Revise the Use of Colons and Semicolons

In this activity, we'll look at how and why we can use colons and semicolons in our writing.  You've probably covered this before but it can be tricky to get it right so here is a chance to revise and consolidate your knowledge.  Using more sophisticated punctuation in your writing can be really effective, but only if you use it correctly.

 

You can use a colon in your writing to:

1.  Introduce a list

2. Introduce a summary or explanation 

3. Separate a character name from dialogue in a play script

 

Let's look at some examples of these uses:

 

1.  I went to the shop and I bought all the things on my list: apples, pears, sausages and a roll of wrapping paper.

 

The colon shows us where the list begins. Note that the clause before the colon must make sense on its own.

 

 

2.  I have one true love: chocolate cupcakes!

 

The colon here separates the answer or explanation from the first part of the sentence.  It makes the reader pause and so can also build suspense.

 

3.  Jason: What is this place?

Jax: I don't know but there's a strange smell coming from over there!

 

Here, the colon separates the character name from the dialogue.  You might use this for writing a play script.

 

 

You can use a semicolon to:

1. Join two sentences that are linked with the same idea

2.  Separate long items in a list 

 

Here are some examples of semicolons in action.

 

1.  The storm kept me awake for hours last night; my sister slept like a log!

 

We could use a full stop or the conjunction 'but' or 'while' to separate these sentences but it is much more effective to show your reader that they are connected by using the semicolon. 

It is not correct to use a comma here because they are separate sentences.  

 

 

2.  On our road trip, we visited so many places: Paris, St Tropez and Nice in France; Berlin and Frankfurt in Germany; Bruges and Brussels in Belgium; and Geneva in Switzerland.

 

The semicolons are used here to make each grouped item in the list clear for the reader.  In lists like this, we also include a semicolon before the final 'and'!

Did you spot the colon to introduce the list too?

 

 

Now let's practise using colons and semicolons by answering some questions.