USING SEMICOLONS AND COLONS
RULE 1 Use a semicolon to join the main clauses of a compound sentence if they’re not joined by a conjunction such as
and, but, or, nor, or for.
EXAMPLE The electric car was once the most popular car in the
United States; people liked electric cars because they
were clean and quiet.
RULE 2 Use a semicolon to join the main clauses of a compound sentence if they’re long and if they already contain
commas. Use a semicolon even if the clauses are joined by a
coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or, nor, or for.
EXAMPLE Before the invention of the automobile, people rode
horses, bicycles, or streetcars for short distances; and
they used horse-drawn carriages, trains, or boats for
longer trips.
RULE 3 Use a semicolon to separate main clauses joined by a
conjunctive adverb, such as consequently, furthermore, however, moreover, nevertheless, or therefore.
EXAMPLE I started my homework immediately after school; consequently, I finished before dinner.
RULE 4 Use a colon to introduce a list of items that ends a
sentence. Use a word or a phrase such as these, the following,
or as follows before the list.
EXAMPLE I’ll need these supplies for my project: newspapers,
flour, water, string, and paint.
EXAMPLE I participate in the following sports: softball, tennis,
basketball, and swimming.
Don’t use a colon immediately after a verb or a
preposition.
EXAMPLE My subjects include reading, math, home economics, and
language arts.
EXAMPLE I sent messages to Grandma, Aunt Rita, and Julie.
RULE 5 Use a colon to separate the hour and the minutes
when you use numerals to write the time of day.
EXAMPLE The train left the station at 10:17 A.M. and arrived in
the city at 12:33 P.M.
PRACTICE Using Semicolons and Colons
Write each sentence. Add semicolons and colons where
they’re needed. If a sentence is already correct, write correct.
1. Night fell the moon rose.
2. Please do not bring any of these items to the test site
radios, pagers, food, beverages.
3. The three travelers looked at the object in amazement
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
they had never seen anything like it.
It was 312 P.M. when I looked at the clock.
I have received pamphlets from Camp Lookout, Camp
Dawn, and the Camp in the Pines however, I have not
yet made my selection.
During the last two years, our family has traveled to
Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana and in the
next three months, we will see California, Arizona, and
New Mexico.
The departure time for our flight is 1117 A.M. the plane
will land in Houston at 104 P.M.
My favorite teams are the Bulls, the Cubs, and the Bears.
In the nineteenth century, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
was a popular poet, a professor at Harvard University,
and a loving husband and his works include Evangeline,
The Courtship of Miles Standish, The Song of Hiawatha,
and “Paul Revere’s Ride. ”
10. Write the following business letter, adding necessary
punctuation.
Dear Mr. Barnes
Please send me information about the following
computer programs Games for Brains, Computer
Construction, and Explorers in Space.
Yours truly,
Shana O’Neill