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.”