CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY ENGLISH 9: LANGUAGE WORKSHEET 2.1
Name Fariza Zahid
Date 21/09/23
Language worksheet 2.1
In this worksheet, you will focus on semi-colons and colons.
Semi-colons connect two statements that are closely linked. Consider these two sentences:
Ruby does well in science. Praveen is better at maths. They could be joined using a comma and a
conjunction:

Ruby does well in science, but Praveen is better at maths.

Although Ruby does well in science, Praveen is better at maths.
Alternatively, they can be joined using a semi-colon:

Ruby does well in science; Praveen is better at maths.
Colons can introduce a list or be used before details or explanations:

The days of the week are: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

He was really late: he came running in, breathing hard and saying sorry over and over again.

He was really late: his car would not start and then the bus he took was very behind schedule.
Semi-colons should be used to separate longer items in a list, for clarity:

My top five films are: Avengers Endgame; The Fault in Our Stars; X-Men Apocalypse;
The Maze Runner; and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
1 Read these examples, then add a semi-colon in the appropriate place.
a Ruby was late for gym practice again today; her mother was kept behind at work and so couldn’t
give her a lift.
b I am doing my homework as soon as I get in from school from now on; I will then be able to play
video games for the rest of the evening.
c
I spend a lot of time outdoors when it is warm; there’s so much you can do in the sunshine.
d Athletics is the sport I am best at; I won first place in the 100 metres at Regional Championships
last year.
e There was a huge hole ahead of us; I could see smoke drifting up from the bottom.
f
The first train takes an hour and leaves at 10 a.m.; the second takes 90 minutes and
leaves at noon.
g
I did a survey of countries with long names and these are the top five: the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Independent and Sovereign Republic of Kiribati; Democratic
Republic of Sao Tome and Principe; the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Cambridge Lower Secondary English 9 – Creamer, Clare & Rees-Bidder © Cambridge University Press 2021
1
CAMBRIDGE LOWER SECONDARY ENGLISH 9: LANGUAGE WORKSHEET 2.1
h Ruby is the world’s best maker of marshmallow hot chocolate; Praveen is the world’s worst at
resisting the temptation to run away when it’s time to wash up.
i
The football match was a huge disappointment on Sunday; there was no excitement at all.
j
I wish I had revised more for my exams; I feel so unprepared.
2 Read these examples, then place a colon in an appropriate place to show a list, details or where an
explanation follows. For lists, you will also need to add commas.
a
My brother is always on time for everything: he always sets his alarm and constantly checks the
time on his phone.
b My favourite thing is cinema and I love any type of film: action, science fiction, comedies.
c
Extremely committed and hard-working: very, many parents are like this.
d Formula One, motor racing, football and tennis: these are my favourite sports to watch on TV.
e Ruby helps around the house a lot: she tidies her room, helps with cooking and washing up, and
sweeps outside the front door.
f
To fight climate change we will need to consider many aspects of life: transport, energy use, how
we heat or cool our home, and food production.
g
I couldn’t find my textbook this morning: it was buried under loads of papers on my desk.
h Praveen found a key in the playground: it had a butterfly keyring attached to it.
i
The train was late again: the engineering works on the tracks from the weekend were still going
on.
j
I stopped researching that project: I wasn’t interested enough in it.
Cambridge Lower Secondary English 9 – Creamer, Clare & Rees-Bidder © Cambridge University Press 2021
2