A simple tutorial on the correct use of colons, semi-colons, and hyphens. This lesson caters both for people learning the English language, and for native English speakers seeking to "brush up" on their writing.
I've tackled the colon, the semi-colon and the hyphen in one article because for me, they were the hardest punctuation marks to learn to use. Remember that these tutorials are not meant to be all inclusive, they're just simple pointers in the right direction to writing English correctly.The colon is no longer generally used. Some writers hardly ever use this punctuation mark at all. I think that this may be because there are several other better understood marks which can be used in its place.When to use a colonEven though I keep my colon use to a minimum, I use it to introduce a list. However, as we've seen before, short lists can be just as easily introduced with a comma.1. Use a colon to introduce a listFor a longer and more complex list, you may want to use the colon. Look at the following example. These tutorials so far consist of three lessons. They are: lesson one - the apostrophe. Lesson two - the comma and the full stop. Lesson three - the colon, semi-colon and the hyphen.I chose to use the colon in this case because there were several parts to my complex list. Another reason was because I used many other punctuation marks in my sentences and I felt that the colon made my list read a lot easier and clearer than a comma would've done.2. Use a colon to break up a long sentenceIn order to find a date, a balding man should do the following: get rid of his comb over, purchase a bottle of baby oil, employ a polisher, steal a copy of "The Magnificent Seven," and stay away from furry animals with a tendency to nest on one's head. When to use a semi-colonI think the fact that the semi-colon is slipping out of use is because it is not one of those necessary punctuation marks like the comma or the full stop. A semi-colon usually denotes a stop which is shorter than a full stop, but longer than a comma.I have outlined the two most common uses for the semi-colon. These are the ones I mainly use. If the clauses get any more complicated than the examples shown below, I normally would re-write the thought into shorter, separate sentences1. Use a semi-colon to separate lists where more information is given about one particular item.When I arrived at the picnic site he had already laid out: A vase, flowers included; some pancakes, smeared with "I can"t believe it's not butter' spread; two glasses of wine, chilled and dark; a small furry animal just about to nest on his shining head.Notice that because I'd used commas after the items, I had to then use semi-colons after the individual explanations or else this long sentence would've been extremely unclear and difficult to read. Only use semi-colons for lists like these. If you've got a straightforward list, it's best to just use a comma.2. Use a semi-colon to join two sentences which are connected.The furry animal was slow in climbing; it had gotten hold of the chilled, dark wine.I did not use a full stop because the pause would've been too long and would not have properly shown the reader the connection between the two thoughts. I could not use a comma here because the pause would've been way too short for the reader to get the consequential connection between the two.Note: the semi-colon has more uses than have been illustrated here. The ones mentioned here are generally made use of on a wider scale, in everyday writing.
When to use a hyphenDo not confuse a hyphen with a dash. A hyphen is used when you want to shorten the pause (and the relationship) between words, whereas a dash (which we will look at in another tutorial) lengthens the pause.1. Use a hyphen to make your meaning clearerYesterday we had two hour long tutorials.Are we talking about two tutorials that lasted for an hour each, or are we referring to one tutorial which was two hours long?To make the meaning of this sentence clear, we can re-write it in either of these two ways:Yesterday we had a two-hour long tutorial.OrYesterday we had two hour-long tutorials.In the above demonstrations, you can see how using a hyphen can make your meaning clearer to your reader.2. Use a hyphen to link words together to make a compound word.Most people understand the use of hyphens to make compound words like mother-in-law, court-martial, up-in-arms, etc.Page 1 of 2 | Prev 12Next»
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#1 by valli, Aug 7, 2008I learned many new things from this article.#2 by IcyCucky, Aug 7, 2008I'm learning along with your article..#3 by neelam pandey, Aug 7, 2008teaches very minute things which people normally ignore but impacts their sentence construction very badly...nice information..thanks for sharing!!!#4 by tonisan60, Aug 8, 2008I still have not clear the use of hyphen in the first case, but I will read this excelent article again; ther is another thing that troubles me, but maybe I have to look for it in a grammar book, the thing is why this symbol (;)is called semicolon and not semicomma, and why use the colon instead of the regular comma?
Well, my first language was Napples dialect, the secvond one was Italian and then Spanish, English is only the last one I had learned, maybe is that the reason some things don't want to enter in my head.
Thank you for sharing, God bless you for your hard work helping people like me.#5 by Mary Contrary, Aug 8, 2008Cleared a few things things up for me! Great article! Thank You!#6 by Rhymer, Aug 8, 2008Clear: concise: well thought out and most helpful advice.
Many pitfalls lie in wait for writers, but most are quite avoidable if one understands the basics of good writing.
Being one who writes poetry, I am very conscious of the importance of "good" punctuation. It is regarded (by me at least) as an essential if one is to impart the true meaning of lines one pens, when coupled with a paucity of words. I do so deplore the sloppy, ill written prose one sees - all too frequently - in print today. A favourite rant of mine, I fear.
Being one who left school so many - far too many - years ago, it is all too easy to forget some of the basic rules I once knew so well, and your article, reminds me of punctuation mistakes I find so easy to make; far too often, as seemingly, One can become affected by reading too many of today's writings.
Perhaps I could suggest an article on the mistake - so often seen and used - such as those who employ a word - such as First - rather than the correct "Firstly"? There are others too. I have other 'beefs' - mostly grammatical - but enough from me today.
#7 by Teach, Aug 8, 2008Your first bit on hyphens is incorrect.
"Our picnic turned out to be a two hour-long flood disaster." is not correct.
For the sentence to mean what you are attempting to make it mean, you would need to omit "a" and make "disaster" plural.
Thus, the sentence should read:
"Our picnic turned out to be two hour-long flood disasters."
Even then, the sentence is still awkward, due to the first part ("Our picnic turned out to be").#8 by Anne Lyken-Garner, Aug 8, 2008Thanks for your supportive comments everyone. Teach you are right. I missed that 'a' in my editing. It should not have been kept in that particular sentence.
I shall have it fixed. Thanks for spotting that. #9 by Josey, Aug 8, 2008English teacher approved!#10 by Ruby Hawk, Aug 8, 2008A much needed English lesson for me, I have been out of school so long I have forgotten it all.#11 by Alexa Gates , Aug 8, 2008i think my grammar is getting better by reading these lessons :) Great job! #12 by Professor Freedom, Aug 9, 2008Most style guides recommend using colons to introduce lists ONLY if what precedes the colon is a complete sentence. #13 by Rookie Expert, Aug 9, 2008I rarely ever use the semi-colon, maybe never at all; now that i understood the complete usage for it, or so i would like to think, i guess i might end up using it.
(I hope that was correct usage. Please correct me if it was not.)#14 by penny golding, Aug 9, 2008very interesting Ann. You would die if you read any of my work... I put them by how I feel-lol- (did I do that right?) :O)) Thanks again it did clear alot up for me;because I am so confused all the time. Penny golding~#15 by thestickman, Aug 9, 2008 My wife is a "Techincal Writer" and you bring up valid points. I tend to over-use colon/semi-colons, but an trying to be more correct.
Another instance is use of "periods" in sentences ending in comment brackets. -The "period" goes INSIDE the comment, not outside.
Example:
This is easy (well, sort of.) #16 by Elaine, Aug 9, 2008I have never found a website iv liked more than this. English is nothing if it is misused and any promotion of correct grammer is ok in my books!#17 by YeahUhHuh, Aug 10, 2008In Strunk and White they say that colons should not follow a verb. I am not sure whether the first example you give is incorrect grammar or just poor style. Anyways, if people want to learn how to write well they should read that book. #18 by Anne Lyken-Garner, Aug 10, 2008Rookie, if I was marking that, I'd give you full points.
Penny, maybe a bit of brushing up might help you. We haven't studied the ellipses (...) but that's another thing that's misused. There are other tutorials in the series, maybe looking at all of them would be a good idea.(Sorry)
YeahUhHuh, I'm a UK-trained English teacher, and so is my husband who's got a PhD. I've just run your comment by him. Neither of us have heard of that.
If what you say is true, all of the books I've ever read in my entire life which stated things like, "The important points are:" Have gone through editors, printers and writers with terrible mistakes. As you know 'are' is a verb.#19 by Westbrook, Aug 10, 2008I have a comment on your usage of the verb \"was.\" Although it is more and more being used in the present tense (as are many other English words that are dwindling in original usage), I would rather use the verb \"were\" if I am talking about something that I might do. Your comment to Rookie seems to be saying you would do something, not that you have already done it. If I am wrong, then you should see the confusion. I would also state your comment differently, such as, \"If I were to mark that, I\'d give you full points.\" I see your comment as something conditional or hypothetical. To use English as correctly as possible, I use a simple rule of thumb: If I am talking singular person, past tense, about something that has already occurred, I use the verb \"was.\" If I am talking about something that may occur in the future, I use the word \"were.\"
Another rule of thumb that is useful when using a semi-colon between two related sentences: If the sentences could be joined by the conjunctive \"and,\" then a semi-colon can be used to eliminate the conjuctive.
#20 by Anne Lyken-Garner, Aug 10, 2008Westbrook, 'If I ---- to' definitely takes 'were' and not 'was.' I said, 'If I was marking...'
My thought was set in a continuous action, in a very informal way.
RookieE and I have exchanged quite a lot of comments with each other, therefore, are on 'friendly terms' with one another. I am a writer and no longer teach. I like to make my comments as informal and as unpretentious as possible.
Thank you for your comment. It certainly adds to the article in a positive way.#21 by Terri Lane, Aug 11, 2008A very good article and one to return to often. Thank you.#22 by Karen Gross, Aug 11, 2008I am surprised at the interest and the debate which your English lessons have garnered. I suppose most of the writers on Triond are adults who were educated back when punctuation, spelling, and proper grammar were specifically taught. As a teacher, I was appalled by the standards at some schools; especially those schools which employed the \"whole language\" theory. I think we are going to have more trouble with this new generation of \"text message\" kids who are inventing their own dialect where speed and short-cuts are the priority.#23 by mae, Aug 11, 2008very informative. thanks. i think i'll check these punctuation marks next time i write.#24 by Westbrook, Aug 11, 2008I believe Karen makes a good point. When I read material on Triond, I can pretty much determine who has been taught/learned correct English. I can generally determine the age and gauge the level of intelligence of the writers by how they write. I will share my thoughts in more depth on this subject in an article that I will be writing soon.
#25 by Paul Corvus, Aug 11, 2008Thank you for writing this article. I may have to write a they're there their article... I find it ironic you have a colon in your title. If only you had used it incorrectly... :p#26 by cplumley0j8, Aug 11, 2008Useful. Many people are ashamed that they do not know or remember this kind of stuff.#27 by Gokul, Aug 11, 2008Thanks#28 by ashley jo, Aug 12, 2008Great job! I would love to see you do the same for quotes.#29 by Eric, Aug 12, 2008Careful with your colon suggestions. Anything before a colon should be an independent clause (complete thought) on its own. Both your colon examples are incorrect grammar. The first one is especially egregious.
Example 1: These tutorials so far consist of three lessons: the apostrophe, the comma and the full stop.....
Example 2: A balding man should do a few things in order to find a date: get rid of his comb over, purchase a bottle of baby oil, employ a polisher, steal a copy of "The Magnificent Seven," and stay away from furry animals with a tendency to nest on one's head. #30 by Victoria Ricketts, Aug 13, 2008Very interestingarticle :
and informative ,keep up the good work.#31 by Shilohx8, Aug 13, 2008Excellent Article; however, you might want to visit your first example under semi-colons. I am straddle the fence on some of your assertions. I do not believe the semi-colon and a few other punctuations marks are fading away, I believe, for the most part, some writers today simply are not as dedicated to their craft as some of the old masters were. Thanks for making me revisit some very basic writing rules!!
Doss#32 by tonisan60, Aug 13, 2008I have already found your first English lesson, it is in socyberty, now I have the three of them, waiting for the fourth one, see Ann Lee, since I am not an English speaker properly, because my motherly language was Napple dialect and my country language is Spanish along with Italian, I make a lot of horrible mistakes when I comment, when I write and pubblish, the mistakes are less, thanks to the ortographic checker on Word, but still, there are too many things I do not know how they work, as for example, most of my Spanish poetry is rhymed, in Italian too, because I love rhyme, but in English it is not so easy for me to rhyme and maintain a coherence in the speech, also the syllabic division is too different between English and Spanish, and the hiphen thing, well, to tell the truth never heard about, so I am anxious to read lesson number four. Thank you for writting it, God bless you. #33 by Eden Emersen, Aug 13, 2008I love this grammar talk and all the comments and interest in the topic. It's fun. As far as Strunk and White/YeahUhHuh, the "rule" is not to separate a transitive verb from its (direct) object with a colon (nor a preposition from its object). I also agree with Thestickman that more people should remember to place the period INSIDE the quotation mark. It's so refreshing to be around writers who care. Great article! Thanks for the fun. #34 by Did you realize...., Aug 13, 2008You used "right" when you meant "write" in your Triond Blog comment of August 13th. Grammar and spelling is very important!#35 by eddiego65, Aug 15, 2008Great article. I truly needed the review of the basics of punctuations. Thanks!
This is a must-read for those who want to improve their writing.#36 by freddie b, Aug 19, 2008Please advise if self-contained accommodation is correct where self contained accommodation is incorrect.
I see both in the media, but am of the opinion that "self-contained" is the correct way.
Thank you.#37 by Anne Lyken-Garner, Aug 20, 2008Freddie, I'm with you. I've always written 'self-contained' and have taught that as well. Same for self-obsessed, self-assured, etc.#38 by freddie b, Aug 20, 2008Thank you, Anne. I can tell my Web client where I got the info from!Post Your Comment:* Name: Copy the code into this box:
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