Colons and Semicolons
Understand how to use colons to introduce lists, quotations, and emphasize clauses. Learn to apply semicolons to link related independent clauses correctly while avoiding common punctuation errors.
What are colons?
The colon (:) is a punctuation mark we use to introduce information or emphasize a particular clause. Colons are used to indicate lists, quotations, and examples.
- Example → “I have four favorite fruits: pomegranates, blackberries, mangos, and dragonfruit.”
- Example → “Frederick Douglass once wrote: ‘Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.’”
- Example → “She loves only one city: New York.”
We can also use colons to separate two independent clauses in order to emphasize the second clause.
- Example → “It is a dark and stormy night: we need to go inside now.”
- Example → “He never participates in group projects: no one likes him.”
- Example → “I looked at the sunset: it was beautiful.”
An independent clause is a part of a sentence that can stand alone as a complete sentence. For ...