在英文论文中经常用到的「例如」,在英文中有很多单词有「例如」的意思,如such as, for example, e. g. , i. e. , etc. 和et al. 等。这些单词有何区别,如何正确使用「例如」。下面举例分析这几个词的意思,并阐述其正确用法。
Such As
常列举同类人或事物中的几个例子。
其典型的表示式为
a plural + such as + single instance( s) of the group to which the plural refers。
正确使用的是:
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.
论文中常出现such as与and so on或etc. 连用这是不正确的。
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 (有的出现etc.) , are better than the ones with the other models.
应为 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.
当使用such as时,读者已理解后面接着的会是一些不完整的列举,因此不需加上and so on或 etc. 等。
② 因为such as是对前面的复数名词部分起列举作用,若全部列举出,要改用namely,意思为「即」。文章中出现的He knows four languages, such as Chinese, English, Japanese and German,应将such as改成namely(或i. e. )及后面加逗号, 即He knows four languages, namely, Chinese, English, Japanese and German.
③ 用such as来形容复数名词( the plural)可以放在such与as中间,一般插在被列举事物与前面的名词之间。
For Example
用来举例说明,由它引出介绍普遍概念的例子,使用范围要比such as自由。可以出现在句首、句末或有时可作为独立语,插在句中,不影响句子其他部分的语法关系。
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.
同样for example ( e. g. )表示泛泛地举几个例子,并没有囊括所有的实例,其中就已经包含「等等」。如果再加etc. 或and so on,就画蛇添足了。
如论文中出现的这句话是不当的:Writing instructors focus on a number of complex skills that require extensive practice (e. g. , organization, clear expression, logical thinking, etc.
正确的为e. g. , organization, clear expression, and logical thinking.
E. G.
是拉丁文exempli gratia的缩写,意思是「举个例子」、「比如」等同于「for example」。目的是用例子来说明前面的观点,用法与for example相同。
I.E.
源于拉丁语,是id est的简略形式。其意思就是「那就是说」,「换句话说」,等同于「that is, in other words」和「namely」,目的是用来进一步解释前面所说的观点。
正确的用法是Use a comma to enclose ( i. e. , both before and after) the year in a month day year sequence.
而文章中出现的这句The evaluation noted that the employee had frequently exhibited irresponsible behavior ( i. e. , coming to work late, failing to complete projects) . 应该用「e. g. 」而不是用「i. e.」。因为插入句是对「irresponsible behavior」的列举补充。
Etc.
是et cetera的缩写,意思是「等等」,相当于「and so on」。可用来列举事物,若要列举人,则需用et al. 或用and others。
Et Al.
是拉丁文简写。其一为et alibi (以及其他地方) ,相当于and elsewhere;其二为et alii (以及其他人) ,相当于and others。
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