驻马店翻译公司：标点符号的用法

标点符号的使用是一门艺术，它使文字组成缩写，从句和句子。不幸的是，一些标点符号怎样使用并不十分清楚。下面让我们来看几个常用的标点符号，虽然它们很受欢迎但是使用起来却十分令人困惑。

1. Possessive apostrophes名词所有格符号

名词所有格符号是很难，它以几种不同的方式放在单词后边。那么，我们到底该怎样去使用它呢？

Let’s start simple. For a singular noun, such as dog, you add an apostrophe plus s to the end: The dog’s collar was covered in mud.

我们这里从发一个简单的例子开始。对于一个单数名词而言，例如dog，应该在dog后加上名词所有格符号和字母s：那只狗的项圈被埋在了土里。

For a plural noun, such as elephants, you add an apostrophe to the end: The elephants’ parade was stoped by rain.

对于复数名词而言，例如elephants，应该在elephants后加上名词所有格符号：大象的队伍因大雨而停止前进。

2. Semicolons 分号

The central task of the semicolon is to mark a break that is stronger than a comma but not as final as a period or full stop. That sounds easy enough, but it can be hard to tell when you should be linking two clauses with a semicolon rather than simply separating them into two sentences.

分号的主要作用就是标志着停顿，分号所表示的停顿比逗号所表示的停顿更加强烈，但是不是作为一个句号来结束句子。这听起来很简单，但是当你使用分号连接两个从句而不是仅仅把它们分成两个句子的时候，情况就变得复杂了。

3. Colons冒号

The best way to differentiate the colon from the semicolon is that where the semicolon provides a strong division in a sentence, the colon provides a sense of forward motion.

最好区分冒号和分号的该方式就是看他们的位置，分号在句中提供一个强烈的停顿，冒号在句中提供一种进一步的解释。

There are three main uses of the colon:

4. Hyphens连字符

The principal purpose of the hyphen is linking words and parts of words. This means that it appears in a wide variety of situations, linking all types of words. Rather than pick out all of the possible appearances of the hyphen in everyday writing, we will focus on one that people frequently get wrong: compound adjectives.

连字符的主要用法是连接词与词或者一部分词。这意味着连字符出现在很多情况下，连接各种各样的词。不是在日常的写作中找到所有的连字符，而是集中精力在那些人们频繁出错的地方：复合形容词。

5. Dashes破折号

The hyphen’s slightly longer cousin, the dash is another popular punctuation mark that not everyone is sure how to use.

把连字符加长一点就是破折号，破折号也是一种十分受欢迎的标点符号，但不是每一个人都知道怎样使用。

In formal writing, the dash is used to mark off information or ideas that are not essential to an understanding of the rest of the sentence. For example, you might see: Once I have a free afternoon — I’ve been quite busy — I will meet you for lunch.

在正式的写作中，破折号用来划分信息和意见，而这些信息和意见对于理解句子不是很重要。例如，一旦我下午有时间—我一直很忙— 我就会和你吃午饭。

Even though dashes are common in informal writing, such as personal emails or blogs, it’s best to use them sparingly when writing formally.

即使破折号在非正式的写作中也很常见，如个人邮件和微博，当正式写作的时候最好偶尔使用破折号。