Unit 12, Punctuation 245Copyright © by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
MechanicsLesson 77
Semicolons and ColonsUse a semicolon to join parts of a compound sentence when a conjunction such
as and, but,or or is not used.
Belinda likes oatmeal for breakfast;I prefer cream of wheat.
Use a colon to introduce a list of items that ends a sentence. Use words such as
these, the following,and as followsto introduce lists.
English words that come from Spanish include the following:ranch, corral, and
stampede.
Do not use a colon immediately after a verb or a preposition.
Jaime likes to read, play basketball, and dance.
Use a colon to separate the hour and the minute.
School begins at 8:15 on the dot.
Use a colon after the salutation of a business letter.
Dear Professor D’Amico: To whom it may concern:Exercise 1 Add semicolons and colons where needed. Write C if a sentence or phrase
is correct.
C Devin is my brother; he’s my best friend, too.
C 1.At the grocery store Mom bought milk, fruit, and cereal.
2.Meet me at the corner at 12:30.
C 3.Pete loves flowers; roses are his favorite.
4.The forecast called for rain;it snowed instead.
5.The green shoes are pretty;the red ones are more comfortable.
C 6.She may get a parrot;she may not.
7.For the class trip you’ll need the following:raincoat, boots, pencil, paper or pen,
and lunch.
C 8.Earth is the third planet from the sun; Mars is the fourth.
9.We had chicken last night;tonight we’ll have fish.