞片語中居於對等地位的形容詞：
She had bright, mischievous, laughing brown eyes.
以括弧性的逗點隔開句中一個插入的片段：
The apples, though freshly picked, were spoiled in shipment.
以括弧性的逗點隔開成對比的元素：
Jesse, not Frank, was the first to arrive.
以括弧性的逗點隔開同位格：
Chen Shuibian, our President, is a very lucky man.
以括弧性的逗點隔開一個非限制用法的關係子句或片語：
My gun, which is now over the mantelpiece, hasn’t been used for years.
Such a device, known as a scanner, senses the data and enters it into the computer.
配合 he said 之類來引導直接引句：
He exclaimed, “This is wonderful!”
“I know you’ll like oysters,” she said, “if only you’ll try them.”
Dash [ -- ]
表示句意的突然轉折或中斷：
He is—how shall I put it?—an obnoxious fool.
She said, “I am at a loss to understand—”
引導同位格，尤其用於已經有許多逗點的情況：
The three R’s—reading, writing, and arithmetic—are again being stressed.
引導一個作歸納之用的片語或子句：
Educating citizens, improving the human environment, and planning rural society in the 21st century—these are some of the goals.
Ellipsis [ … ]
表示引用句中的省略：
“There are four ways … to remedy the situation.”
“There is only one way to settle the matter…. We must sit at the conference table.”
代表 etc., and so forth 之類：
The names of the months (January, February, March …) are capitalized.
Hyphen [ - ]
用於複合字：
We employ state-of-the-art technology.
This tomb is from the pre-Columbian period.
Vincent Van Gogh was a little-known artist in his lifetime.
There’s a well-dressed man waiting outside.
Parentheses [ ( ) ]
用於插入補充說明：
This book describes life in the Middle Ages (between A.D. 476 and about 1450), from a monk’s perspective.
The example given on page 306 (and a startling one it is!) draws upon exhaustive research.
Quotation Marks [ “ ” ]
引導直接引句：
“Are you,” she asked, “the man who helped my son?”
In a letter to Lawrence Durrell, Henry Miller said, “What you say about ‘realizing yourself as an artist …’ struck me as one of the most profound things you’ve written.”
用於短文名、短詩歌名等等：
The third chapter, “Some Solutions to the Problem,” is perhaps the most valuable.
We memorized the poem “Dover Beach” in class.
用於強調某個單字本身，或者用來表示「所謂的」：
Words like “never” and “always” should be used sparingly.
You know what he does on his “house calls”?
Semicolon [ ; ]
取代對等連接詞（and, but, or 等）來連接對等子句：
Some readers will recognize the writers being parodied; however, others will need to consult the notes.
在較長、較複雜、含有較多逗點的句子中，用於隔開對等子句：
Unconsciously, native English-speakers develop a way of associating certain words such as helium, heliotrope, heliocentric, and heliograph; but a systematic study of the internal structure of those words would show that the common element is helio-, a combining form meaning “the sun,” “bright,” “radiant.”
用於呈現 a, A; b, B; and c, C 之類的系列：
The tour included Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Kingston, Jamaica.
Double Punctuation [ .” ,” ]
逗點與句點應置於引號內：
“I’m sorry,” he said, “but I don’t believe you.”
I’ve read Poe’s “The Raven,” but didn’t find it especially impressive.
分號與冒號應置於引號外：
I had not read Francis Bacon’s essay “Of Truth”; in fact, I had never heard of it.
“To be or not to be”: this may be the most famous line in English literature.
問號與驚嘆號要視屬於哪個子句而定：
She asked, “Am I going too?”
Did she say, “I am going too”?
He said, “I’ll never do it!”
獨立於句子之外的括弧，句尾標點應置於括弧內：
He thought he could live to be 100. (Actually he died at 68.)
嵌入句中的括弧，裏面的句子開頭不大寫亦無句尾標點（但可有問號、驚嘆號）：
Self-government (recall that the Virginia legislature had already been formed) was clearly on the rise then.
Self-government (how many years had it been since the formation of the Virginia legislature?) was clearly on the rise then.
縮寫點適逢句尾時不另加句點：
The committee met in Washington, D.C.
The committee, which met in Washington, D.C., took up the matter.
句點、問號、驚嘆號等若有兩個出現在句尾，只能留下語氣強的一個：
Which of Shaw’s plays has the line “If parents would only realize how they bore their children!”
Italics
書名、報章雜誌名、戲劇名、電影名、專輯名等等：
I’ve just read War and Peace.
Did you see Cats when it opened in London?
船隻名、火車名、飛機名等等：
How many people died on the Titanic?
My dream is to take a trip on the Oriental Express.
Do you know what the Enola Gay did?
用來強調某個單字本身，或者用於加強語氣（亦可使用雙引號）：
Moderation and pragmatism best describe Lincoln’s Reconstruction policies.
Dictionaries list dozens of meanings for get.
表示尚未英文化的外來語：
The right of habeas corpus safeguards one against illegal detention or imprisonment.
Numbers
拚出 one 到 nine，至於 10 以上都用阿拉伯數字：
The report deals with nine cities.
Invitations were sent to 10 families.
*The discovery was made three hundred years ago.
數字用於句首時必須拚出：
Nine hundred and sixty-three students attended the rally.
*Exactly 963 students attended the rally.
Capitalization
直接引句的句首：
She asked, “Are you afraid of me?”
The poem poses the age-old question: What is happiness?
East, South, West, North 等當作地名使用時：
They live in the East.
He is a Southern congressman.
*Chicago is east of Kansas City.
標題中：
Schuller’s Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee opened the concert.
Her book is called American Labor Leaders: What They Believe In.
The title of the essay is “Somewhere Between East and West.”
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