reference. 第一章 英语用法的基本规则[eos-0002]

单数名词构成所有格时加's。无论词尾是什么辅音字母，都遵循这一规则。因此写：

• Charles's friend
• Burns's poems
• the witch's malice

例外情况是以-es和-is结尾的古代专有名词的所有格、所有格Jesus'，以及for conscience' sake、for righteousness' sake这类形式。但Moses' Laws、Isis' temple这类形式通常被替换为the laws of Moses和the temple of Isis。

代词性所有格hers、its、theirs、yours和ours不带撇号。不过，不定代词用撇号表示所有格。

• one's rights
• somebody else's umbrella

一个常见的错误是把its写成it's，或者反过来。前者是缩略形式，意思是it is。后者是名词所有格。

It's a wise dog that scratches its own fleas.

在由单个连词连接的三个或更多项组成的系列中，除最后一项外，每一项后都用逗号。因此写：

• red, white, and blue
• gold, silver, or copper

He opened the letter, read it, and made a note of its contents.

这个逗号常被称为“serial”逗号。

在商号名称中，最后一个逗号通常省略。按各个商号自身的用法来写。

• Little, Brown and Company
• Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette

The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.

这条规则难以运用；常常很难判断某个单词（例如however）或某个简短短语究竟是不是插入语。如果对句子连贯性的打断很轻微，逗号可以稳妥地省略。但无论打断是轻微还是显著，都绝不能只省略一个逗号而留下另一个。下面这类标点是站不住脚的：

• Marjorie's husband, Colonel Nelson paid us a visit yesterday.
• My brother you will be pleased to hear, is now in perfect health.

日期通常含有插入性的词语或数字。标点如下：

• February to July, 1992
• April 6, 1986
• Wednesday, November 14, 1990

注意，在以下写法中通常省略逗号：

6 April 1988

最后这种写法是书写日期的绝佳方式；数字之间被一个单词隔开，因此能迅速看懂。

直接称呼中的名字或头衔是插入语。

• If, Sir, you refuse, I cannot predict what will happen.
• Well, Susan, this is a fine mess you are in.

缩写etc.、i.e.和e.g.、学位的缩写，以及跟在名字后面的头衔，都是插入语，应当相应地加标点。

• Letters, packages, etc., should go here.
• Horace Fulsome, Ph.D., presided.
• Rachel Simonds, Attorney
• The Reverend Harry Lang, S.J.

然而，逗号不应把名词与限制性的身份说明分开。

• Billy the Kid
• The novelist Jane Austen
• William the Conqueror
• The poet Sappho

尽管Junior及其缩写Jr.通常被视为插入语，但逻辑表明它实际上是限制性的，因此不需要逗号。

James Wright Jr.

非限制性关系从句是插入语，由表示时间或地点的连词引导的类似从句也是如此。因此需要用逗号。非限制性从句是指不用于识别或限定先行词名词的从句。

• The audience, which had at first been indifferent, became more and more interested.
• In 1769, when Napoleon was born, Corsica had but recently been acquired by France.
• Nether Stowey, where Coleridge wrote The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, is a few miles from Bridgewater.

在这些句子中，由which、when和where引导的从句是非限制性的；它们不限定也不定义，只是增添一些内容。在第一个例子中，由which引导的从句并不用于说明几个可能的听众中指的是哪一个；读者想必已经知道。这个从句以插入的方式，补充了主句所陈述的内容。这三个句子中的每一个，都是两个本可以独立陈述的句子的组合。

• 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 a few miles from Bridgewater.

相反，限制性从句不是插入语，不用逗号隔开。因此：

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

这里由who引导的从句确实用于说明指的是哪些人；这个句子与上面的句子不同，无法拆成两个独立陈述。同一条逗号使用原则也适用于分词短语和同位语。

• People sitting in the rear couldn't hear, (restrictive)
• Uncle Bert, being slightly deaf, moved forward, (non-restrictive)
• My cousin Bob is a talented harpist, (restrictive)
• Our oldest daughter, Mary, sings, (nonrestrictive)

当句子的主句前面有短语或从属子句时，用逗号把这些成分隔开。

Partly by hard fighting, partly by diplomatic skill, they enlarged their dominions to the east and rose to royal rank with the possession of Sicily.

• The early records of the city have disappeared, and the story of its first years can no longer be reconstructed.
• The situation is perilous, but there is still one chance of escape.

由as（意为because）、for、or、nor或while（意为and at the same time）引导第二部分的两部分句子，同样需要在连词前加逗号。

如果一个从属子句，或一个需要用逗号隔开的引导性短语，位于第二个独立子句之前，那么连词后就不需要逗号。

The situation is perilous, but if we are prepared to act promptly, there is still one chance of escape.

当两个子句的主语相同且只出现一次时，如果连接词是but，逗号有用。当连接词是and时，如果两个陈述之间的关系紧密或直接，就应省略逗号。

• I have heard the arguments, but am still unconvinced.
• He has had several years' experience and is thoroughly competent.

如果两个或更多语法上完整、且未由连词连接的子句要构成一个复合句，恰当的标点符号是分号。

• Mary Shelley's works are entertaining; they are full of engaging ideas.
• It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.

当然，把这两句各写成两个句子、用句号代替分号，也同样正确。

Mary Shelley's works are entertaining. They are full of engaging ideas. It is nearly half past five. We cannot reach town before dark.

如果插入一个连词，恰当的标点就是逗号。（见规则4。）

• Mary Shelley's works are entertaining, for they are full of engaging ideas.
• It is nearly half past five, and we cannot reach town before dark.

把上面给出的三种形式比较一下，就能清楚看出第一种的优点。至少在上面这些例子里，它比第二种好，因为它以第二种形式根本不去尝试的方式，暗示了两个陈述之间的紧密关系；它也比第三种好，因为它更简短，因而更有力。的确，这种标明陈述之间关系的简单方法，是组篇中最有用的手段之一。如上所示，这种关系通常是因果关系。

注意，如果第二个子句前面是一个副词，例如accordingly、besides、then、therefore或thus，而不是一个连词，那么仍然需要使用分号。

I had never been in the place before; besides, it was dark as a tomb.

分号规则有一个例外值得在此一提。当子句很短且形式相似，或者句子的语气轻松随意、像在交谈时，逗号更可取。

• Man proposes, God disposes.
• The gates swung apart, the bridge fell, the portcullis was drawn up.
• I hardly knew him, he was so changed.
• Here today, gone tomorrow.

换句话说，不要用句号代替逗号。

I met them on a Cunard liner many years ago. Coming home from Liverpool to New York. She was an interesting talker. A woman who had traveled all over the world and lived in half a dozen countries.

在这两个例子中，第一个句号都应换成逗号，后面的词则用小写字母开头。

允许让一个强调性的词或表达充当一个句子，并相应地加标点：

Again and again he called out. No reply.

不过，作者必须确信这种强调是站得住的，以免一个截断的句子显得只是句法或标点上的失误。一般来说，断句的用武之地是在对话中，即人物碰巧以截断或片段的方式说话时。

规则3、规则4、规则5和规则6涵盖了支配标点的最重要原则。它们应当被彻底掌握，以至于运用起来成为第二天性。

冒号告诉读者，后面的内容与前面的子句密切相关。冒号的作用比逗号强，分隔的力量比分号弱，比破折号更为正式。它通常跟在独立子句之后，不应把动词与其补语分开，也不应把介词与其宾语分开。下面左栏的例子是错误的；它们应当像右栏那样改写。

• 误：Your dedicated whittler requires: a knife, a piece of wood, and a back porch.
• 正：Your dedicated whittler requires three props: a knife, a piece of wood, and a back porch.

• 误：Understanding is that penetrating quality of knowledge that grows from: theory, practice, conviction, assertion, error, and humiliation.
• 正：Understanding is that penetrating quality of knowledge that grows from theory, practice, conviction, assertion, error, and humiliation.

如果第二个独立子句解释或补充第一个，就用冒号把它们连接起来。

But even so, there was a directness and dispatch about animal burial: there was no stopover in the undertaker's foul parlor, no wreath or spray.

冒号可以引出一段支持或补足前面子句的引文。

The squalor of the streets reminded her of a line from Oscar Wilde: "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

冒号还具有某些形式上的功能：跟在正式信函的称呼之后，把时间记法中的小时与分钟分开，以及把作品的标题与其副标题分开，或把《圣经》的章与节分开。

• Dear Mr. Montague:
• departs at 10:48 P.M.
• Practical Calligraphy: An Introduction to Italic Script
• Nehemiah 11:7

破折号是一种比逗号更强的分隔标记，不如冒号正式，比圆括号更放松。

• His first thought on getting out of bed—if he had any thought at all—was to get back in again.
• The rear axle began to make a noise—a grinding, chattering, teeth-gritting rasp.
• The increasing reluctance of the sun to rise, the extra nip in the breeze, the patter of shed leaves dropping—all the evidences of fall drifting into winter were clearer each day.

只有当更常见的标点符号显得不够用时，才使用破折号。

• 误：Her father's suspicions proved well-founded. It was not Edward she cared for, it was San Francisco.
• 正：Her father's suspicions proved well-founded—it was not Edward she cared for—it was San Francisco.

• 误：Violence, the kind you see on television, is not honestly violent. There lies its harm.
• 正：Violence—the kind you see on television—is not honestly violent—there lies its harm.

介于主语与动词之间的词不影响动词的数。

• 误：The bittersweet flavor of youth—its trials, its joys, its adventures, its challenges—are not soon forgotten.
• 正：The bittersweet flavor of youth—its trials, its joys, its adventures, its challenges—is not soon forgotten.

一个常见的失误是：当关系词作主语时，在“one of…”或类似表达后面的关系从句中使用单数动词形式。

• 误：One of the ablest scientists who has attacked this problem
• 正：One of the ablest scientists who have attacked this problem

• 误：One of those people who is never ready on time
• 正：One of those people who are never ready on time

在each、either、everyone、everybody、neither、nobody、someone之后用单数动词形式。

• Everybody thinks he has a unique sense of humor.
• Although both clocks strike cheerfully, neither keeps good time.

对于none，当该词意为“no one”或“not one”时，用单数动词。

• 误：None of us are perfect.
• 正：None of us is perfect.

当none暗示不止一个事物或人时，通常用复数动词。

None are so fallible as those who are sure they're right.

由and连接两个或更多名词构成的复合主语，几乎总是需要复数动词。

The walrus and the carpenter were walking close at hand.

但某些复合词——常常是陈词滥调——如此不可分割，以至于被视为一个整体，因而用单数动词；由each或every限定的复合主语也是如此。

• The long and the short of it is…
• Bread and butter was all she served.
• Give and take is essential to a happy household.
• Every window, picture, and mirror was smashed.

即使有其他名词通过with、as well as、in addition to、except、together with和no less than与单数主语相连，该单数主语仍保持单数。

His speech as well as his manner is objectionable.

系动词与其主语的数一致。

• What is wanted is a few more pairs of hands.
• The trouble with truth is its many varieties.

有些看起来是复数的名词通常被理解为单数，并配单数动词。

• Politics is an art, not a science.
• The Republican Headquarters is on this side of the tracks.

但：

The general's quarters are across the river.

在这些情况下，作者只能去学会这些习语。The contents of a book是单数。The contents of a jar既可以是单数也可以是复数，取决于罐子里装的是什么——果酱还是弹珠。

人称代词以及代词who，在充当主语或宾语时会改变形式。

• Will Jane or he be hired, do you think?
• The culprit, it turned out, was he.
• We heavy eaters would rather walk than ride.
• Who knocks?
• Give this work to whoever looks idle.

在最后一个例子中，whoever是looks idle的主语；介词to的宾语是整个子句whoever looks idle。当who引导一个从属子句时，它的格取决于它在那个子句中的功能。

• 误：Virgil Soames is the candidate whom we think will win.
• 正：Virgil Soames is the candidate who we think will win.

（我们认为he会赢。）

• 误：Virgil Soames is the candidate who we hope to elect.
• 正：Virgil Soames is the candidate whom we hope to elect.

（我们希望选出him。）

比较中的代词，如果是一个明确出现或隐含的动词的主语，就取主格。

Sandy writes better than I. (Than I write.)

一般来说，要避免“隐含”的动词，把它们补出来。

• 误：I think Horace admires Jessica more than I.
• 正：I think Horace admires Jessica more than I do.

• 误：Polly loves cake more than me.
• 正：Polly loves cake more than she loves me.

以下例子中用宾格是正确的。

• The ranger offered Shirley and him some advice on campsites.
• They came to meet the Baldwins and us.
• Let's talk it over between us, then, you and me.
• Whom should I ask?
• A group of us taxpayers protested.

最后一个例子里的Us与taxpayers同位，而taxpayers是介词of的宾语。这种措辞虽然从语法上说得通，却很少贴切。“A group of us protested as taxpayers”更好，尽管并非完全等义。

以简单的人称代词作主语。

• 误：Blake and myself stayed home
• 正：Blake and I stayed home

• 误：Howard and yourself brought the lunch, I thought.
• 正：Howard and you brought the lunch, I thought.

代词的所有格用于表示所属关系。它有两种形式：形容词性修饰语，如your hat；以及名词形式，如a hat of yours。

The dog has buried one of your gloves and one of mine in the flower bed.

动名词通常要求用所有格。

Mother objected to our driving on the icy roads.

另一方面，作为动词性词语的现在分词用宾格。

They heard him singing in the shower.

动词性分词与动名词之间的区别并不总是显而易见，但请注意以下每句真正说的是什么。

• Do you mind me asking a question?
• Do you mind my asking a question?

在第一个句子中，被质疑的反对对象是me去问一个问题，而不是群体中其他成员去问。在第二个例子中，问题在于究竟可不可以问一个问题。

Walking slowly down the road, he saw a woman accompanied by two children.

walking一词指的是句子的主语，而不是那个女人。要使它指那个女人，作者必须改写句子。

He saw a woman, accompanied by two children, walking slowly down the road.

由连词或介词引导的分词短语、同位语名词、形容词以及形容词短语，如果出现在句首，也受同一条规则约束。

• 误：On arriving in Chicago, his friends met him at the station.
• 正：On arriving in Chicago, he was met at the station by his friends.

• 误：A soldier of proved valor, they entrusted him with the defense of the city.
• 正：A soldier of proved valor, he was entrusted with the defense of the city.

• 误：Young and inexperienced, the task seemed easy to me.
• 正：Young and inexperienced, I thought the task easy.

• 误：Without a friend to counsel him, the temptation proved irresistible
• 正：Without a friend to counsel him, he found the temptation irresistible.

违反规则11的句子常常很可笑：

• Being in a dilapidated condition, I was able to buy the house very cheap.
• Wondering irresolutely what to do next, the clock struck twelve.