Colons & Semicolons Flashcards
What is the colon (:) used for?
The colon is used to introduce something, like a list, example, explanation, quotation, subtitle, etc. (We still have 3 chores to do: buying milk, doing the dishes, and washing the laundry.) (Many children have the same favorite holiday: Christmas.) (George had 1 philosophy in life: be kind to others.) *Be sure the part before the colon is a COMPLETE idea. Don’t use a colon after a verb or preposition. (Incorrect- “We’re all out of: milk, eggs, and cheese.”) (Wrong - “We don’t have: milk, eggs, or cheese.”) (Correct - “We’re all out of several items: milk, eggs, and cheese.”)
What is the semicolon (;) used for?
The Semicolon is used to join TWO closely related sentences. Can be used to join any 2 independent clauses (John was late again; this is the 3rd time this month.) Less commonly, a semicolon can be used to separate the items in a list if those items already have commas in them. (Mitchell, my friend from high school, Connie, my co-worker, and Josefina, my sister-in-law, are coming to the party.) < Works better as > (Mitchell, my friend from high school; Connie, my co-worker; and Josefina, my sister-in-law, are coming to the party.)
What is the rule for conjunctions (and, or, but, so) with a semicolon?
Never okay in formal writing. The correct way to do it is put a comma before the word “but” not a semicolon.
->With a series or complicated list, it’s okay to have a semicolon before the conjunction, since the semicolon isn’t joining 2 sentences.
What is the rule for adverbs & semicolons?
Semicolons can be used to join 2 sentences with an adverb like “however,” “therefore,” “then,” or “also.” (Sheila was early; however, she’s been late six times)
