Semicolon (;) vs. Colon (:)

Writing lesson discussions.
alex@e52
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 8:11 pm

Semicolon (;) vs. Colon (:)

Postby alex@e52 » Tue Mar 31, 2020 10:44 pm

The semicolon (;) is used to connect independent clauses. It shows a closer relationship between the clauses than a period would show.

Ex.: John was hurt; he knew she only said it to upset him.

A colon (:) has three main uses.

The first is after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an example, or a series.

Ex.: He was planning to study four subjects: politics, philosophy, sociology, and economics.

The second is between independent clauses when the second explains the first, similar to a semicolon:

Ex.: I didn't have time to get changed: I was already late.

The third use of a colon is for emphasis:

Ex.: There was one thing she loved more than any other: her dog.

A colon also has non-grammatical uses in time, ratio, business correspondence and references.