book 01 chapter 30 semicolon and colon

8/14/2019 Book 01 Chapter 30 Semicolon and Colon

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30.1 USING THE SEMICOLON

1. You may use a semicolon to join two independent clauses that areclosely related in meaning:

Insist on yourself; never imitate. Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. You may use a semicolon to join two independent clauses when the

second begins with or includes a conjunctive adverb:

Shakespeares plays are four hundred years old; nevertheless, they still

speak to us.

Many of his characters resemble people we encounter or read about daily;

a few, in fact, remind us of ourselves.

For more on semicolons and conjunctive adverbs,see 15.5.

3. You may use a semicolon before a conjunction to join two indepen-

dent clauses that contain commas:

By laughing at our faults, we can learn to acknowledge them graciously;

and we can try to overcome them in a positive, even cheerful way, not

grimly and disagreeably.

4. Use semicolons to emphasize the division between items that include

commas:

There were three new delegates at the meeting: Ms. Barbara Smith from

Boulder, Colorado; Ms. Beth Waters from Omaha, Nebraska; and Mr. James

Papson from Greenwood, Arkansas.

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30.2 MISUSING THE SEMICOLON

1. Do not use a semicolon between a phrase and the clause to which it

belongs:

The climbers carried an extra nylon rope; to ensure their safe descent

from the cliff.

Proceeding cautiously down the rock face; they neared the floor of the

canyon.

2. Do not use a semicolon between a subordinate clause and the main

clause:

Most of the crowd had left; before the concert ended.

Although the hall was almost empty; she came out for a second bow.

Ticket sales had been good; which made both her agent and her man-

ager happy.

3. Do not use a semicolon to introduce a list. Use a colon:

The prophets denounced three types of wrongdoing; idolatry, injustice,

and neglect of the needy.

For more on colons, see the next section.

The Semicolon and the Colon30.2 semi

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30.3 USING THE COLON

1. Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list:

Success depends on three things: talent, determination, and luck.

2. Use a colon to introduce an example or an explanation related to

something just mentioned:

The animals have a good many of our practical skills: some insects make

pretty fair architects, and beavers know quite a lot about engineering.

Northrop Frye

3. Use a colon to introduce one or more complete sentences quoted from

formal speech or writing:

In the opening sentence of his novel Scaramouche, Rafael Sabatini says of

his hero: He was born with the gift of laughter, and a sense that the world

was mad.

4. Use a colon to follow the salutation in a formal letter:

Dear Mr. Mayor:

Dear Ms. Watson:

To Whom It May Concern:

5. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes when the time of day is

shown in numerals:

8:40 6:30 11:15

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30.4 MISUSING THE COLON

1. Do not use a colon after such as, including, or a form of the verb be:

On rainy days at camp, we played board games such as: Monopoly,

Scrabble, and Trivial Pursuit.

One morning I woke up to find that someone had taken all of my valu-

ables, including: my watch, my camera, and my money.

Still in my locker were: my toilet kit, my flashlight, and my wallet

now empty.

2. Do not use a colon between a verb and its object or between a preposi-

tion and its object:

Before heading home, we stopped at: the supermarket, the hardware

store, and the gas station.

We needed: pasta, a window screen, and a tank of gasoline.

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