如何在英文写作里正确使用分号(;)

分号(;)表示的停顿，长于逗号，但短于冒号，常用于两个逻辑关系较为密切的分句之间。分号与逗号不同，因为它的目的是强调两个子句之间的关连。分号也可以用于需要列举事物名称的时候，去帮助区分太长或有内部标点符号而难以列举清晰的事物。本文将为您说明，在英文写作中使用分号的正确时机和方法。

英文分号的几个基本用法

	不正确	正确
用于连接两个关系密切的独立子句。	The dress is for my mother, who is sitting over there.	The dress is for my mother; who is sitting over there.
用在被列举的事物的名称之后。	I am taking my mother to the beach; a French restaurant; and a dessert café.	I am taking my mother to the beach to see the sunset; a French restaurant, which my sister-in-law recommended; and a dessert café to drink coffee and eat canelés.

连接子句

分号最常见的用途是连接两个独立子句。用分号而不用逗号，有助于强调两个逻辑关系密切关连的子句。

独立子句 vs 从属子句

独立子句是一个可以运作的完整句子。

The dress is green with white flowers.
Audrey bought the dress for eighty-nine dollars.
The shop is closing soon.

相反地，从属子句没有完整句子的功能。

which has white flowers
even though it was expensive
because it is late

用分号连接两个独立子句

参考以下两个独立子句:

(a): It is almost 10 pm.

(b): The shops will be closing soon.

(a) + (b) =: It is almost 10 pm; the shops will be closing soon.

(a)和(b)都是有逻辑连接的独立子句。合并句意味着商店马上就要打烊，因为快到晚上 10 点了。

用冒号连接两个没有逻辑关连的独立子句，是不值得推荐的做法。

(a): The shops will be closing soon.

(b): I had fried chicken for dinner.

这里的(a)和(b)没有密切的关连，因此，用句号把它们分开是最好的做法。

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列举事物

分号还可以用来列举太长、复杂或有内部标点符号的项目。

Example: Lana is driving to LA to see her niece, who loves Barbie dolls; her best friend, who works at a music production company; and a former co-worker, who has recently started a new business.

这些项目的每一个—“her niece, who loves Barbie dolls,”、 “her best friend, who works at a music production company,” 和 “a former co-worker, who has recently started a new business” —都太长，而且含有內部标点符号。用逗号（注：中文为顿号）区分这个项目清单里的事物，会让句子难以阅读。

逗号 vs 分号

如果列举的事物是单词或简单的词组，最好使用逗号（注：中文为顿号）。

Example: For her birthday, Lana received a gold locket, a red scarf, and an iPad.

然而，如果项目比较长又比较复杂（也就是说，独立子句或含有内部标点符号的事物），最好是用分号来列举。

Example: For her birthday, Lana received a gold locket with an ornate inlay; a red scarf, which she wore immediately; and a first-generation iPad to play her music.

英文分号的常见使用错误

许多人由于对分号不熟悉，因而经常错误使用。请注意，分号只能用来分隔两个独立的子句或列举复杂的事物。

连接一个独立子句和一个从属子句

首先也是最重要的，不要把分号和逗号混为一谈。逗号经常被用来连接从属子句和独立子句；分号就无法用于这个目的。

不正确: Lana bought the dress; which is green with white flowers.

正确: Lana bought the dress, which is green with white flowers.

分开引导词组和主句

另一个常见的错误，是用分号把引导词组和句子的主体分开。要把引导词或词组跟主句分开，应该用逗号，不是分号。

不正确: On Wednesday evenings; Lana babysits her two-year-old nephew.

正确: On Wednesday evenings, Lana babysits her two-year-old nephew.