Semicolons and Colons

; and :

Joins two independent clauses

• Rachel works for the news; my brother Bill works in entertainment.

Independent Clauses with transition words.

I thought the party would never end; however, the police proved me wrong.

Lists with commas in the units

• In his career, Keith has interviewed Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont; John Bolton, former ambassador to the U.N.; the Dalai Lama, and Michael Jackson, the former King of Pop.

Colons: Time and Plays

• Hamlet: Forsooth, it is 2:34 in the morn. Pray tell, at what hour doth the sun rise.

Title:SubtitleStar Trek II: The Wrath of KahnThank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln…

Bible ReferenceChapter:VerseI Kings 16:18

Related Clauses

• Joins Two Independent where the second explains the first.

• My dog is the perfect hiking companion: Siberian huskies have boundless energy.

Preceding a list

• Please purchase the following items: paint, brushes, and an easel.

• Don’t• Split prepositional phrases or

verb/compliment links. I ate: sushi, steak, and scallopsThe post office delivers during: rain, sleet,

and snow.

Set long formal quotes

• Thoreau’s Walden is best summed up in his conclusion that resonates with naturalists of all stripes: “I went to the woods to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not when it came time to die discover that I had not lived.”