Punctuation

ピリオド

ピリオド（イギリス英語では「full stop」と呼ばれる）は文章の最後に付けます。ピリオドは略語、整数の区切り、省略記号（文書を一部省略するときに「...」として表示されます）にも使用されます。

Mr. Pirez was happy to be part of the new team.

I woke up at 6 a.m. on the dot.

They spent $76.37 in total.

Then he took the microphone, and we all know what happened next…

カンマ

英語では文章を構成良く区切るときにカンマを使用します。カンマの使用方法をいくつか紹介します。

名詞、動詞、形容詞の区切り

She studied math, geography, history and political science that semester.

I will take almonds, pine nuts, Brazil nuts and macadamias please.

He was so happy he jumped, yelled and danced all the way home.

Yesterday I tripped, dropped my bag and cut my hand falling down the stairs.

My sister is a smart, funny, ambitious and generous person.

I was not impressed by the rusty, dirty and generally beat up car he had for sale.

独立節の区切り

We drove home, we did all of the laundry, after that we fell asleep.

I will go tomorrow, I might even get there early.

非制限節の区切り

The party, which started at 7 p.m., was for her thirtieth birthday.

My grandma, who is Hungarian, loves to knit scarves for all of her grandchildren.

疑問部分の区切り

He left work at noon, didn't he?

We’ve been on the waitlist for months, haven't we?

間投詞

Wait, you don't have the tickets?

Hmm, this isn't exactly what I meant.

We're having ham for dinner, yes.

感嘆符

感嘆符は驚きや強調に使用されます。

Oh my goodness!

You can't be serious!

Turn the music down right now!

疑問符

英語では、疑問符は疑問の単語、フレーズ、節を表します。

Where are you going later?

Marc likes chicken, doesn't he?

Is my backpack in the backseat of your car?

You do?

コロン

コロンは羅列や説明の前に配置される句読点です。

I chose five subjects to study this term: psychology, sociology, biology, chemistry and physics.

There were only two rules: keep your room clean and help out with the cooking.

I had one thing on my mind: how to make as much money as possible that summer.

セミコロン

セミコロンは長い羅列の項目を区切って独立節をつなぎます。カンマよりも強いニュアンスを持ちますが、ピリオドほど頻繁に文末に使用しません。

I hate doing laundry; all of the separating annoys me.

Many world landmarks, the Matsushima islands in northeastern Japan; the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy; the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia; Yosemite National Park in the United States and Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe, were still on his bucket list.

引用符

引用符は、他人のセリフをそのまま引用するときに使用します。

He told me to "start acting like an adult or leave"!

In my opinion the most beautiful thing shakespeare ever wrote was "This above all: to thine ownself be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man."

I wasn't quite sure what she meant by "respectable clothes", so I wore this suit." %}

アポストロフィー

英語では、アポストロフィーの使用方法は2通りあります。アポストロフィーは短縮形で省略された文字の代わりに使用されます。

He can't (cannot) come to work today, he's sick.

You shouldn't (should not) smoke in the hospital.

I'm (I am) running late!

アポストロフィーのもう1つの使用方法では、所有を表します。

Miranda's purse was stolen from her car.

The school's front gate is locked.

The bus' window had been smashed in the storm.

The women's bathroom line up was very long.

ハイフン

英語では、ハイフンは複合語や語分割に使用します。

The ghost-like figure stood at the window.

My eight-year-old sister came first in the race.

One-fifth of the team had forgotten their hockey sticks.

She kept her computer up-to-date with the latest security software.

括弧

括弧はカンマと同様に使用され、文章の内容にとって重要とは限らない情報を示すときに使用します。

Her bedroom (which was the biggest) had a huge window overlooking the lake.

I didn’t go to the party (I would have seen him if I did).

One-fifth of the team had forgotten their hockey sticks.

The car (a 2012 Subaru Outback) was filthy from the drive through the field.