1. 撇号
(1)以s结尾的名词只加撇号,不加s。如:
my boss' office Keats' poems
(2)表示数字、符号、字母或词形本身的复数。如:
His 7's look like 9's.
Make sure that your t's look different from your x's.
The teacher had only four A's in his class.
You have used too many and's in your themes.
2. 冒号
(1)冒号后面若是独立句子,则句首字母大写或小写皆可,但一本书必须统一;若是词组则小写。如:
The string section consists of four instruments: violin, viola, cello, and bass.
Judges have a double duty: They(或they)must protect the innocent and punish the guilty.
(2)信件或演说词中的称呼语之后美语用冒号。如:
Dear Sir: /Ladies and Gentlemen:
英国英语则多用逗号。如:
Dear Sir,/Ladies and Gentlemen,
(3)美语中用于时与分之间(英国用法中多用句点)、比率数之间、《圣经》的章与节之间。如:
The plane will take off at 16:30.
You will find it in Genesis 2:4-7.
3. 引号
(1)美国用法:先用双引号,双引号内用单引号;所引用的内容,不管是句子还是短语,逗号、句号等标点都位于引号内。如:
On January 1, 1863, Lincoln declared the slaves “forever free.”
The witness said, “I distinctly heard him say, ‘Don't be late,’ and then heard the door closed.”
(2)英国用法: 先用单引号,再用双引号;所引用的内容,如果是词组,逗号、句号等标点位于引号外,如果是句子,逗号、句号等标点位于引号内。如:
The word ‘bread’, for example, has both standard and slang meanings.
The witness said, ‘I distinctly heard him say, “Don't be late,” and then heard the door closed.’