Semicolons (;)
Use semicolons
* in place of a conjunction to separate related independent clauses
ex. We went shopping Friday; I spent too much money.
* to separate items in a series if some of the items contain commas. The following is a list of items (people and their titles) that contain commas
Mrs. Aquilina, the teacher
Mrs. Hockley, the department head
Mr. Shaw, the principal
If you were to write the three items in a sentence with only commas, confusion would arise from too many commas. It would give the appearance of six items in the list instead of three. Use semicolons instead of commas to eliminate the confusion.
ex. The speeches were judged by Mrs. Aquilina, the teacher; Mrs. Hockley, the department head; and Mr. Shaw, the principal.
* in place of a conjunction to separate related independent clauses
ex. We went shopping Friday; I spent too much money.
* to separate items in a series if some of the items contain commas. The following is a list of items (people and their titles) that contain commas
Mrs. Aquilina, the teacher
Mrs. Hockley, the department head
Mr. Shaw, the principal
If you were to write the three items in a sentence with only commas, confusion would arise from too many commas. It would give the appearance of six items in the list instead of three. Use semicolons instead of commas to eliminate the confusion.
ex. The speeches were judged by Mrs. Aquilina, the teacher; Mrs. Hockley, the department head; and Mr. Shaw, the principal.
Colons (:)
Use a colon
* to join two independent clauses where the second clause is a summary or explanation of the first clause
ex. I have one piece of advice for you: always come to class prepared.
* for expressions of time, and after the salutation in a formal letter
ex. 2:49 p.m. Dear Mr. Stainsby:
* after an independent clause to introduce a list or a quotation. If the words preceding the list are not an independent clause, no punctuation is needed.
ex. Please buy the following things at the store: a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs and a stick of butter.
or
Please buy a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs and a stick of butter.
* after an independent clause to introduce an appositive. An appositive is a noun or pronoun that identifies or explains the noun or pronoun that comes before it.
ex. She dedicated her book to the person she admired the most: her mother.
For Practice:
http://tychohub.umuc.edu/EDCP103/AdditionalExercises/exercise01.htm
* to join two independent clauses where the second clause is a summary or explanation of the first clause
ex. I have one piece of advice for you: always come to class prepared.
* for expressions of time, and after the salutation in a formal letter
ex. 2:49 p.m. Dear Mr. Stainsby:
* after an independent clause to introduce a list or a quotation. If the words preceding the list are not an independent clause, no punctuation is needed.
ex. Please buy the following things at the store: a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs and a stick of butter.
or
Please buy a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs and a stick of butter.
* after an independent clause to introduce an appositive. An appositive is a noun or pronoun that identifies or explains the noun or pronoun that comes before it.
ex. She dedicated her book to the person she admired the most: her mother.
For Practice:
http://tychohub.umuc.edu/EDCP103/AdditionalExercises/exercise01.htm