Semi-Colons and Colons

1. Semi-Colons and Colons Don’t pull your hair out!

2. The Semi-Colon • Although there are a number of uses for the semi-colon, the most common is to link together two sentences. • Using a semi-colon creates a closer link than full stops. • In this context a semi-colon can replace a connecting word such as ‘and’. • Be careful that both sentences are independent (can exist by themselves). If one part is not independent, you should use a comma. E.g: “While I did my homework , I ate cake.” needs a comma because ‘while I did my homework’ is not an independent sentence, and doesn’t make sense by itself.

3. Example • “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” (Charles Dickens) COULD have been written: • It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” • It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. OR • It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. • Using the semi-colon adds sophistication to your writing and shows anyone who is marking your work, that you can use a wide range of punctuation.

4. Colons The colon is used to introduce a list. E.g: I went to the shops and bought: chocolate, apples, milk and bread.

5. Got it? • Where would you put semi-colons in the following sentences? • It rained all day. We managed to have our picnic anyway. • The artist painted in oils. He preferred them to watercolours. • I went to the shop and I bought myself a magazine.

6. Got it? • It rained all day; we managed to have our picnic anyway. • The artist painted in oils; he preferred them to watercolours. • I went to the shop; I bought myself a magazine.