Lesson Aim
• To select a range of punctuation for effect.
(
)
?
…
,
“
!
”
What is a semi-colon?
• A small piece of punctuation that looks like
this
;
Why is it used?
It is used instead of a full-stop to balance to
sentences or clauses which are closely
related in meaning.
Some people do their best work in the early
morning; others work best late at night.
Many people dislike walking in the rain and
getting wet; personally I rather like it.
Where should the semi-colons be?
• Elephants live in hot countries. They cool
off by bathing.
• English at St James’ is a real success. Our
lessons are really top quality!
To separate two parts of a sentence
when they are closely related
• •Elephants
Elephantslive
liveininhot
hotcountries;
countries;they
theycool
cool
off
offby
bybathing.
bathing.
• •English
EnglishatatStStJames’
James’School
Schoolisisaareal
real
success;
success;our
ourlessons
lessonsare
aretop
topquality!
quality!
Where should the semi-colons be?
Re-write the passage.
• St James’ School is great for many things.
This includes the quality of the teaching. It
is good because of the excellence of the
buildings and the wonderful cafeterias.
The intelligence and helpfulness of the
pupils is pretty good too.
What is a colon?
• A part of your stomach
• A punctuation mark that looks like this
:
What are its uses?
• To introduce a quotation or list
I am only able to survive financially by:
- not having more than three credit cards
- paying off part of the debt each month
- not going out more than twice a week
•
To add emphasis to a point by putting it on its
own
There’s one word to describe how I felt about
Maths at school: terrible!
Where would we put the colons?
• In scene 5, Romeo states
“Juliet, I love your hat”
• There are many ways to make money sell your
kidney, rob a bank, invent something amazing
etc.
To introduce a quotation or list
• In scene 5, Romeo states:
“Juliet: I love your hat”
• There are many ways to make money: sell
your kidney, rob a bank, invent something
amazing etc.
Where would we put the colon?
• There’s only one word I can use to describe
English. Fabulous.
To isolate a point for emphasis
• There’s only one word I can use to describe
English: Fabulous.
Your task: Add colons to the
following sentences
1.
You will need these items a pen, pencil, notepad and
screwdriver
2.
The poem touched upon our common experience ‘Life and
love are hard, take care the way you play each card’
3.
As a student living in London I know all about money pressures
rent food and books mean I have no money left for going out
4.
The most important items for the journey are a pair of boots,
plenty of waterproofing clothes and a good sense of humour.
Dashes or brackets: - or ()?
Dashes and brackets perform similar
functions. They are useful for separating
off parts of a sentence which introduce
additional information which could be left
out.
Dashes are often used in newspaper
reporting ; brackets are used a lot in
descriptive writing. Look at the following
examples:
Dashes
Dr Jones, head of international research,
told the meeting – organised to express
concern about the Atkins diet – that there
wasn’t a shred of evidence that the diet
worked.
Two internet companies accepted my
application to play poker immediately.
Three further companies – Poker,
Poker.com, Full House International and
Cards Away – said they would notify me in
ten days.
Brackets
After school, I went to a University in
Scotland (my parents were opposed to the
idea as they wanted me close by) to study
Forensic Science.
There I met Professor Frankenstein talking
animatedly to a group of students (they
were film/media students mostly, though
some were medical students). I knew
immediately that he was going to be a
powerful influence on my life.
Dashes
Dashes also introduce afterthoughts,
particularly those of a surprising or
unexpected nature. Brackets are not used
in this way:
She says she won’t be joining us this
summer – at least not until after the
children have left.
Everyone turned up for my twenty-first
birthday – including Peter and Jane from
Australia which was a surprise.
Punctuation Checklist
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Capital letters
Full stops
Commas
Semi-colons
Colons
Exclamation marks
Question marks
Speech Marks
Ellipsis
Dashes
Paragraphs
• Do not begin your sentences with AND, BUT, BECAUSE, ALSO.
Correct these sentences.
1 My sister and her new boyfriend are coming to dinner tonight I hope he likes pasta.
2. There’s only word for English amazing.
3. My sister was taller than me when we were young now I am the tallest it is much better.
4. I love football training I love trying to score goals and my coach is friendly.
5. I don’t want much for my birthday just an Ipod and a DVD player.
6. Blue is my favourite colour it is the colour of the sky and the sea and it reminds me of my
favourite insect which is a butterfly.
7. When I get older I want to have a lots of pets I like owning animals.
8. We usually leave at 11:00 but today is different we are leaving at 10:30.
9. The days of the week I like best are Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.
10. We should get moving there’s no time to waste.
Correct these sentences.
1 My sister and her new boyfriend are coming to dinner tonight; I hope he likes pasta.
2. There’s only one word for English: amazing!
3. My sister was taller than me when we were young; now I am the tallest it is much better.
4. I love football training; I love trying to score goals and my coach is friendly.
5. I don’t want much for my birthday; just an Ipod and a DVD player.
6. Blue is my favourite colour (it is the colour of the sky and the sea) and it reminds me of my
favourite insect which is a butterfly.
7. When I get older I want to have a lots of pets; I like owning animals.
8. We usually leave at 11:00 but today is different - we are leaving at 10:30.
9. The days of the week I like best are: Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.
10. We should get moving: there’s no time to waste!
Write your own
• Write your own sentences and practise the
punctuation using apostrophes, dashes,
colons, semi-colons etc.