2．The Semicolon分号

The semicolon is used for a break that is often the equivalent of a period;in fact，the semicolon is sometimes called a weak period．It usually separates items of equal grammatical rank．

分号，或称弱句号，也是一种连接性标点符号，一般连接两个或两个以上意义相似或相反而又处于同一层次的语法单位。

a．To join clauses without conjunctions

A semicolon is strong enough to join two independent clauses without a conjunction．A comma cannot do so．

无需连词，分号可以直接连接两个或两个以上分句，而逗号则不可以。

Burt is the senior inventory manager;he has been with our company for five years．

Our company cannot continue without products;it must produce or go out of business．

b．To join clauses with transitional expressions

When the second independent clause includes a transitional word or phrase，a comma is not strong enough to join the clauses．They must be joined by a semicolon．

分号常与连接性副词（状语）连用，以表示两个句子之间的语义关系。

Benjamin approves all large purchases for the entire division;however，he is now in Europe on business．

Your offer is quite interesting;in fact，if you can hold it for the whole year，we will place in large quantities．

The company has increased its profits each year;therefore it has increased its dividends to stockholders as well．

c．To prevent misreading

If a compound sentence contains commas in either or both clauses and a strong break is needed to make the message clear，use a semicolon to separate the clauses even if a conjunction is used．

有时为表示强调，分号也可以连接几个并列的已含有逗号的词组或句子。

Among the topics to be covered today are general sales techniques，our discount policy，and commissions;and the incentive compensation plan will be discussed next week．

Although Daphne has worked hard on the report，she seems unable to finish it;butshe does hope to submit a preliminary report by June 1．

d．Before explanatory or enumerating words

Use a semicolon before words and phrases such as for example，namely，that is，and that is to say when they introduce an independent clause，an enumeration，or an explanation that is incidental to the rest of the sentence．Either a colon or a comma may also be used．

在表示举例或解释性的短语如for example，namely，that is，或that is to say前用分号（有时也可以用冒号或逗号）。

To find routine information，you will need to keep up-to-date references handy;for example，a dictionary，an almanac，a ZIP Code directory，and a business writer's manual．

At the club meeting the president introduced both of the candidates;that is，Mrs．Hazlitt and Mr．Scott．

I could not complete the tax return by the due date，that is，April 15．

If the enumeration or explanation occurs within the sentence，it may be set off by commas，dashes，or parentheses．

假如句子内部存在着列举或解释关系，也可以用逗号、破折号、括号等进行分隔。

Many European cities—for example，London，Paris，Brussels，and Rome—are experiencing great inflation．

Relative pronouns(for example，who，which，and that)introduce dependent clauses．

e．In a series

Series of items that contain internal commas should be separated by semicolons instead of commas to prevent misreading．

几个并列成分内部若已有逗号，为避免误读，通常用分号将其隔开。

He suggested selecting one of these dates for the meeting:Saturday，June 4;Friday，June 17;or Monday，June 27．

The candidates for the president of the company were Mr．Taylor，the assistant vice president;Mr．Harper，the sales manager;and Mrs．Kelly，the head administrative assistant．