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The Colon & Semicolon

THINK of a COLON as an ARROW POINTING to what FOLLOWS IT.

The COLON has two main uses and a number of secondary uses:

1.) To Introduce Explanations or Examples:

One factor is often missing from modern labor: pleasure in work.

Music communicates: it is an expression of feeling.

2). To Introduce a Series, List, or Quotation

There are three kinds of guns on show this weekend: pistols, rifles, and automatic weapons.

Whilst at the gun show, the man wearing the cowboy hat pointed out the advantages of the Hechler and Koch machine gun: "It's self-cooling, and it fires 600 rounds per minute."

Don't Use a Colon after a Linking Verb or Preposition:

The kinds of ice-cream which I like are strawberry, vanilla and triple death by chocolate.
or
I like three kinds of ice-cream: strawberry, vanilla and triple death by chocolate.

Ma Drummond accused Gavin of wiggling in his seat, talking out of turn, and generally making a nuisance of himself.
or
Certain aspects of Gavin's behavior annoyed the hell out of Ma Drummond: wiggling in his seat, tallking out of turn, and generally making a nuisance of himself.

LITTLE but important THINGS

Dear Bankmanager:
The time? Yes, it's 12:15 P.M.
[mad scientist voice] Of course the Golden Mean is 1:1.6. Didn't you know that?
I Corinthians 3:3-5
The Joy of Knitting: 100 Easy Sweaters for You and Your Family. London: Drummond Press, 1997.

More on Colon Usage

We use a colon formally to introduce a list, a quotation, an appositive, or an independent clause. For example:

to introduce a list, one uses the colon as follows:

I chose to come to Emory for the following reasons: Emory's proximity to my home, its favorable woman-to man-ratio, and its reasonable tuition.

to introduce a quotation, one uses the colon as follows:

In his recent book The Brilliant Actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger favorably compares his acting style to that of Laurence Olivier: "Larry just didn't understand how to be subtle."

To introduce an appositive, use the colon as follows:

There is one impediment to my graduation: failing all my classes.

[Remember, an appositive is a word, phrase, or noun-clause placed beside another of the same grammatical construction in order to identify or explain it.]

To introduce an independent clause that modifies a prior independent clause, use the colon as follows:

Elvis lives: he was spotted yesterday buying a slushy at the 7-Eleven.

You may also use the colon in the following constructions:

after the salutation of a formal letter: Dear Dr. Spock:
to separate hour from minute in a time construction: 12:30 a.m.
to separate chapter and verse in a Biblical citation: Song of Songs 4:15

THE SEMICOLON

SEMICOLONS have the effect of creating a pause stronger than that of a comma but not as strong as the full pause of a period.

Are you using semicolons?

between independent clauses

between items in a series.

If you are not using them, perhaps you should. Re-examine your writing. Closely-related ideas expressed in two separate sentences might be better expressed in one sentence using a semicolon.

LINK CLOSELY RELATED INDEPENDENT CLAUSES -- often to restate an idea expressed in the first clauses, to expand on it, or to contrast with it

For fifteen years the painting was stored in the attic; even the artist forgot about it.

Fuel oil, natural gas, and electricity are popular sources of energy for heating homes; the least polluting, however, is solar energy

.

LINK INDEPENDENT CLAUSES JOINED BY CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS OR TRANSITIONAL PHRASES

-- Every kid should have access to a computer; furthermore, access to the Internet should be free. (CA)

-- A specialist from the museum arrived and asked to examine the painting; then all the family became excited. (CA)
-- The painting was valuable; in fact, the museum offered one hundred thousand dollars for it. (TP)

SEPARATE ITEMS IN A SERIES CONTAINING OTHER PUNCTUATION -- ususally commas separate items in a series. But if the items themselves contain commas or other marks of punctuation, then use semi-colons.

-- Anthropology encompasses archaeology, the study of ancient civilizations through artifacts; linguistics, the study of the structure and development of language; and cultural anthropology, the study of language, customs and behavior.

DO NOT USE SEMI-COLONS HERE:

A comma, not a semi-colon, should separate a dependent clause from an independent clause.

-- The police found fingerprints, which they used to identify the thief.

A colon, not a semi-colon, introduces a list:

-- The tour includes visits to the following art museums: The Prado, in Madrid; the Louvre, in Paris; and the Tate Gallery, in London.

More on Using Semicolons

To join independent statements: you can use a semicolon to join two independent clauses that are closely related. "Independent" means that each part of the sentence joined together by a semicolon could function as a sentence marked off by a period. For example:

The candidate became somewhat confused in her campaign speech; no one could understand what she meant by "a chicken in every garage."

NO: The candidate became somewhat confused in her campaign speech; because no one could understand what she meant by "a chicken in every garage."

YES: The candidate became somewhat confused in her campaign speech because no one could understand what she meant by "a chicken in every garage."

In general. use a semicolon only when you join two closely-related independent clauses without a conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so) or when the second independent clause is introduced with an adverb (such as nevertheless, therefore, besides). When you use a conjunction to unite two independent clauses, a comma is preferable. For example:

NO: It is nearly half past five; and we cannot reach town before dark

YES: It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.
YES: It is nearly half past five, and we cannot reach town before dark.

To show main divisions in a series: you can also use a semicolon to mark divisions in a complicated series of phrases. Using the semicolon clarifies where the main breaks in the series are, thus preventing confulsion in the reader as he or she tries to determine where one element of the series breaks off and the next begins. For example:

NO: The new rules governing federal welfare programs apply to immigrants, if they are over 65 or immigrated to the United States prior to 1980, unmarried women with children, if under the age of 18, the elderly, provided they earn less than $5,000 per annum, and children under the age of 16.

YES: The new rules governing federal welfare programs apply to immigrants, if they are over 65 or immigrated to the United States prior to 1980; unmarried women with children, if under the age of 18; the elderly, provided they earn less than $5,000 per annum; and children under the age of 16.

The second formulation marks clearly where each of the items in the series ends; solely using commas is too confusing. Please note that items in a series punctuated by semicolons do not have to be independent clauses.

Semicolon vs. Colon

Semicolons unite closely-related statements. colons indicate symmetry or equivalence between items on either side.

NO: The robber requested one of two things; her money or her life.

YES: The robber requested one of two things: her money or her life.

NO: The results of the poll were surprising: I didn't think so many people would support the idea of renovating the arts center.

YES: The results of the poll were surprising; I didn't think so many people would support the idea of renovating the arts center.

In the first case, the "two things'` are equivalent to "her money or her life." In the second case. the two independent clauses are closely-related but not equivalent.

Exercises

Correct any errors in the use of semicolons:

A penny saved is a penny earned: but rich people, I've noticed, tend to put their pennies into shrewd investments.

Special sunglasses have now been devised for skiers, some of whom suffer acutely from glare; for people who want to wear only one pair of glasses in sun and shade, and for others who, for whatever reason, don't want their fellow citizens to catch sight of their eyes.

Laurie told her teammates to watch out on the next play for one of the following: a quarterback sneak; a statue of liberty play, or a drop-kick field goal.

Melon prices are increasing because of the recent floods, I certainly won't be able to afford cantaloupe this year.

Possessing a dark blue suit can be very helpful to students, who may be applying for their first job, a fellowship or an internship, people who find they must attend a funeral which is usually planned on short notice, or a person who receives conservative clients at his or her office.

Oversleeping seems to be her main problem, otherwise she would be a model student.

She lay awake running the figures through her head: $5,000 for a car, $200 for two new suits to wear for the job, S30/month for nylons, and $5 / day for lunch. With rent, utilities. groceries and entertainment, she could hardly afford this new job!

Callaway North 205A | (404) 727-0886


	The Colon & Semicolon General Rules for Colons \| More on Colon Usage \| General Semicolon Rules \| More on Semicolons \| Colon v. Semicolon \| Exercises THINK of a COLON as an ARROW POINTING to what FOLLOWS IT. The COLON has two main uses and a number of secondary uses: 1.) To Introduce Explanations or Examples: One factor is often missing from modern labor: pleasure in work. Music communicates: it is an expression of feeling. 2). To Introduce a Series, List, or Quotation There are three kinds of guns on show this weekend: pistols, rifles, and automatic weapons. Whilst at the gun show, the man wearing the cowboy hat pointed out the advantages of the Hechler and Koch machine gun: "It's self-cooling, and it fires 600 rounds per minute." Don't Use a Colon after a Linking Verb or Preposition: The kinds of ice-cream which I like are strawberry, vanilla and triple death by chocolate. or I like three kinds of ice-cream: strawberry, vanilla and triple death by chocolate. Ma Drummond accused Gavin of wiggling in his seat, talking out of turn, and generally making a nuisance of himself. or Certain aspects of Gavin's behavior annoyed the hell out of Ma Drummond: wiggling in his seat, tallking out of turn, and generally making a nuisance of himself. LITTLE but important THINGS Dear Bankmanager: The time? Yes, it's 12:15 P.M. [mad scientist voice] Of course the Golden Mean is 1:1.6. Didn't you know that? I Corinthians 3:3-5 The Joy of Knitting: 100 Easy Sweaters for You and Your Family. London: Drummond Press, 1997. General Rules for Colons \| More on Colon Usage \| General Semicolon Rules \| More on Semicolons \| Colon v. Semicolon \| Exercises More on Colon Usage We use a colon formally to introduce a list, a quotation, an appositive, or an independent clause. For example: to introduce a list, one uses the colon as follows: I chose to come to Emory for the following reasons: Emory's proximity to my home, its favorable woman-to man-ratio, and its reasonable tuition. to introduce a quotation, one uses the colon as follows: In his recent book The Brilliant Actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger favorably compares his acting style to that of Laurence Olivier: "Larry just didn't understand how to be subtle." To introduce an appositive, use the colon as follows: There is one impediment to my graduation: failing all my classes. [Remember, an appositive is a word, phrase, or noun-clause placed beside another of the same grammatical construction in order to identify or explain it.] To introduce an independent clause that modifies a prior independent clause, use the colon as follows: Elvis lives: he was spotted yesterday buying a slushy at the 7-Eleven. You may also use the colon in the following constructions: after the salutation of a formal letter: Dear Dr. Spock: to separate hour from minute in a time construction: 12:30 a.m. to separate chapter and verse in a Biblical citation: Song of Songs 4:15 General Rules for Colons \| More on Colon Usage \| General Semicolon Rules \| More on Semicolons \| Colon v. Semicolon \| Exercises THE SEMICOLON SEMICOLONS have the effect of creating a pause stronger than that of a comma but not as strong as the full pause of a period. Check your writing --Are you using semicolons? If so, remember that they must be either between independent clauses (a group of words that can stand alone as a sentence) or between items in a series. If you are not using them, perhaps you should. Re-examine your writing. Closely-related ideas expressed in two separate sentences might be better expressed in one sentence using a semicolon. LINK CLOSELY RELATED INDEPENDENT CLAUSES -- often to restate an idea expressed in the first clauses, to expand on it, or to contrast with it For fifteen years the painting was stored in the attic; even the artist forgot about it. Fuel oil, natural gas, and electricity are popular sources of energy for heating homes; the least polluting, however, is solar energy . LINK INDEPENDENT CLAUSES JOINED BY CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS OR TRANSITIONAL PHRASES -- Every kid should have access to a computer; furthermore, access to the Internet should be free. (CA) -- A specialist from the museum arrived and asked to examine the painting; then all the family became excited. (CA) -- The painting was valuable; in fact, the museum offered one hundred thousand dollars for it. (TP) SEPARATE ITEMS IN A SERIES CONTAINING OTHER PUNCTUATION -- ususally commas separate items in a series. But if the items themselves contain commas or other marks of punctuation, then use semi-colons. -- Anthropology encompasses archaeology, the study of ancient civilizations through artifacts; linguistics, the study of the structure and development of language; and cultural anthropology, the study of language, customs and behavior. DO NOT USE SEMI-COLONS HERE: A comma, not a semi-colon, should separate a dependent clause from an independent clause. -- The police found fingerprints, which they used to identify the thief. A colon, not a semi-colon, introduces a list: -- The tour includes visits to the following art museums: The Prado, in Madrid; the Louvre, in Paris; and the Tate Gallery, in London. General Rules for Colons \| More on Colon Usage \| General Semicolon Rules \| More on Semicolons \| Colon v. Semicolon \| Exercises More on Using Semicolons To join independent statements: you can use a semicolon to join two independent clauses that are closely related. "Independent" means that each part of the sentence joined together by a semicolon could function as a sentence marked off by a period. For example: The candidate became somewhat confused in her campaign speech; no one could understand what she meant by "a chicken in every garage." Notice that these two clauses stand as independent sentences. It is incorrect to put an independent clause on one side of the semicolon and a fragment on the other. If we alter the sentence above slightly, we can see how these rules work. NO: The candidate became somewhat confused in her campaign speech; because no one could understand what she meant by "a chicken in every garage." YES: The candidate became somewhat confused in her campaign speech because no one could understand what she meant by "a chicken in every garage." In general. use a semicolon only when you join two closely-related independent clauses without a conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so) or when the second independent clause is introduced with an adverb (such as nevertheless, therefore, besides). When you use a conjunction to unite two independent clauses, a comma is preferable. For example: NO: It is nearly half past five; and we cannot reach town before dark YES: It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark. YES: It is nearly half past five, and we cannot reach town before dark. To show main divisions in a series: you can also use a semicolon to mark divisions in a complicated series of phrases. Using the semicolon clarifies where the main breaks in the series are, thus preventing confulsion in the reader as he or she tries to determine where one element of the series breaks off and the next begins. For example: NO: The new rules governing federal welfare programs apply to immigrants, if they are over 65 or immigrated to the United States prior to 1980, unmarried women with children, if under the age of 18, the elderly, provided they earn less than $5,000 per annum, and children under the age of 16. YES: The new rules governing federal welfare programs apply to immigrants, if they are over 65 or immigrated to the United States prior to 1980; unmarried women with children, if under the age of 18; the elderly, provided they earn less than $5,000 per annum; and children under the age of 16. The second formulation marks clearly where each of the items in the series ends; solely using commas is too confusing. Please note that items in a series punctuated by semicolons do not have to be independent clauses. General Rules for Colons \| More on Colon Usage \| General Semicolon Rules \| More on Semicolons \| Colon v. Semicolon \| Exercises Semicolon vs. Colon Semicolons unite closely-related statements. colons indicate symmetry or equivalence between items on either side. NO: The robber requested one of two things; her money or her life. YES: The robber requested one of two things: her money or her life. or NO: The results of the poll were surprising: I didn't think so many people would support the idea of renovating the arts center. YES: The results of the poll were surprising; I didn't think so many people would support the idea of renovating the arts center. In the first case, the "two things'` are equivalent to "her money or her life." In the second case. the two independent clauses are closely-related but not equivalent. General Rules for Colons \| More on Colon Usage \| General Semicolon Rules \| More on Semicolons \| Colon v. Semicolon \| Exercises Exercises Correct any errors in the use of semicolons: A penny saved is a penny earned: but rich people, I've noticed, tend to put their pennies into shrewd investments. Special sunglasses have now been devised for skiers, some of whom suffer acutely from glare; for people who want to wear only one pair of glasses in sun and shade, and for others who, for whatever reason, don't want their fellow citizens to catch sight of their eyes. Laurie told her teammates to watch out on the next play for one of the following: a quarterback sneak; a statue of liberty play, or a drop-kick field goal. Melon prices are increasing because of the recent floods, I certainly won't be able to afford cantaloupe this year. Possessing a dark blue suit can be very helpful to students, who may be applying for their first job, a fellowship or an internship, people who find they must attend a funeral which is usually planned on short notice, or a person who receives conservative clients at his or her office. Oversleeping seems to be her main problem, otherwise she would be a model student. She lay awake running the figures through her head: $5,000 for a car, $200 for two new suits to wear for the job, S30/month for nylons, and $5 / day for lunch. With rent, utilities. groceries and entertainment, she could hardly afford this new job! Callaway North 205A \| (404) 727-0886