the colon and semicolon are some of the
more complex punctuation
in this lesson i will teach you how to
use both of them in your writing
colon some of the common uses of a colon
include
it is used to introduce things
it is used to qualify a sentence
it is used to separate dialogue from a
character
let's go through each one in more detail
with relevant examples
a colon is used to introduce an item
list
or a quotation for example
you know what to do practice
notice how in this sentence emphasis is
put on the word
practice because there is a colon before
it
this helps to draw attention to this
word
it can also make your writing more
interesting
let's have a look at another example
i need to buy some milk chewing gum
bread and a bottle of pepsi
in this example the colon is used to
introduce the list
hamlet said it best to be or not to be
in this example the colon is used to
introduce a quotation
colons are also used to qualify a
sentence by introducing meaning or an
explanation
so essentially they are used to try and
draw attention to something
or to join ideas together they usually
follow an independent clause
which is a clause that can stand alone
let's have a look at an example
she was feeling really down last week
she had failed her exam and lost her job
notice that the information after the
colon explains why she was feeling
really down last week
let's have a look at another example
my mother taught me the most important
thing
forgiveness in this example
the purpose of the colon is to draw
attention to the word forgiveness
finally a colon is used to separate
dialogue from character
this is the case in a drama script
for example
lady macbeth what's done cannot be
undone
in this example the character is lady
macbeth
she says what's done cannot be undone
so we place the colon after her name
the semicolon is commonly misused by
people
however it is easy to understand once
you've understood the basics
some of the common uses of a colon
include
it is used to join two or more sentences
it is used to separate items
these are the two main purposes of a
semicolon
once you've understood these you can
hopefully start using it in your writing
a semicolon is used to join two or more
sentences that are linked
an easy way to remember how to use a
semicolon
is to remember that it can replace a
conjunction
let's have a look at an example
she calls it a rubber i call it an
eraser
notice that both sentences either side
of the semicolon
are full sentences they are called
independent clauses
both sentences relate to the same topic
therefore we can link the two sentences
using a semicolon
we could also replace the semicolon with
a conjunction for example we could say
she calls it a rubber but i call it an
eraser
my teacher is the best she always helps
me
again we could replace that semicolon
with a conjunction
we could say my teacher is the best
because
she always helps me but if we don't want
to use a conjunction there we can take
it out
and just replace it with a semicolon
because the semicolon will link the two
sentences together for us
a semicolon is also used to separate
items in a list
this is when you need to use punctuation
within phrases in your list
let's have a look at an example
i want to travel to many countries i
want to go to venice
italy glasgow scotland
new delhi india and madrid spain
notice that we've already got
punctuation within this sentence
we've got lots of commas however to make
it clear
that the countries relate to each other
we need to put a semicolon in there
for example venice is the capital of
italy
so we would put the two together and
place a semicolon after it
now it's your turn have a go and see if
you can use a colon and semicolon in
your writing
write your examples in the comments
section below