+ plus 加号；正号 - minus 减号；负号 ± plus or minus 正负号 × is multiplied by 乘号 ÷ is divided by 除号 ＝ is equal to 等于号 ≠ is not equal to 不等于号 ≡ is equivalent to 全等于号 ≌ is equal to or approximately equal to 等于或约等于号 ≈ is approximately equal to 约等于号 ＜ is less than 小于号 ＞ is more than 大于号 ≮ is not less than 不小于号 ≯ is not more than 不大于号 ≤ is less than or equal to 小于或等于号 ≥ is more than or equal to 大于或等于号 % per cent 百分之... ‰ per mill 千分之... ∞ infinity 无限大号 ∝ varies as 与...成比例 √ (square) root 平方根 ∵ since; because 因为 ∴ hence 所以 ∷ equals, as (proportion) 等于，成比例 ∠ angle 角 ⌒ semicircle 半圆 ⊙ circle 圆 ○ circumference 圆周 π pi 圆周率 △ triangle 三角形 ⊥ perpendicular to 垂直于 ∪ union of 并，合集 ∩ intersection of 交，通集 ∫ the integral of ...的积分 ∑ (sigma) summation of 总和 ° degree 度 ′ minute 分 ″ second 秒 ℃ Celsius system 摄氏度 { open brace, open curly 左花括号 } close brace, close curly 右花括号 ( open parenthesis, open paren 左圆括号 ) close parenthesis, close paren 右圆括号 () brakets/ parentheses 括号 [ open bracket 左方括号 ] close bracket 右方括号 [] square brackets 方括号 . period, dot 句号，点 | vertical bar, vertical virgule 竖线 & ampersand, and, reference, ref 和，引用 * asterisk, multiply, star, pointer 星号，乘号，星，指针 / slash, divide, oblique 斜线，斜杠，除号 // slash-slash, comment 双斜线，注释符 # pound 井号 backslash, sometimes escape 反斜线转义符，有时表示转义符或续行符 ~ tilde 波浪符 . full stop 句号 , comma 逗号 : colon 冒号 ; semicolon 分号 ? question mark 问号 ! exclamation mark (英式英语) exclamation point (美式英语) ' apostrophe 撇号 - hyphen 连字号 -- dash 破折号 ... dots/ ellipsis 省略号 " single quotation marks 单引号 "" double quotation marks 双引号 ‖ parallel 双线号 & ampersand = and ～ swung dash 代字号 § section; division 分节号 → arrow 箭号；参见号
Punctuation Guide - Empower Your Writing Is punctuation becoming less important? Certainly there is less of it in modern writing. But less important? Emphatically NO! By learning a few simple rules you can make your writing clear, powerful and stylish. Punctuation, properly employed, can lead a reader on to the conclusion you want. Look over this brief summary of key punctuation marks and see if you are exploiting these clear writing power tools to the full. (These guidelines are general and fit 90% of cases. There are exceptions of course which are beyond the scope of this overview.) Apostrophe | Asterisk | Bracket | Bullets | Capitals | [Colon | Comma | Dash | Ellipsis | Exclamation | Hyphen | Parenthesis | Period | Question | Quotation | Semicolon | Slash Apostrophe ' Apostrophes are used in two different ways. 1) to indicate possession 2) to indicate missing letters when words are shortened (contraction). Example: "Let's all go in John's car." The apostrophe in the word "Let's" indicates a shortening of "Let us" and the apostrophe in "John's" indicates the car belongs to John. The position of the Possesive Apostrophe can indicate singular or plural. Example: Stand outside the girl's school. (one girl) and Stand outside the girls' school. (a group of girls). So to use apostrophes without grammatical catastrophes, think which use you need. Is the apostrophe needed to show possession or to show contraction? If neither, then you don't need an apostrophe. Asterisk * The asterisk is a reference mark indicating that a footnote or explanatory paragraph appears somewhere else on that page, generally at the foot of the page. See this example.* _____ * Another use of the asterisk has developed. To indicate swear words without being objectionable yet conveying the same force meant by the speaker. Example: "He replied, 'Don't be such a b**** fool!'" Bracket [ ] The functions of the square bracket and the round bracket (parenthesis) are quite different. Square brackets have limited use, primarily being used in publishing to indicate editorial comment or a comment from an authority. Example: He [President Clinton] was about to embark on a tour of the Far East. See Parenthesis Bullets Bulleted lists are extremely effective in capturing the interest of your audience. Persons who browse the internet want to find information quickly. They want to be able to read it easily without having to wade through pages of text. Bullets direct the eye to the main points quickly. They encourage writers to be brief, stating the main point in a few words or a phrase. They summarize a list of points or conclusions. Bottom line: If you want to write effective copy, USE BULLETS! Capitals A The main rules are: Capitalize proper nouns Example: Take a trip to New York City. Capitalize the first word in a sentence. Capitalize the first letter of each word in a title except for words like and, the, a, an etc. Capitalize a person's title when it comes before their name. Example: Doctor Jones Capitalize the first word in a quoted sentence. Example: Derek said: "That book is worth reading." Caution: Do not capitalize everything in a title. While the desire may be to attract attention, the effect can be tiresome and overdone. Colon : Enrich your writing style with discreet use of the colon. It is generally used to introduce something that follows. Here are some places where a colon is well used To introduce a list Example: Send the letter to the following departments: Sales, Marketing and Admin. To introduce a quotation To introduce a question To introduce a conclusion Example: The conclusion of the matter was: Let bygones be bygones. Comma , Mastering the versatile comma can transform your writing. Here is a brief list of some of it's most important functions: Itemizing Example: On the stationery order, pencils, rubbers, pens, staples, paper clips and notepads were listed. To set apart persons and names Example: John, what are you doing here? Adding an additional thought Example: The wedding was, on the whole, very enjoyable. For reinforcement Example: He was a strong man, very strong. To set off comparisons Example: The louder she spoke, the more he shouted. Dash - The dash can be more powerful than a comma or a semicolon or parenthesis. However, use it judiciously. Overdone, it can make a passage seem jerky! What is the difference between a dash and a hyphen? A dash is used in the construction of sentences. A hyphen is used in the construction of words. The dash can be used to: Link Example: The room was decorated with three strong colors - blue, green and red.. Pause Example: The train arrived as expected - one hour late. Interrupt Example: "I must ask you Sir to - well, I'm sorry - to leave!" Extend a sentence Example: The heckler hurled abuse at the speaker - and then quietly sat down. Separate a list Example: She collected all her tools - brushes, oils, palette, cloths, crayons, canvass - and started to paint. Ellipsis ... The three dot ellipsis is primarily used to indicate missing words or phrases. It can can be subtly used in these instances to indicate: An unfinished thought Example: He was about to jump but then he thought . . . An implied word or phrase the reader is expected to know Example: When asked why he was afraid of flying he merely said: "What goes up must . . ." Words or phrases omitted from a quotation Disjointed speech Example: He was so shocked he could only mumble, "What the . . .I mean to say . . . Where in the . . ." Exclamation ! Judicious use of the exclamation mark adds emphasis to important statements. Overuse kills it's effectiveness. So think twice before using an exclamation mark. Here are some situations where nothing but an exclamation mark will give the same sense: To command Example: Get back! To convey irony or reverse meaning Example: You must be joking! To emphasize insults Example: You blithering idiot! To convey anger or disgust Example: That smell is absolutely revolting! Hyphen - Hyphens are used to join two associated words. To illustrate, the hyphen in "man-eating tiger" changes the meaning entirely from "man eating tiger". In the first instance we are talking about a tiger who has a taste for humans. In the second we are talking about a man who has a taste for tigers. Hyphens are also used: As guides to pronunciation Examples: co-operation, re-establish To divide a word at the end of a line For emphasis Example: I said, "I'm f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g". To separate grouped names Example: The Anglo-French Alliance Parenthesis ( ) Parenthesis (round brackets) insert relevant, additional material into a sentence although the sentence would still read smoothly without it. Here are some uses for parenthesis: To add information Example: The house was in an ideal location near the sea (just a five minute walk) so there was no problem in getting tenants. To add afterthoughts Example: The speaker was totally unprepared for this kind of audience (or so it seemed). For clarification Example: Their action was in violation of the Terms and Conditions (page 2, paragraph 3) they had signed. To add personal remarks Example: They were so proud of their newly decorated apartment (to me it seemed a little tacky) they insisted on giving every visitor a guided tour. To show options Example: Please put the document(s) in the tray on the secretary's desk. Period . The period or full stop may only be a dot, but what a powerful dot! It is used to separate sentences. Reading a passage not delimited with periods would be extremely tiresome and the meaning would become quite ambiguous. So remember, whether the sentence is short or long, it MUST conclude with a period. Periods have also been used traditionally to indicate an abbreviation. Example: a.m. and p.m. In modern usage however this is becoming more infrequent and abbreviations now regularly appear without periods. Example: am and pm Question ? The most obvious use of the question mark is at the end of a sentence which asks a direct question. Example: Where are you going this weekend? However, when an indirect question is raised a question mark is not needed. Example: She asked me if I enjoyed her cooking. The question mark can also be used to create other effects: To declare Example: Did you really think you could get away with this? Here the question mark tinges the expression with anger and frustration. To exclaim Example: Isn't that a beautiful sunset? The question adds force to the statement making it an exclamation. To invite an answer Example: This seems the wrong color, don't you think? Quotation " Quotation marks are used to indicate direct speech. They are extremely important in conveying accurate meaning. Without them it can be hard to know who is speaking or who is being spoken about; whether the quotation is a paraphrase or whether it is direct speech. Example: Tom said, "It was his fault we were late." Tom said it was his fault "we were late". In the first example Tom is blaming someone else. In the second example he is taking responsibility himself. The quotation marks make all the difference to the meaning. Should quotations be double or single? There you have a controversy. Suffice to say, whichever one you choose, consistently stick with it! Should ending punctuation be within the quotes or outside the quotes? In American English, all punctuation marks come within quotation marks at the end of a sentence. In British English, a punctuation mark comes within the quotation marks if it directly relates to the quote. If the punctuation relates to the sentence as a whole then it comes outside the quotation marks. Here are a number of instances where quotation marks are effective: To indicate a title Example: He started reciting Shakespeare's classic, "Julius Caesar". To indicate doubt or disbelief Example: The back-street clinic had one "doctor" on duty that evening. To indicate that a word of phrase should not be taken literally Example: New synthetic fibres have made "grass" playing surfaces very durable. Semicolon ; The uses of semicolons are numerous. Here are the main ones: To join words, phrases and sentences To separate word groups that already contain commas Example: The committee was made up of M. Harding, President; J. Gower, Vice-president; B. Gardner, Secretary and W. Taylor as Chairman. To provide a pause before certain adverbs and conjunctions Example: He just scraped past the finishing line by a hair's breadth; nevertheless, he won! To emphasize opposite statements and contrast Example: The house looked beautiful after the renovation; pity about the garden. Slash / The slash has limited functions. Primarily it is used: To indicate options Example: That will be his/her choice. To abbreviate Example: care of - c/o account - A/c
+ plus 加号；正号 
