2012/09/17 LEO Assignment

Semicolons and Colons

Semicolon Use

• combine two sentences that are closely related
• use with conjunctive adverb to show close relationship between two complete sentences
• separate series of phrases or lists that include punctuation, such as commas
• use with coordinating conjunction for two sentences if comma would cause confusion

Colon Use

• signal series of words, phrases, or clauses following a sentence
• signals the following sentence explains the preceding sentence
• used to emphasize a name or description following a sentence
• introduce a long quotation after a sentence
• in non-sentences:
• after salutations in letters
• heading of business memo
• between hour and minutes for time
• between chapter and verse in the Bible
• separate title and subtitle
• in bibliography between location published and publisher name

Sources

• LEO: Semicolon Rules—accessed 2012/09/17
• LEO: Colon Rules—accessed 2012/09/17
• LEO: Semicolon and Colon—accessed 2012/09/17
• Guidelines for Using Semicolons, Colons, and Dashes—accessed 2012/09/17