Punctuation
Il punto
Il punto, noto anche come "full stop" nell'inglese britannico, segna la fine di una frase. I punti sono utilizzati anche per esprimere abbreviazioni, separare i numeri interi dai decimali e creare ellissi (tre punti che indicano che manca una parte della frase).
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…
La virgola
Le virgole in inglese separano le frasi in parti gestibili. Ecco i diversi modi di usare le virgole.
Separazione di nomi, verbi e aggettivi
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.
Separazione di clausole indipendenti
We drove home, we did all of the laundry, after that we fell asleep.
I will go tomorrow, I might even get there early.
Separazione di clausole non restrittive
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.
Coda interrogativa
He left work at noon, didn't he?
We’ve been on the waitlist for months, haven't we?
Interiezioni
Wait, you don't have the tickets?
Hmm, this isn't exactly what I meant.
We're having ham for dinner, yes.
Il punto esclamativo
I punti esclamativi sono utilizzati per esprimere sorpresa, stupore o enfasi.
Oh my goodness!
You can't be serious!
Turn the music down right now!
Il punto interrogativo
Il punto interrogativo indica una parola, una frase o una clausola interrogativa in inglese.
Where are you going later?
Marc likes chicken, doesn't he?
Is my backpack in the backseat of your car?
You do?
I due punti
I due punti sono un segno di punteggiatura che precede un elenco o una spiegazione.
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.
Il punto e virgola
Il punto e virgola separa gli elementi di un lungo elenco e collega le clausole indipendenti. Sono più forti delle virgole ma non sono definitivi come i punti fermi.
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.
Le virgolette
Le virgolette si usano quando si scrive qualcosa che qualcun altro ha detto esattamente.
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." %}
L'apostrofo
L'apostrofo in inglese viene utilizzato in due modi. Gli apostrofi sostituiscono le lettere mancanti nelle contrazioni:
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!
L'altro uso degli apostrofi è quello di indicare il possesso:
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.
Il trattino
In inglese il trattino viene utilizzato per le parole composte e per la divisione delle parole.
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.
Parentesi
Le parentesi sono utilizzate in modo simile alle virgole: indicano informazioni aggiuntive che non sono necessariamente essenziali per il significato della frase.
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.