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Is it a flying comma, or a quotation mark chopped in half?
這是長翅膀的逗號,還是被分做兩半的引號?
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Either way, you may already be well-versed in how to use the apostrophe, but here's a quick refresher on its usage.
不論是哪種情況,你應該已經很清楚如何使用撇號「'」,但這裡還是很快地幫你複習一下它的用法。
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The apostrophe can be used in three ways: to mark possession, to mark contraction, to mark the plural of single letters.
在下列三種情況下須使用撇號:標記所有物、標記縮寫、標記單一字母的複數用法。
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Most of the time, if you see an apostrophe hovering helpfully near a word, it's trying to mark possession or contraction.
在大多數的情況,如果你看到撇號盤旋在一個詞彙上,那是為了要標記所有物和縮寫。
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First, let's look at how the apostrophe marks possession.
首先,我們來看看如何用撇號標記所有物。
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As you can see, the placement of this punctuation mark can really change the meaning of a sentence.
如你所見,撇號所在的位置會完全改變整句話的意思。
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"Those robots in the sand are my sister's."
「這些在沙堆中的機器人是我姊姊的東西。」
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"Those robots in the sand are my sisters'."
「這些在沙堆中的機器人是我姊姊們的東西。」
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"Those robots in the sand are my sisters."
「這些在沙堆中的機器人是我姊姊們。」
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When showing possession, the apostrophe belongs next to the noun that owns or possesses something.
當要表達所有物時,在名詞旁的撇號表示擁有或屬於某樣東西。
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The noun can be singular or plural.
這個名詞可以是單數或複數。
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Proper nouns work, too.
專有名詞也可以。
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So if Lucy needs to get her robots under control before they cause mayhem, those dangerous creatures would be "Lucy's robots."
如果 Lucy 要在她的機器人造成恐慌前管好它們的話,這些危險的東西就是 "Lucy's robots."(「Lucy的機器人。」)
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But what if Lucy was Lucas?
但如果今天換成是 Lucas 的呢?
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Would we write "Lucas' robots" or "Lucas's robots"?
我們會寫 "Lucas' robots" 還是 "Lucas's robots"?
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And what if Lucas gave his robots to the Robinsons family?
又如果 Lucas 把他的機器人交給了 Robinsons 一家人?
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Would it be "The Robinsons' robots," or "The Robinsons's robots"?
那會是 "The Robinsons' robots" 還是 "The Robinsons's robots"?
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The truth is, even grammar nerds disagree on the right thing to do.
事實上,就算是很在意文法的人也不清楚該怎麼標。
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The use of 's after a proper noun ending in s is a style issue, not a hard and fast grammar rule.
在專有名詞的結尾是 "s" 的情況下,用 " 's " 的用法是好不好看的問題,不是好不好寫或好不好懂的文法問題。
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It's a conundrum without a simple answer.
這個問題沒有明確的答案。
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Professional writers solve this problem by learning what's considered correct for a publication, and doing that.
專業作家用他們覺得正確的寫法解決了這個問題,寫做 " s' "。
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The important thing is to pick one style and stick with it throughout a piece of writing.
重要的是選用一種寫法,並整份文章上就用那種寫法。
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One more wrinkle.
還有另一件麻煩的事情。
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Certain pronouns already have possession built in and don't need an apostrophe.
有些代名詞已經有所有物的意思,那就不需要再加上撇號。
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Remembering that will help you avoid one of the trickiest snags in English grammar: its vs. it's.
記得這點將會讓你不會犯下英文文法上最容易犯的錯誤:"its" 跟 "it's"。
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"It's" only take an apostrophe when it's a contraction for "it is" or "it has."
"it's" 有撇號,代表 "it is" 或 "it has"。
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If you can replace "it's" with one of those two phrases, use the apostrophe.
如果你要把上述的兩種寫法換成 "it's",那就加上撇號。
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If you're showing possession, leave it out.
如果你是要表達所有物,那就不用加了。
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Otherwise, contractions are pretty straightforward.
另外,縮寫的用法比較直接。
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The apostrophe stands in for missing letters, and lets common phrases squash into a single word.
撇號是為了表示省略的字,讓常寫的片語縮短成一個詞彙。
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In rare cases, you can have a double contraction, though those generally aren't accepted in writing, with the exception of dialogue.
少數情況下,你會看到兩個撇號一起出現,然而通常寫作上是不允許這樣的寫法的,除了在一段對話中才可以這樣寫。
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So it's possessive, it's often followed by s's, and it's sometimes tricky when it comes to its usage.
所以如果是表示所有物,那通常會加 " 's ",而當遇到 "its" 的用法時會需要小心。
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It's the apostrophe.
這就是撇號。