1.與中文一樣,分號用于分隔地位平等的獨(dú)立子句.在某些情況下,使用分號比使用句點(diǎn)更顯出子句之間的緊密聯(lián)系,另外分號也經(jīng)常與連接副詞 thus,however,therefore一起使用(放在這些詞語之前).如 I realize I need exercise; however,I’ll lie down first to think about it.
2.在句子中如果已經(jīng)使用過逗點(diǎn),為了避免歧義的產(chǎn)生,就用分號來分隔相似的內(nèi)容.如 The employees were Tom Hanks,the manager; Jim White,the engineer; and Dr.Jack Lee.
需要注意的是：一個(gè)完整的句子以大寫字母開始,以句點(diǎn)結(jié)束.寫英文時(shí)用逗點(diǎn)代替句點(diǎn)、分號、冒號或破折號叫“逗號錯”,這正是中國學(xué)生所要避免的.請比較下列例句：
誤：It was raining hard,they could not work in the fields.
（注意：上面句子中劃橫線的部分是兩個(gè)不同的主語,而且逗點(diǎn)前后的句子是完整的-----單獨(dú)拿出來都能代表一個(gè)完整的意思.因此,用逗號違反了英文規(guī)定,即一個(gè)句子只能有一套主干.）
正：It was raining hard; they could not work in the fields.
It was raining hard.They could not work in the fields.