Memorial写作｜英文标点符号用法重述

英文标点符号用法重述

Bryan A. Garner著韩驰译^*
译者按：英文标点符号的用法是一个相当复杂的问题，Bryan A. Garner作为美国著名的辞书学家对此问题颇有研究。本节内容是常见英文标点的基本用法，在写作和编辑实践当中，如何使用英文标点符号，如何处理更为细致的标点问题，可以查阅《芝加哥手册》（The Chicago Manual of Style）中第6章有关标点符号的使用方法。中文译本可参见吴波等译：《芝加哥手册：写作、编辑和出版指南》（第16版），高等教育出版社2014年版，第287—336页。

标点符号是一套极其复杂的技术体系，它能够引导读者顺畅阅读。正确使用标点符号有助于表达的内容重点突出、清晰明了，反之亦然。实际上，标点符号使用出了问题，往往预示着写作质量不佳。有一位权威学者曾指出，“绝大多数标点符号错误都源于句子本身构思不佳和构成不当，还与只要使用逗号和句号就能贯穿全文的想法有关，……” 因此，学习标点符号的使用也与学习如何造一个好的句子密切相关。二者相辅相成，缺一不可。故特将标点符号的使用方法提示如下：

逗号（Comma）

以下情况需要使用逗号：

1.1 当使用连接词（如and、but、or、nor、yet、so等）连接两个独立的句子时，需要使用逗号。

The United States is a common-law country, and its judges are common-law judges.
About a dozen lawyers were in the room together, and the discussion was complete and candid.
He entered a no-contest plea to possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia, but the court withheld adjudication and sentenced him to one year on probation.

1.2 在过渡词或短语（and和or除外）、介绍性短语（尤其是非常长的引语）后，或者主句之前出现的从句后，都需要使用逗号。

Significantly, Moore has not filed a cross-appeal. (过渡词)
In the second Reynolds appeal, the majority opinion pointed out that experts frequently rely on comparable sales when appraising the value of property. (介绍性短语)
When the court addresses the question of ambiguity, it must focus on the contractual language itself. (从句)

1.3 非限定性短语或从句的首尾两端都需要加上逗号。所谓非限定性成分是指提供附加信息或描述性信息，并且不构成主要句意的同位语、短语或从句。

A police officer, who is trained to overcome resistance, is likely to escalate force until the arrestee cannot escape without using deadly force. (非限定性从句)
Another authority, the court, has picked up some of the slack. (非限定性同位语)
The right allegedly violated in this case, freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment, is one of our most fundamental constitutional rights. (非限定性同位语)

1.4 在列举项之间使用逗号，包括最后一个列举项与倒数第二个列举项之间要使用逗号。

The term “reasonable doubt” is not designed to encompass vain, imaginary, or fanciful doubts. (最后一个列举项的or前加逗号)
Jackson alleges that the October 2012 reassignment letter, the gag order, and the banishment order were implemented without affording her procedural due process. (最后一个列举项的and前加逗号)
The scientific method has proved extraordinarily useful in matters involving radar, ballistics, handwriting, typewriting, intoxication, and paternity. (最后一个列举项的and前加逗号)

1.5 当同一个名词有不同形容词修饰，且这些形容词平行排列的时候，要在这些形容词中间加上逗号区隔。所谓平行排列是指，使用and连接这些形容词时语义不会改变，或者调换形容词语序并不影响语义的情况。

That is a simplistic, fallacious conclusion.
Routine, hasty processing of criminal cases did not begin with plea bargain at all.
Wilson is a reserved, cautious person.

1.6 使用逗号区分直接引语和间接引语。

Justice Scalia ended by saying, “The decision is an act not of judicial judgment but of political will.”
“Today, social workers provide a significant amount of mental-health treatment,” wrote Justice Stevens.
On the question of statutory interpretation, there is an apocryphal story about a celebrated Supreme Court Justice who remarked, “Because no legislative history is available on this point, we will have to look at the text of the statute.”

1.7 可以使用逗号分隔完整的日期和地址当中的各个部分，但
（1）在邮编之前应当省略逗号；
（2）如果只出现了年份和月份，就不要在二者中间加上逗号（如July 2021）；
（3）在书写年月日时，如果将整个日期作为形容词使用，那么在年份后面不要再加上逗号（如the November 20, 2020 hearing）。

Since July 15, 2021, Sammuel Keeling has lived at 29 Cherry Street, Portland, Oregon 97203.
Pollock wrote to them in April 2020 but never again.
The court refused to reconsider its February 12, 2019 privilege order.

注意不要误用逗号：

1.8 不要在主语和主语支配的动词之间使用逗号。

NOT: The use of the terms “irrebuttable presumption” and “conclusive presumption~~{,}~~” should be discontinued as useless and confusing.
BUT: The use of the terms “irrebuttable presumption” and “conclusive presumption” should be discontinued as useless and confusing.
NOT: In that case, male teachers in a church-operated school~~{,}~~” received a head-of-family salary supplement that was not provided to female heads of households.
BUT: In that case, male teachers in a church-operated school received a head-of-family salary supplement that was not provided to female heads of households.
NOT: An insurance carrier or a union or union inspector~~{,}~~” may be held liable under traditional tort concepts for the negligent performance of such an inspection.
BUT: An insurance carrier or a union or union inspector may be held liable under traditional tort concepts for the negligent performance of such an inspection.

1.9 当引语构成句子的一部分时，引语前不加逗号。

NOT: If one doctrine is more deeply rooted than any other in constitutional adjudication, it is that the Supreme Court~~{,}~~ “will not pass on questions of constitutionality unless such adjudication is unavoidable.”
BUT: If one doctrine is more deeply rooted than any other in constitutional adjudication, it is that the Supreme Court “will not pass on questions of constitutionality unless such adjudication is unavoidable.”
NOT: In lease cases, the related doctrine of constructive eviction has been held~~{,}~~ “broad enough to include many different situations where the whole or a substantial part of the premises is rendered unfit for the purpose for which it was leased.”
BUT: In lease cases, the related doctrine of constructive eviction has been held “broad enough to include many different situations where the whole or a substantial part of the premises is rendered unfit for the purpose for which it was leased.”
NOT: The Obama administration joined in the petition on grounds that the Second Circuit’s decision would promote~~{,}~~ “postemployment blacklisting.”
BUT: The Obama administration joined in the petition on grounds that the Second Circuit’s decision would promote “postemployment blacklisting.”

1.10 需要强调的副词前后不加逗号。

NOT: Defendants are~~{,}~~ therefore, entitled to qualified immunity.
BUT: Defendants are therefore entitled to qualified immunity.
NOT: We~~{,}~~ nevertheless, wanted to bring this to the Court’s attention.
BUT: We nevertheless wanted to bring this to the Court’s attention.

1.11 复合式谓语第二个成分以前不加逗号。所谓复合式谓语，是指两个动词共用一个主语的情况。

A good brief should address all the issues and analyze them intelligently. (and前不加逗号，因为brief也是analyze的主语。)
Quintanilla argued that Viveros had exculpatory information and charged the prosecutors with ignoring it. (and前不加逗号，因为Quintanilla也是charged的主语。)
After surgery to his knee in May 2009, Rowe was first given light-duty assignment as a production planner but then was laid off in March 2010. (and前不加逗号，因为Rowe也是was laid off的主语。)

1.12 如果需要使用分号、冒号或句号等更强停顿的标点符号时，就不要使用逗号。

NOT: One could view attendance at the football game as an alternative promise by Y~~{,}~~ however, it seems readily apparent that this alternative is not a promise for which X has bargained. (however前后加上逗号也不能用于连接两个独立的句子，这里只能使用分号或句号。)
BUT: One could view attendance at the football game as an alternative promise by Y; however, it seems readily apparent that this alternative is not a promise for which X has bargained.
OR: One could view attendance at the football game as an alternative promise by Y. But it seems readily apparent that this alternative is not a promise for which X has bargained.
NOT: The United Nations recognizes forced evictions as one of the root causes of international displacement of persons~~{,}~~ “the two issues cannot be treated separately.” (这里使用的逗号是一种典型的语法错误，叫做“逗号粘连”，即将两个独立的句子用逗号连接起来。)
BUT: The United Nations recognizes forced evictions as one of the root causes of international displacement of persons: “the two issues cannot be treated separately.”

分号（Semicolon）

以下情况需要使用分号：

2.1 分号可用于连接两个关联密切的短句。

In three-tier systems, the top court has tremendous discretion; it can usually decide which cases to hear and which to reject.
One side must make an offer; the other side must accept it.
A person who has been wronged often wants to win a fight; the sublimated courtroom fight may furnish the mans of relief.

2.2 当所列条目出现以下情形时，需要使用分号来区隔不同条目：
（1）条目本身包含逗号；
（2）列举条目由以冒号结束的长引言引出；
（3）各个列举条目以子段落的形式呈现。

The individual defendants live in four cities: Austin, Texas; Bellingham, Washington; Boston, Massachusetts; and Denver, Colorado.
The rationale is threefold: (1) since the declarant knows her own state of mind, there is no need to check her perception; (2) since the statement is of present state of mind, there is no need to check her memory; and (3) since state of mind is at issue, it must be shown in some way—and here, the declarant’s own statements are the only way.
To establish causation and intention in emotional-distress cases, the plaintiff is generally required to show that
(1) the plaintiff was present when the injury occurred to the other person;
(2) the plaintiff was a close relative of the injured person; and
(3) the defendant knew that the plaintiff was present and was a close relative of the injured person.

注意不要误用分号：

2.3 请勿在需要使用冒号时使用分号，尤其是在称呼语之后不要使用分号。

NOT: Dear Sarah~~{;}~~ …
BUT: Dear Sarah: …
NOT: Two major reforms took place~~{;}~~ the overhaul of no-fault insurance and the enhanced oversight of insurance companies.
BUT: Two major reforms took place: the overhaul of no-fault insurance and the enhanced oversight of insurance companies.

2.4 请勿在需要使用逗号时使用分号，尤其是在列表项目中没有逗号的情况下，应当使用逗号分隔。

NOT: At common law, a corporation could be dissolved by an act of the legislature~~{;}~~ the death of all members~~{;}~~ the forfeiture of the franchise~~{;}~~ or the surrender of the corporate charter.
BUT: At common law, a corporation could be dissolved by an act of the legislature, the death of all members, the forfeiture of the franchise, or the surrender of the corporate charter.
NOT: The right of courts to refuse to enforce contract terms has been recognized for centuries~~{;}~~ and fraud is one of the oldest doctrine used by the courts in this policing policy.
BUT: The right of courts to refuse to enforce contract terms has been recognized for centuries, and fraud is one of the oldest doctrines used by the courts in this policing policy.

冒号（Colon）

以下情况需要使用冒号：

3.1 当前后两个句子或短语存在递进关系时，可以在两个句子或短语中间使用冒号连接，比如后一个成分是对前一个成分的解释，或者后一个成分为前一个成分提供例证。

After two hours, they reconciled: the chef apologized, and the owner rehired him with a $10 raise.
A trademark can be seen as an advertising idea: it is a way of marking goods so that they will be identified with a particular source.
Even the stipulation did not extinguish Highland’s uncertainty about what it was buying: the precise scope of PetroLink’s compensatory and other duties remained in doubt.

3.2 冒号可用于引入项目列表，尤其是穷举式和分段式的列表。

Each conspirator may be liable for the crimes of all other conspirators if two conditions are satisfied: (1) if the crimes were committed in furtherance of the conspiracy’s objectives, and (2) if the crimes were a natural and probable consequence of the conspiracy.
The seller may do any of four things: (a) withdraw and terminate the contract, while remaining free to sell the property elsewhere; (b) force the buyer to pay the price through and action for specific performance; (c) sue for actual damages; or (d) retain any down payment made by the buyers as liquidated damages.
In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the seller need not see that the goods reach the buyer but need only:
(a) put the goods into the hands of a reasonable carrier and make a reasonable contract for their transportation to the buyer;
(b) obtain and promptly render any documents required by the contract or by trade usage to enable the buyer to take possession; and
(c) promptly notify the buyer of the shipment.

3.3 冒号可用于引入一段句子成分完整的引文，尤其是长引文。

Although some believe that lower courts are strictly bound by precedent, no matter how ill-fitting the result, Judge Learned Hand opposed this view:
It is always embarrassing for a lower court to say whether the time has come to disregard decisions of a higher court, not yet explicitly overruled, because they parallel others in which the higher court has expressed a contrary view. I agree that one should not wait for formal retraction in the face of changes plainly foreshadowed. But nothing has yet appeared to satisfy me that the case at bar is of that kind. Nor is it desirable for a lower court to embrace the exhilarating opportunity of anticipating a doctrine that may be in the womb of time, but whose birth is distant; on the contrary, I conceive that the measure of its duty is to divine, as best it can, what would be the event of an appeal in the case before it.
In response to a public outcry over the Hinckley case, Congress substantially codified the McNaghten rules in statutory form:
It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under any federal statute that, at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts. Mental disease or defect does not otherwise constitute a defense.
Molholt’s May 1 report states: “My first hypothesis was that if persons who were near the plant at the time of the accident can be shown to have chronic immunosuppression ten years later, then they must have been exposed to at least 100 rems during the accident.”

3.4 在通信的称呼语后使用冒号（在非正式信件中也可以使用逗号）。

Dear Judge Reavley:
Dear Ms. Grogan:

注意不要误用冒号：

3.5 引文或项目列表成为完整句子的某一个成分的，不用冒号引入。

NOT: The real issue is what has been called~~{:}~~ “the most difficult problem in criminal procedure today.”
BUT:The real issue is what has been called “the most difficult problem in criminal procedure today.”
NOT: In this sense, there is much wisdom in the apparently extreme aphorism of Jefferson that~~{:}~~ “every constitution naturally expires at the end of 19 years.”
BUT: In this sense, there is much wisdom in the apparently extreme aphorism of Jefferson that “every constitution naturally expires at the end of 19 years.”
NOT: The House Report stated that the purpose of the legislation was~~{:}~~
to close the back door on illegal immigration so that the front door on legal immigration may remain open. The principal means of closing the back door, or curtailing future illegal immigration, is through employer sanctions. Employers will be deterred by the penalties in this legislation from hiring unauthorized aliens. And this, in turn, will deter aliens from entering illegally or violating their status in search of employment.
BUT: The House Report stated that the purpose of the legislation was
to close the back door on illegal immigration so that the front door on legal immigration may remain open. The principal means of closing the back door, or curtailing future illegal immigration, is through employer sanctions. Employers will be deterred by the penalties in this legislation from hiring unauthorized aliens. And this, in turn, will deter aliens from entering illegally or violating their status in search of employment.

括号（Parentheses）

以下情况需要使用括号：

4.1 可以将作者想要压缩至最短的短语、从句或整个句子加上括号，嵌入到句子当中。

If we increase the punishment, some people (not everybody) will stop doing the deed from fear of punishment.
Once a child is born alive (assuming that the wife does not die in childbirth), the husband’s shared freehold is converted into a life estate in his own right in his wife’s freeholds.
Sony and Toyota, if they were American companies, would have hundreds of lawyers on their payroll at their beck and call on Wall Street. (Maybe their American subsidiaries do.) Lawyers in the United States do things that are not done — or not done by lawyers — in Japan.

4.2 引入缩写时需要加上括号。

In the Controlled Question Technique (CQT), the test method that polygraph examiners use most often, an examiner asks three types of questions: neutral, control, and relevant.
Sergeant Silk alleges that the City violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against him because of his sleep apnea. (尽管通常情况下要在缩写名前后加上双引号，比如这里可以写为Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”)，但对于众所周知的缩写名而言，加上引号反而不常见，也没那么有必要。)
Petitioners Southeast Crescent Shipping Company and Southeast Crescent Terminal Company (collectively Southeast) are parties to a contract with the International Longshore Workers’ Association, Local 1492 (the Union).

4.3 当句子中出现编号列表时，要在编号前后加上括号。

This Court has reviewed orders not specified in the notice of appeal when (1) there is a connection between the specified order and unspecified order, (2) the intention to appeal the unspecified part is apparent, and (3) the opposing party is not prejudiced and has a full opportunity to brief the issues.
Ohio law recognizes a claim for invasion of privacy in a case of (1) the unwarranted appropriation or exploitation of one’s personality, (2) the publicizing of one’s private affairs with which the public has no legitimate concern, or (3) the wrongful intrusion into one’s private activities in a manner that outrages or shames a person of ordinary sensibilities.
The court must determine the propriety of the remark by considering the following factors: (a) the nature and seriousness of the statement; (b) whether defense counsel invited it; (c) whether the district court sufficiently instructed the jury to disregard it; (d) whether defense counsel had the opportunity to respond to the improper statement; and (e) whether the weight of the evidence was against the defendant.

4.4 在引注中，用括号来表示下位部分。在引用案例时，括号可以用于给出判决案件的法院和年份，对判决结果或引注内容相关性进行解释，或者解释引用文本是否做出任何修改。无需顾虑括号套括号是否会影响写作的整洁程度，但必须确保左右括号之间匹配。

Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(d).
12 U.S.C. § 1821(d)(11)(A).
Fowlkes v. Thomas, 667 F.3d 270 (2d Cir. 2012) (per curiam).

长划线（Em-Dash）

注：在长划线前后加上空格并非必须，但大多数美国的编辑手册会建议不要加此类空格。

以下情况需要使用长划线：

5.1 在句子中插入对前文表述内容进行修饰的短语时，此类短语必须在句中出现，这时要在前后加上长划线。

The Declaration of Independence, in its expressive force binding all “governments” — national, state, country and city — doesn’t declare itself to be “law.”
The plaintiffs here — two young children and their parents — have sued the city for violations of their constitutional rights.
The argument is that testimony from Chancey — if She had given it — would have been enough to get those statements into evidence as prior recollections recorded.

5.2 如果要强调本应置于括号之中的成分，可以不用括号代之长划线。

Accident law — the heart of the legal field we call torts — is basically the offspring of the 19th-century railroad.
The enumerated rights found in the Constitution and in our Bill of Rights — the first ten amendments — are insufficient to found a system broad and comprehensive enough for a really free people.
The majority — as Justice John Marshall Harlan pointed out in his dissent — brushed aside evidence of subhuman work conditions.

5.3 如有必要在句后添加评论或强调部分内容，可以在句后使用长划线。

In 1992, it was reported that about 100,000 private security guards toted guns — more than the combined police forces of the country’s 30 largest cities.
Overtime parkers now have to pay a big fine and run around the city to reclaim their cars — a colossal nuisance.
The lawyers’ special province is not peopled with human beings in their full humanity, but with types — that is, with human beings only as they fit into legal categories.

注意不要误用长划线：

5.4 一个句子中不应出现超过两个长划线。如果不是成对使用长划线的，同一个句子中不应出现超过一个长划线。

NOT: In the several matters involved in the Noia case, the Supreme Court denied certiorari four times — the first of these in 1948 — before it finally decided the case 15 years later — in 1963.
BUT: In the several matters involved in the Noia case, the Supreme Court denied certiorari four times — the first of these in 1948 — before it finally decided the case 15 years later, in 1963.
NOT: NOT: Normally there is no difficulty in ascertaining who is entitled to the property — but if there is difficulty — for example, because it isn’t known whether a missing beneficiary is alive or dead — the court may authorize the personal representative to distribute the estate on the assumption that a missing claimant is dead, or on some other reasonable assumption.
BUT: Normally there is no difficulty in ascertaining who is entitled to the property. But if there is difficulty — for example, because it isn’t known whether a missing beneficiary is alive or dead — the court may authorize the personal representative to distribute the estate on the assumption that a missing claimant is dead, or on some other reasonable assumption.

译者注：关于如何在Word中插入长划线、短划线和连字符，可以在Word中通过「插入-高级符号-特殊字符」来插入相关符号，参见下图：

示例.png

短划线（En-Dash）

以下情况需要使用短划线：

6.1 短划线的用法与to相同（如表示页码的范围）。短划线还可用于表达张力或差异，也可用于表达具有相同地位的两种成对出现的要素。

233–34
love–hate relationship
contract–tort doctrine

注意不要误用短划线：

6.2 需要使用连字符或长划线的，不能用短划线。

NOT: The state–court action disposed of her wrongful—discharge claim.
BUT: The state-court action disposed of her wrongful-discharge claim.
NOT: The court upheld the wage–and–hour laws.
BUT: The court upheld the wage-and-hour laws.
NOT: A knowledgeable bench can smooth the road for a sound–or a persuasive–argument.
BUT: A knowledgeable bench can smooth the road for a sound — or a persuasive — argument.

连字符（Hyphen）

以下情况需要使用连字符：

7.1 短语形容词的构成部分之间用连字符连接。所谓短语形容词，是指一系列单词组成的用以修饰名词的短语。

First-year law students are sometimes unready for their end-of-the-year doldrums. (first-year是修饰名词短语law students的短语形容词，end-of-the-year是修饰名词doldrums的短语形容词。)
The court applied the common-law mirror-image rule. (common-law和mirror-image都是修饰rule的短语形容词。common law作为名词短语使用时，中间不加连字符。)
The benefit-of-insurance clause and the waiver-of-subrogation clause were both held to be invalid because they conflicted with the plaintiff’s marine-cargo insurance policy. (benefit-of-insurance和waiver-of-subrogation是分别修饰clause的短语形容词，marine-cargo是修饰名词短语insurance policy的短语形容词。)

7.2 拼写分数时要使用连字符。

Three-fifths of those present concurred.
One-third of the punitive damages were eliminated by remittitur.

注意不要误用连字符：

7.3 构词前缀后不加连字符。但以下情形除外：
（1）不加连字符会引致误解（如anti-intellectual）；
（2）原初词本身首字母大写，比如这个词本身是一个专有名词（如non-Hohfeldian）；
（3）前缀本身构成名词短语的一部分（如non-contract-law doctrine）；
（4）加连字符与不加连字符含义不同（如prejudicial和pre-judicial）。

7.4 需要使用长划线或短划线的，不能使用连字符（或者两个连字符连用）来代替。

NOT: Frequently both sides will let a neutral third person – an arbitrator – make final decisions.
BUT: Frequently both sides will let a neutral third person — an arbitrator — make final decisions.
NOT: The correctional complex--the latest trend in federal corrections--is a series of several institutions on one enormous plot of land.
BUT: The correctional complex — the latest trend in federal corrections — is a series of several institutions on one enormous plot of land.

引号（Quotation Marks）

以下情况需要使用引号：

8.1 不超过49词的引文，应当使用引号。超过这一长度的长引文需要分段并缩进。

Vitalone's supervisor told him that he would be “out the door” if he complained one more time about Plourde.
Within earshot of both parents and pupils, Hennessy called the exhibition “disgusting” and the Cesaro painting "obscene" before leaving in the middle of class.
A quarter-century ago, Justice Powell wrote: “The Government, as an employer, must have wide discretion and control over the management of its personnel and internal affairs.”

8.2 以下情况应使用引号：（1）强调某一专用单词或短语（如果出现频率较高，则直接使用斜体更好）；（2）下定义。

The word “malice” contains an ambiguity.
Both circuit courts turned to the legislative history to determine the meaning of the phrase “value as of the effective date of the plan.”
"Joinder" means “the uniting of parties or claims in a single lawsuit.”

8.3 当想要表达“所谓的”、“自创的”，或者“大家都是这么说但实际上也未必的”时，可以使用引号。

Certain forms of expression have been described as “illusory promises.” (“所谓的”)
Jack Burke, a “cable troubleshooter,” questioned Veazey about the message. (“自创的”)
Immense effort has been made to discover the “origin” of the concept of consideration, to construct the “correct” definition of consideration, and to express in words the true consideration “doctrine” by means of which the enforceability of informal promises can be determined. But there is no specific and definite “origin” to be discovered; no particular definition can be described as the only “correct” one; and there never has been a uniform “doctrine” by which enforceability can be deductively determined. (这里引号的使用表明作者对这些词语的准确性表示质疑。)

8.4 引号常常用于电影、歌曲和诗歌（包括文章）等标题，但在法律问题上这些标题中是否使用引号，要遵循法律引注标准。请参阅《蓝皮书》（Bluebook，21st ed. 2020）或《美国法律写作指导委员会法律引注指南》（ALWD Guide to Legal Citation，7th ed. 2021）。

In the screenplay “Concealed,” Marty obtains information from an elderly retired city clerk who sells tomatoes.
In his article entitled “Supply-Side Journalism,” Seth Ackerman argues that the German welfare state has become so elaborate and labor costs so expansive that companies can’t afford new workers.
The wording was intended as an allusion to John Donne’s poem “Death Be Not Proud.”

8.5 引文中引用的内容要使用单引号。

In that case, the plaintiff saw the driver coming and attempted to flee, but he was unable to get out because “the door to the booth was ‘jammed and stuck,’ trapping the plaintiff inside.” (从the door到inside是法院的判决，但法院在其中引用了证言中出现的“jammed and stuck”。)
Judge Charles E. Wyzanski Jr. has observed of Justice Holmes: “His starting point was an awareness that ‘the provisions of the Constitution are not mathematical formulas having their essence in their form; they are organic living institutions transplanted from English soil.’” (作者引用怀赞斯基法官的文本中引用了霍姆斯法官的话。)
“‘[T]he provisions of the Constitution are not mathematical formulas having their essence in their form; they are organic living institutions transplanted from English soil.’” (这段文字直接引用了怀赞斯基引用霍姆斯的话，但没有任何一个词是怀赞斯基说的。只要能够找到这段话的来源，并验证引文的真实性，最好直接引用霍姆斯的作品。如果不能，应当按照这种方式引用。在引注中应当注明这是怀赞斯基的书中“原样引用”（as quoted in）霍姆斯的话，或是怀赞斯基“引用霍姆斯”（quoting Holmes）的话。)

8.6 使用引号时，要正确处理引号与其他标点符号之间的关系：（1）句号和逗号应置于引号之内；（2）冒号和分号应置于引号之外；（3）问号和感叹号置于引号之内还是之外，取决于标点本身是否为引用的内容。

The police officers testified that Jensen seemed “nervous,” adding that at one point he seemed “jittery to the point of arousing a sense of alarm.”
The written review of Eversham’s performance stated that “well-thought-out analysis was lacking”; that his understanding of financial analysis was “a major weakness”; and that he had a “tendency to bulldoze people.”
Did Pullman really attribute the decline to “poor sales projections”?
Pullman asked, “Did I really say that?”

注意不要误用引号：

8.7 短语形容词不用引号。

NOT: This “declining interest rate” scenario seems unlikely.
BUT: This declining-interest-rate scenario seems unlikely.
NOT: According to the “fraud on the market” theory, if the market itself is defrauded by misrepresentations, then plaintiffs who relied on the integrity of the market price when buying securities have presumptively relied on those misrepresentations.
BUT: According to the fraud-on-the-market theory, if the market itself is defrauded by misrepresentations, then plaintiffs who relied on the integrity of the market price when buying securities have presumptively relied on those misrepresentations.

8.8 不能仅为强调某个单词而使用引号。

NOT: This is not “any” evidence of this behavior.
BUT: This is not any evidence of this behavior.
NOT: Although the Bertelsby Company “claims” to have been harmed, it has produced no evidence to date.
BUT: Although the Bertelsby Company claims to have been harmed, it has produced no evidence to date.

省略号（Ellipsis Dots）

以下情况需要使用省略号：

9.1 使用三个点省略号来表示作者在引用一句话时省略了部分内容。

“Statutes in most states … require the landlord to put the tenant in actual possession of the premises at the beginning of the leasehold term.” (引用这段话的作者删去了原文中用一对逗号隔开的短语with but a few exceptions。)
“The immediate claimants have to be viewed … as members of classes whose contours are by no means self-evident.” (引用这段话的作者删去了原文中用一对逗号隔开的短语in other words。)
“In presenting a few of the recognized authority techniques …, the author tried to group and phrase them in a way that shows how many distinct aspects of a case or of a doctrine there are.” (引用这段话的作者删去了原文中用一对逗号隔开的短语at page 77，但后一个逗号由于逗号使用规则1.2保留，即介绍性短语之后要用逗号。)

9.2 使用四个点（即三个点省略号和一个句号）来表示作者在引用一句话时，直接省略到句子末尾。此时在省略号和句号之间要有一个空格。

“An arrest is neither a conviction of a crime nor even a final formal charge of a crime … .”
The court held that this “discrimination based on union activity constitutes an unfair labor practice … .”
“The 10-K reports of these companies made no reference to this investigation … .”

9.3 使用四个点（即一个句号和三个点省略号）来表示作者引用一个完整句子后，省略了一些句子，但引文仍要继续的情况。此时在第一个点前不加空格，因为第一个点是句号。

“Seeking the admission of video and photographs of a witness is hardly unusual. … [A]ttacking a witness’s demeanor, if relevant, is a fully acceptable and expected litigation tactic.”
“The American court system is complex. Each state runs its own separate system of courts; no two state systems are exactly alike. … What makes matters even more mixed up is the double system of courts in the country: state and federal.”
“The Council of State Governments has proposed, and a number of state legislatures have approved, three constitutional amendments. … These proposals, clearly a reaction against recent decisions of the Supreme Court, reflect a spirit of localism for whose counterpart we would have to look to the sectional struggles before the Civil War or even to the position of the states under the Articles of Confederation.”

撇号（Apostrophes）

以下情况需要使用撇号：

10.1 撇号可用于表示属格（即属有关系）。

The district court’s refusal to give a requested jury instruction is reviewed for an abuse of discretion.
She insisted that she had had no knowledge of the methamphetamine concealed in the truck’s gas tank.
The staffers’ responsibility was to handle both agencies’ telephone calls, including the three calls that originated from the Lopezes’ home.

10.2 撇号可用于省略一个或多个字符，这种情况尤其出现在否定式中。

You won’t drive the nail straight if you don’t hold it straight, and so also you won’t achieve an effective system of law unless you give some heed to principles of legality.
Many lawyers use these estate-planning solutions, and many who don’t use them don’t understand why they don’t.
Back in the late ’80s, the claimant was stopped at two o’clock in the morning for driving under the influence.

注意不要误用撇号：

10.3 一般不要使用撇号来作为复数的构成标志。使用撇号要极其小心。

NOT: The evidence showed the applicant’s intent to adopt a mark that suggests to purchasers a successful mark already in use by another.
BUT: The evidence showed the applicant’s intent to adopt a mark that suggests to purchasers a successful mark already in use by another.
NOT: The Smith’s will attend the Jones’ open house.
BUT: The Smiths will attend the Joneses’ open house.
NOT: In the 2020’s no zone is so imitate, personal, or private that it is immune from the staring eye of the law.
BUT: In the 2020s no zone is so imitate, personal, or private that it is immune from the staring eye of the law.

10.4 不能漏掉必要的撇号。

NOT: Jean Forney then visited one of the hotels many shops.
BUT: Jean Forney then visited one of the hotel’s many shops.
NOT: Reynolds went immediately to the Johnsons house.
BUT: Reynolds went immediately to the Johnsons’ house.

问号（Question Mark）

以下情况需要使用问号：

11.1 直接疑问句后要使用问号。

Does it make sense to talk about evolutionary change in the history of law?
When is there no right answer to a question of law?
In determining a contract’s “plain meaning,” should a court look to general linguistic usage in the nation or in the particular locality? Should the court consider meanings attached to words by people in a particular occupation, religion, or ethnic group? Which meaning should be used if M and X are not members of the same group? Should this question be resolved on the basis of which party had superior knowledge, charging that party with knowledge of the meaning that the other side might attach to the language?

注意不要误用问号：

11.2 间接疑问句后不使用问号。

NOT: She asked whether anyone preset had seen the accident?
BUT: She asked whether anyone preset had seen the accident.
NOT: He wondered whether the weapon in question was the one he had confiscated from the athletic dorm?
BUT: He wondered whether the weapon in question was the one he had confiscated from the athletic dorm.

感叹号（Exclamation Point）

以下情况需要使用感叹号：

12.1 在表示惊叹的单词、短语或句子要使用感叹号，尤其是在引述其他人原文就带有感叹号的句子时，感叹号要保留。

Before plunging into the sea, the captain shouted, “We’re going over now!”
Within seconds, there were cries: “Help! Man overboard!”

注意不要误用感叹号：

12.2 通常情况下，不用感叹号来表达作者自己的惊奇或诧异。

NOT: Yet they can’t support this argument!
BUT: Yet they can’t support this argument.
NOT: Despite this overwhelming precedent, the court held otherwise!
BUT: Despite this overwhelming precedent, the court held otherwise.

句号（Period）

以下情况需要使用句号：

13.1 对于没有表达疑问和惊叹语气的句子，用句号作为句子结束的标志。

European legal scholars make much of the distinction between public and private law.
But as many common-law scholars have pointed out, the distinction seems less and less relevant as time goes on.

13.2 在表示缩写的词后面加上句号（下脚点），如Mr.、Ms.、Mrs.等。

This theory was first put forward by Dr. Jurgen Schafer.
Though she had a PhD, she preferred to be called “Ms. Wheelock.”

13.3 括号或方括号中的内容如果只是句子的一部分，句号置于括号外；如果是一个完整的句子，句号置于括号内。

The Court has upheld a statute prohibiting local casinos from advertising in a way that encourages residents to visit the casinos (as opposed to encouraging tourists).
A will has no effect on joint-tenancy property because the will is purely a testamentary conveyance (effective only at death, at which time the decedent’s rights in the property evaporate).
A plaintiff who establishes negligence but not malice also has to provide competent evidence of actual damages. (This changes the common-law rule that damages would be presumed by law for injury to reputation and did not require proof.) Actual damages may be awarded not only for economic losses but also for injury to the plaintiff’s reputation in the community and for personal humiliation and distress.

方括号（Brackets）

以下情况需要使用方括号：

14.1 在引文中使用一对方括号用来表示是引用者加入的、原文没有的评论、解释、插补、替换或翻译。

“The action arose ex delicto [in tort], not ex contractu [from a contract].” (引用者在其中加入了两个拉丁术语的翻译。)
Justice Rehnquist, for the Court, declared: “We hold that insofar as [the federal provisions] directly displace the States’ freedom to structure integral operations in areas of traditional governmental functions, they are not within the authority granted to Congress.” (引文中原来使用的是they，为便于读者理解，引用者将其改为the federal provisions。)
Maldanado is responsible for all “drugs [she] personally handled or anticipated handling and for drugs involved in additional acts that, being reasonably foreseeable by [her], were committed in furtherance of the conspiracy.” (引文中原来使用的是he和him，即制定法中通常使用的代词，但对应于本句主语，引用者将其替换为she和her。)

14.2 用一对方括号表示作者在引文中改变或增加的字母。

The search-warrant requirement arose from the Founders’ understanding that “[p]ower is a heady thing, and history shows that the police acting on their own cannot be trusted.” (在这段引文中，power一词本来是这句话的首个单词，并且使用了大写。)
The court also cautioned that any interpretation should guard against “chang[ing] the meaning, since this would go beyond mere interpretation.” (在这段引文中，本来使用的是We caution that courts must not change the meaning …)
As Justice Rehnquist said in dissent in Kassel, the Court’s present balancing approach “arrogate[s] to this Court functions of forming public policy, functions that, in the absence of congressional action, were left by the Framers of the Constitution to state legislatures.” (原文中使用的是arrogated，作者为符合语法将其改为arrogates。)

14.3 使用一对空方括号，用来表示作者删掉了一个单词的部分内容（通常是动词的变位）。

The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that an essential function of the warrant is to “assure[] the individual whose property is searched or seized of the lawful authority of the executing officer, his need to search, and the limits of his power to search.” (原文中使用的是assures。)
When a case becomes moot, the federal courts “lack[] subject-matter jurisdiction over the action.” (原文中使用的是lacks，因为原文的主语是a federal court。)

注意不要误用方括号：

14.4 当删掉一个及以上单词，并且没有用其他单词来替换被删掉的单词的，应当使用省略号，不能使用方括号。

NOT: “Although [] Jackson need not show a significant injury, he must have suffered at least some injury.” (中间删掉的内容为：despite the foregoing arguments)
BUT: “Although … Jackson need not show a significant injury, he must have suffered at least some injury.”
NOT: “Several states provide by statute that compliance with applicable governmental statutes creates [] a presumption that the defendant exercised due care.” (中间删掉的内容为：some legal implications, most importantly)
BUT: “Several states provide by statute that compliance with applicable governmental statutes creates … a presumption that the defendant exercised due care.”

斜线（Slash/Virgule）

以下情况需要使用斜线：

15.1 分数的分子和分母中间用斜线分隔。

1/4
15/365

15.2 斜线可用于表示选择关系，但最好不要使用and/or这种表述。

The January/February issue is devoted to drafting better corporate documents.
The employee/independent-contractor issue needs close consideration.
The violent/nonviolent nature of the threat is often a determining factor.

15.3 在非正式写作中，可以用斜线表示“每一……”（per）。

2000/year
$100/hour

15.4 在非正式写作中，可以用斜线来分隔日期。

11/17/58
1/1/00

注意不要误用斜线：

15.5 在需要使用短划线或连字符时，不要使用斜线。

NOT: An essential element of the employer/employee relationship was lacking.
BUT: An essential element of the employer–employee relationship was lacking. (这里的employer和employee的含义并不相同，因此应该使用短划线。)
NOT: The lawyer/consultant worked for the company for no more than two months.
BUT:The lawyer-consultant worked for the company for no more than two months. (这里的lawyer和consultant是指同一个人，因此应该使用连字符。)