It may seem like the semicolon is struggling with an identity crisis. It looks like a comma crossed with a period. Maybe that's why we toss these punctuation marks around like grammatical confetti. We're confused about how to use them properly. In fact, it's the semicolon's half-half status that makes it useful. It's stronger than a comma, and less final than a period. It fills the spaces in between, and for that reason, it has some specific and important tasks. For one, it can clarify ideas in a sentence that's already festooned with commas. "Semicolons: At first, they may seem frightening, then, they become enlightening, finally, you'll find yourself falling for these delightful punctuation marks." Even though the commas separate different parts of the sentence, it's easy to lose track of what belongs where. But then the semicolon edges in to the rescue. In list-like sentences, it can exert more force than commas do, cutting sentences into compartments and grouping items that belong together. The semicolon breaks things up, but it also builds connections. Another of its tasks is to link together independent clauses. These are sentences that can stand on their own, but when connected by semicolons, look and sound better because they're related in some way. "Semicolons were once a great mystery to me. I had no idea where to put them." Technically, there's nothing wrong with that. These two sentences can stand alone. But imagine they appeared in a long list of other sentences, all of the same length, each separated by periods. Things would get monotonous very fast. In that situation, semicolons bring fluidity and variation to writing by connecting related clauses. But as beneficial as they are, semicolons don't belong just anywhere. There are two main rules that govern their use. Firstly, unless they're being used in lists, semicolons should only connect clauses that are related in some way. You wouldn't use one here, for instance: "Semicolons were once a great mystery to me; I'd really like a sandwich." Periods work best here because these are two totally different ideas. A semicolon's job is to reunite two independent clauses that will benefit from one another's company because they refer to the same thing. Secondly, you'll almost never find a semicolon willingly stationed before coordinating conjunctions: the words, "and," "but," "for," "nor," "or," "so," and "yet." That's a comma's place, in fact. But a semicolon can replace a conjunction to shorten a sentence or to give it some variety. Ultimately, this underappreciated punctuation mark can give writing clarity, force, and style, all encompassed in one tiny dot and squiggle that's just waiting to be put in the right place.
幾乎無人能正確地運用分號 它的樣貌結合逗號與句號 雙重功能之因,讓人摸門不著 就像雜亂無章的碎花掉滿地 始終困惑著: 如何善用分號? 其實,分號真正的功能 在於它獨有的雙重身分 它比句號更有力 而僅僅小輸句號 它是逗點與句點間的灰色地帶 鑑於此 分號的功用,獨樹一幟 其一:分號能讓句子分門別類 而逗號只能讓人暫時喘口氣 初次使用分號 可能不知所措 使用幾次之後,漸漸上手 最後,令人愛不釋手 使用逗號讓句子分段 仍然無法將句子分門別類 這時,就是使用分號最佳時機 在條列式句子之中 分號比逗號更能讓人理解句意 因為它能讓句子條理分明 雖然分號拆散句子, 句子之間依然息息相關 另一項功能,就是 它能串聯獨立句子 獨立句子,就是獨自成句 一旦使用分號串聯起來 獨立句子變的關係密切 也產生畫龍點睛的效果 "分號真令人費猜疑. 我根本不會使用它。" 這兩句,用法無誤 兩個句子,各自成句 假如出現在攏長的條例句子裡 長度一致,句號收尾 很快地,句子變得單調乏味 鑑於此 分號能讓文章 行雲流水,生動活潑 更能串聯同類句子 然而,如此方便好用的分號 也不能隨便濫用 務必遵守兩大守則 第一點: 除了條列式句子外 分號只分隔同類句子 以下為錯誤用法 "分號真令人費猜疑; 我想吃三明治." 只有句號正確 因為兩句毫無關聯 分號功能是連接同類句子 使得彼此產生共同點 原因是他們來源相同 第二點,分號和連接詞 完全是一山不容二虎 諸如: "而且","但是" "為了","也不","或者" "因此"與"依然" 全都是一成不變的符號 但是,分號能取代它 更加簡潔有力 也更生動活潑 總之,要文章簡潔有力,有風格 只要用這個被低估的標點 上一點下逗號,就能迎刃而解 前提必須擺在正確的位置