The semicolon (;) is a rather formal form of
punctuation. It is mainly used between clauses that are not joined by any form
of conjunction, as in:
We had a wonderful holiday;
sadly they did not.
He was a marvellous friend;
he is much missed.
The part before the semicolon and the part after could both
be sentences in their own right. The semicolon
is used to show a closer link between the two parts of the sentence. It has the
force of a strong comma. A dash (see 1) is sometimes used instead.
The semicolon as a separation device in lists
The semicolon is also used to separate the items in a long list or
series of things so that the said list seems less complex and easier to
understand, as in:
The young man who wants to be a journalist has applied everywhere. He
has applied to The Times in London; The Globe and Mail in Toronto; The Age in
Melbourne; The Tribune in Chicago.
It is also used in lists in which the individual items are quite long, as
in:
We tried various ways to raise money. We approached the local bank
manger; we asked the local council for a grant; we approached local businessmen
for a contribution; and we organized various charity events.
The use of a semicolon in this situation resembles
that of the comma, especially a particularly
strong comma, except that the semicolon
is more formal and it is more common in more complicated lists.
The semicolon as separation device in
lists of word groups already containing commas
The semicolon
is also used to separate items in a list which already contains a number of
commas in the individual items in the list, as in:
Those guests present at the wedding included Mr and Mrs Brown and their
daughters Mary, Jane and Sue; Mr and Mrs Lewis and their sons Tom, Frank and
Jack; Miss Taylor and her nieces Liz, Carol and Meg; Ken, Mike and Mark Greene.
To use yet more commas to separate the list of
items would cause confusion.
Thus, the semicolon is used
in such a context in the interests of clarity.
The semicolon as a separation device before certain adverbs
The semicolon is also sometimes used before such adverbs as however, nevertheless, hence, moreover and furthermore in such situations where a preceding pause is required but a pause
that is longer and stronger than that which can be provided by a comma, as in:
We have extra seats for the concert; however you must decide right now
whether you want them or not.
Your notice to quit takes effect immediately; furthermore, you will be
escorted from the building and your personal belongings from your desk will be
sent on to you.
The colon as a separating device in a two-part sentence
The colon (:) is a
punctuation mark that is used to separate two parts of a sentence when the
first leads on to the second. The colon
is used to explain, interpret, clarify or amplify what has gone before it, as
in: The standard of school work here is extremely high: it is
almost university standard.
We have some new information:
the allies have landed.
The colon as a linking device or introduction
The colon is used to
introduce a list, as in:
The recipe says we need:
tomatoes, peppers, courgettes, garlic, oregano and basil.
The boy has a huge list of
things he needs for school: blazer, trousers, shirts, sweater, ties, shoes,
tennis shoes, rugby boots, sports clothes and leisure wear.
The colon is also used to
introduce a quotation or a piece of direct speech, as in:
One of his favourite
quotations was: ‘If music be the food of love, play on’.
The headmaster strode on to the platform, looking solemnly at the
assembled students, and his statement was concise: ‘I will not allow this kind
of behaviour in my school.’
The colon is sometimes used with numerals in references to the time of
day, the date and ratios, as in: 7:30 a.m.
and 22:11:72 and 7:3.
The colon is often used in the titles of books, for example where there
is a subtitle or explanatory title, as in The
Dark Years: the Economy in the 1930s.
In informal writing, the dash is sometimes used instead of the colon. Indeed the dash tends to be
overused for this purpose.
1 Rewrite the following
sentences, inserting brackets or a bracket where this is appropriate.
a In the French restaurant we
had ragout (actually just a stew, but tasting nicer than any stew I’ve ever had.
b We had quite a lot of wine
with dinner and afterwards we had Armagnac a kind of French brandy).
c We arranged to meet in the
large square (the Italians call it a piazza in the centre of the town.
d They say that they are
planning to visit us in the fall as the Americans call autumn.
e He went away quite suddenly
no one knows where or why) some years ago and has not been in touch with his family since.
f Both
Oliver Twist and Bleak House were written by Charles Dickens 1812–70.
g (Vincent
Van Gogh [1853–90 is one of Holland’s most well-known painters.
2 Rewrite the following
sentences, inserting a dash or a pair of dashes where this is appropriate.
a You can come to the dinner as
my partner I’d like that very much. b I’m just going now what did I do with my car
keys?
c The drunk driver said to the
police that where he was going was none of their d business.
d We begged
our captors begged them on bended knee to release us.
e Christopher
Marlowe (1564 93) was a contemporary of Shakespeare.
f Wealth, power, status these were the things which he craved all his life
and totally failed to achieve.
g We were awoken at dawn by the
noisy barking of the dog next door a regular occurrence these days.
h I’m just
about to serve dinner was that the doorbell?
3 Rewrite the following
sentences, inserting a semi-colon where
this is appropriate.
a Their best
player has moved to another team he will be greatly missed.
b We did our very best to save
the old building from demolition. We sent a letter of protest to the council we
sought the help of our local MP we launched a protest campaign we collected
hundreds of signatures from fellow objectors and we held demonstrations outside
the town hall.
c The members of the choir had
all practised very hard before the competition sadly they came last.
d We visited many historical sites in Britain. We went to the Tower of
London the Houses of Parliament in
London some of the colleges at Oxford Durham Cathedral the historical cities of
Chester and York.
4
Rewrite the following sentences, inserting a colon where this is appropriate.
a Economists
are worried about house prices they are falling rapidly.
b I’ve packed a picnic lunch
for us French bread, cheese, tomatoes, salad, grapes, apples, chocolate, white wine and mineral water. Can you think
of anything else?
c They have just released the
name of the new head teacher James Hunt, presently the deputy head.
d The title
of the book is The Years of Conflict a Reassessment of the Two World
1
a In the French restaurant we
had ragout (actually just a stew, but tasting nicer than any stew I’ve ever had).
b We had quite a lot of wine
with dinner and afterwards we had Armagnac (a kind of French brandy).
c We arranged to meet in the
large square (the Italians call it a piazza) in the centre of the town.
d They say that they are
planning to visit us in the fall (as the Americans call autumn).
e He went away quite suddenly
(no one knows where or why) some years ago and has not been in touch with his family since.
f Both Oliver Twist and Bleak
House were written by Charles Dickens (1812– 70).
g (Vincent
van Gogh [1853–90] is one of Holland’s most well-known painters.)
2
a You can
come to the dinner as my partner—I’d like that very much.
b I’m just
going now—what did I do with my car keys?
c The drunk driver said to the
police that where he was going was none of their d— business.
d We begged
our captors—begged them on bended knee—to release us.
e Christopher
Marlowe (1564–93) was a contemporary of Shakespeare.
f Wealth, power, status—these
were the things which he craved all his life and totally failed to achieve.
g We were awoken at dawn by the
noisy barking of the dog next door—a regular occurrence these days.
h I’m just
about to serve dinner—was that the doorbell?
3
a Their best
player has moved to another team; he will be greatly missed.
b We did our very best to save
the old building from demolition. We sent a letter of protest to the council; we
sought the help of our local MP; we launched a protest campaign; we collected
hundreds of signatures from fellow objectors; and we held demonstrations
outside the town hall.
c The members of the choir had
all practised very hard before the competition; sadly they came last.
d We visited many historical sites in Britain. We went to the Tower of
London; the Houses of Parliament in London; some of the colleges at Oxford;
Durham Cathedral; the historical cities of Chester and York.
4
a Economists
are worried about house prices: they are falling rapidly.
b I’ve packed a picnic lunch for us: French bread, cheese, tomatoes,
salad, grapes, apples, chocolate,
white wine and mineral water. Can you think of anything else?
c They have just released the
name of the new head teacher: James Hunt, presently the deputy head.
d The title of the book is The Years of Conflict: a
Reassessment of the Two World Wars.
