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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
ELEMENTARY RULES OF USAGE
1.Form the possessive singular of nouns with 's.
Charles's friend
Burns's poems
This is the usage of the United States Government Printing Office and of the Oxford3 University Press.
Exceptions are the possessives of ancient proper names in -es and -is, the possessive Jesus', and such forms as for conscience' sake, for righteousness' sake. But such forms as Achilles' heel, Moses' laws, Isis' temple are commonly replaced by
the heel of Achilles
the laws of Moses
the temple of Isis
The pronominal possessives hers, its, theirs, yours, and oneself have no apostrophe.
2.In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.
Thus write,
red, white, and blue
honest, energetic, but headstrong
He opened the letter, read it, and made a note of its contents.
This is also the usage of the Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press.
In the names of business firms the last comma is omitted, as
Brown, Shipley and Company
The abbreviation etc., even if only a single term comes before it, is always preceded by a comma.
3.Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.
The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.
This rule is difficult to apply; it is frequently hard to decide whether a single word, such as however, or a brief phrase, is or is not parenthetic. If the interruption to the flow of the sentence is but slight, the writer may safely omit the commas. But whether the interruption be slight or considerable, he must never omit one comma and leave the other. Such punctuation5 as
Marjorie's husband, Colonel Nelson paid us a visit yesterday,
or
My brother you will be pleased to hear, is now in perfect health,
is indefensible.
Non-restrictive relative clauses are, in accordance with this rule, set off by commas.
The audience, which had at first been indifferent, became more and more interested.
Similar clauses introduced by where and when are similarly punctuated7.
In 1769, when Napoleon was born, Corsica had but recently been acquired by France.
Nether8 Stowey, where Coleridge wrote The Rime9 of the Ancient Mariner10, is a few miles from Bridgewater.
In these sentences the clauses introduced by which, when, and where are non-restrictive; they do not limit the application of the words on which they depend, but add, parenthetically, statements supplementing those in the principal clauses. Each sentence is a combination of two statments which might have been made independently.
The audience was at first indifferent. Later it became more and more interested.
Napoleon was born in 1769. At that time Corsica had but recently been acquired by France.
Coleridge wrote The Rime of the Ancient Mariner at Nether Stowey. Nether Stowey is only a few miles from Bridgewater.
Restrictive relative clauses are not set off by commas.
The candidate who best meets these requirements will obtain the place.
In this sentence the relative clause restricts the application of the word candidate to a single person. Unlike those above, the sentence cannot be split into two independent statements.
The abbreviations etc. and jr. are always preceded by a comma, and except at the end of a sentence, followed by one.
Similar in principle to the enclosing of parenthetic expressions between commas is the setting off by commas of phrases or dependent clauses preceding or following the main clause of a sentence. The sentences quoted in this section and under Rules 4, 5, 6, 7, 16, and 18 should afford sufficient guidance.
If a parenthetic expression is preceded by a conjunction, place the first comma before the conjunction, not after it.
4.Place a comma before and or but introducing an independent clause.
The early records of the city have disappeared, and the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed.
Sentences of this type, isolated13 from their context, may seem to be in need of rewriting. As they make complete sense when the comma is reached, the second clause has the appearance of an after-thought. Further, and, is the least specific of connectives. Used between independent clauses, it indicates only that a relation exists between them without defining that relation. In the example above, the relation is that of cause and result. The two sentences might be rewritten:
As the early records of the city have disappeared, the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed.
Although the situation is perilous, there is still one chance of escape.
Or the subordinate clauses might be replaced by phrases:
Owing to the disappearance14 of the early records of the city, the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed.
In this perilous situation, there is still one chance of escape.
But a writer may err4 by making his sentences too uniformly compact and periodic, and an occasional loose sentence prevents the style from becoming too formal and gives the reader a certain relief. Consequently, loose sentences of the type first quoted are common in easy, unstudied writing. But a writer should be careful not to construct too many of his sentences after this pattern (see Rule 14).
Two-part sentences of which the second member is introduced by as (in the sense of because), for, or, nor, and while (in the sense of and at the same time) likewise require a comma before the conjunction.
If a dependent clause, or an introductory phrase requiring to be set off by a comma, precedes the second independent clause, no comma is needed after the conjunction.
The situation is perilous, but if we are prepared to act promptly15, there is still one chance of escape.
For two-part sentences connected by an adverb, see the next section.
5.Do not join independent clauses by a comma.
If two or more clauses, grammatically complete and not joined by a conjunction, are to form a single compound sentence, the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon.
Stevenson's romances are entertaining; they are full of exciting adventures.
It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.
It is of course equally correct to write the above as two sentences each, replacing the semicolons by periods.
Stevenson's romances are entertaining. They are full of exciting adventures.
It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark.
If a conjunction is inserted, the proper mark is a comma (Rule 4).
Stevenson's romances are entertaining, for they are full of exciting adventures.
It is nearly half past five, and we cannot reach town before dark.
Note that if the second clause is preceded by an adverb, such as accordingly, besides, so, then, therefore, or thus, and not by a conjunction, the semicolon is still required.
I had never been in the place before; so I had difficulty in finding my way about.
In general, however, it is best, in writing, to avoid using so in this manner; there is danger that the writer who uses it at all may use it too often. A simple correction, usually serviceable, is to omit the word so, and begin the first clause with as:
As I had never been in the place before, I had difficulty in finding my way about.
If the clauses are very short, and are alike in form, a comma is usually permissible16:
Man proposes, God disposes.
6.Do not break sentences in two.
In other words, do not use periods for commas.
I met them on a Cunard liner several years ago. Coming home from Liverpool to New York.
He was an interesting talker. A man who had traveled all over the world, and lived in half a dozen countries.
In both these examples, the first period should be replaced by a comma, and the following word begun with a small letter.
It is permissible to make an emphatic18 word or expression serve the purpose of a sentence and to punctuate6 it accordingly:
Again and again he called out. No reply.
The writer must, however, be certain that the emphasis is warranted, and that he will not be suspected of a mere19 blunder in punctuation.
Rules 3, 4, 5, and 6 cover the most important principles in the punctuation of ordinary sentences; they should be so thoroughly20 mastered that their application becomes second nature.
7.A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.
Walking slowly down the road, he saw a woman accompanied by two children.
The word walking refers to the subject of the sentence, not to the woman. If the writer wishes to make it refer to the woman, he must recast the sentence:
He saw a woman, accompanied by two children, walking slowly down the road.
Participial phrases preceded by a conjunction or by a preposition, nouns in apposition, adjectives, and adjective phrases come under the same rule if they begin the sentence.
On arriving in Chicago, his friends met him at the station. When he arrived (or, On his arrival) in Chicago, his friends met him at the station.
A soldier of proved valor21, they entrusted22 him with the defence of the city. A soldier of proved valor, he was entrusted with the defence of the city.
Young and inexperienced, the task seemed easy to me. Young and inexperienced, I thought the task easy.
Without a friend to counsel him, the temptation proved irresistible23. Without a friend to counsel him, he found the temptation irresistible.
Sentences violating this rule are often ludicrous.
Being in a dilapidated condition, I was able to buy the house very cheap.
8.Divide words at line-ends, in accordance with their formation and pronunciation.
If there is room at the end of a line for one or more syllables24 of a word, but not for the whole word, divide the word, unless this involves cutting off only a single letter, or cutting off only two letters of a long word. No hard and fast rule for all words can be laid down. The principles most frequently applicable are:
Divide the word according to its formation:
know-ledge (not knowl-edge); Shake-speare (not Shakes-peare); de-scribe (not des-cribe); atmo-sphere (not atmos-phere);
edi-ble (not ed-ible); propo-sition; ordi-nary; espe-cial; reli-gious; oppo-nents; regu-lar; classi-fi-ca-tion (three divisions possible); deco-rative; presi-dent;
Divide between double letters, unless they come at the end of the simple form of the word:
Apen-nines; Cincin-nati; refer-ring; but tell-ing.
The treatment of consonants26 in combination is best shown from examples:
for-tune; pic-ture; presump-tuous; illus-tration; sub-stan-tial (either division); indus-try; instruc-tion; sug-ges-tion; incen-diary.
The student will do well to examine the syllable-division in a number of pages of any carefully printed book.
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收听单词发音
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1
consonant
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| n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的 | |
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2
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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3
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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4
err
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| vi.犯错误，出差错 | |
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5
punctuation
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| n.标点符号，标点法 | |
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6
punctuate
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| vt.加标点于；不时打断 | |
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7
punctuated
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| v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物 | |
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8
nether
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| adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会 | |
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rime
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| n.白霜；v.使蒙霜 | |
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10
mariner
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| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
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11
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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12
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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13
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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14
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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15
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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16
permissible
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| adj.可允许的，许可的 | |
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17
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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18
emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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19
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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20
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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21
valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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22
entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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24
syllables
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| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
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25
vowel
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| n.元音；元音字母 | |
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26
consonants
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| n.辅音，子音( consonant的名词复数 )；辅音字母 | |
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