et al.的正確用法

在英文論文的編輯加工中,常會遇到such as, for example, e. g. , i. e. , etc. 和et al. 的錯誤及混淆使用。這裏,舉例分析這幾個詞的意義,幷闡述其正確用法。

1)such as。常列舉同類人或事物中的幾個例子。

其典型的表示式爲a plural + such as + single instance( s) of the group to which the plural refers。

正確使用的是: The Arts Faculty deals only with humanities subjects such as history and literature.

混淆使用的是: The Science Faculty deals only with the measurable such as physics and seismology.

論文中常出現such as與and so on或etc. 連用, 這是不正確的。

① 如 It is noted that the features such as clean cut ratio denoted by Rc , die roll height denoted byHdr and die roll width denoted by Wdr , and so on (有的出現etc.) , are better than the ones with the other models.

應爲 It is noted that the features, such as clean cut ratio denoted by Rc , die roll height denoted byHdr and die roll width denoted by Wdr , are better than the ones with the other models.

當使用such as時,讀者已理解後面接著的會是一些不完整的列舉,因此不需加上and so on或 etc. 等。

② 因爲such as是對前面的複數名詞部分起列舉作用,若全部列舉出,要改用namely,意思爲“即”。文章中出現的He knows four languages, such as Chinese, English, Japanese and German,應將such as改成namely(或i. e. )及後面加逗號, 即He knows four languages, namely, Chinese, English, Japanese and German.

③ 用such as來形容複數名詞( the plural)可以放在such與as中間,一般插在被列舉事物與前面的名詞之間。

2) for example。用來舉例說明,由它引出介紹普遍概念的例子,使用範圍要比such as自由。可以出現在句首、句末或有時可作爲獨立語,插在句中,不影響句子其他部分的語法關係。

例如, Cryptography operations, for example, decryption or signing, in a given period only involve the corresponding temporary secret key without further access to the helper.

同樣for example ( e. g. )表示泛泛地舉幾個例子,幷沒有囊括所有的實例,其中就已經包含“等等”,如果再加etc. 或and so on,就畫蛇添足了。

如論文中出現的這句話是不當的:Writing instructors focus on a number of complex skills that require extensive practice (e. g. , organization, clear expression, logical thinking, etc. 正確的爲e. g. , organization, clear expression, and logical thinking.

3) e. g.。是拉丁文exempli gratia的縮寫,意思是“舉個例子,比如”,等同于“for example”,目的是用例子來說明前面的觀點,用法與for example相同。

4) i. e.。源于拉丁語,是id est的簡略形式。其意思就是“那就是說,換句話說”,等同于“that is, in other words”和“namely”,目的是用來進一步解釋前面所說的觀點。

正確的用法是Use a comma to enclose ( i. e. , both before and after) the year in a month day year sequence. 而文章中出現的這句The evaluation noted that the employee had frequently exhibited irresponsible behavior ( i. e. , coming to work late, failing to complete projects) ,應該用“e. g. ”而不是用“i. e. ”,因爲插入句是對“irresponsible behavior”的列舉補充。

5) etc.。是et cetera的縮寫,意思是“等等”,相當于“and so on”。可用來列舉事物,若要列舉人,則需用et al. 或用and others。

6) et al.。是拉丁文簡寫。其一爲et alibi (以及其他地方) ,相當于and elsewhere;其二爲et alii (以及其他人) ,相當于and others。