Semicolons and Colons

Can join two sentences together.Ex: Jimmy took my suitcase upstairs. He left

his own bag in the car.Jimmy took my suitcase upstairs; he left his own bag in the car.

If a sentence has too many commas, use a semicolon to join them instead.Ex: I wrote to Ann, Ramona, and Mai, and

Jean wrote to Charles, Latoya, and Sue.I wrote to Ann, Ramona, and Mai; Jean wrote to Charles, Latoya, and Sue.

When you are listing things, use semicolons to join items that already contain commas.

Ex: They visited Phoenix, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and San Antonio, Texas.

Ex: Mr. Schultz, my science teacher; Ms. O’Hara, my English teacher; Mrs. Gomez, my math teacher; and Mr. Jones, my social studies teacher, attended the seventh-grade picnic.

We went home mom made us lunch.

I have lived in Long Beach, CA Durham, NC and San Antonio, TX.

Your grades have improved you will graduate.

I called Liz, Mike, and Jim and she called everyone else.

And, but, or, for, nor, yet, so

Join two sentences together using comma Ex: I went running. Steve went hiking.

Can’t join these sentences together with only a comma; you need a conjunction too!

Ex: I went running, and Steve went hiking.

Also join to items together. Ex: I like basketball and football. Ex: She sings and dances.

She left for work. She was still late.

Luke walked for three hours. He was tired.

I wanted ice cream. I went to Ben and Jerry’s.

My homework wasn’t done. I got a zero.

I hoped to go to Hawaii. It was my dream.

Use a colon before a list of items. Ex: You will need these items for the project:

a ruler, colored pencils, and tracing paper. Ex: Jack’s pocket contained the following

items: a key, a note, and a quarter. Note: You must have an expression like

“the following” in order to use a colon. Ex: Your heading should contain the

following: your name, the date, and the title. Your heading should contain your name, the

date, and the title.

Use a colon between the hour and the minute.8:30AM

Use a colon after the greeting in a business letter.Dear Sir:

When listing Bible verses and titles.Ex: John 3:1-12Ex: “My Biography: Life as a HSA Student”

We have studied the following subjects math, science, and history.

I went to bed at 1100 pm.

I memorized Matthew 5 6-7.

The name of the story is “Jackie A Girl from the South.”