How to Use Colons and Semicolons in English English Writing Lesson
Hello.
I’m Oli.
Welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn about using
colons and semicolons in writing.
First, let’s look at using colons.
Colons have one main job: they introduce specific
examples or explanations.
Let’s look.
He had one problem: there was no way to get
there in time.
So in this sentence, we mention something
general in the first part of the sentence,
a problem.
Then we give specific details in the second
part, after the colon.
There’s just one rule here: do everything
I tell you.
Again, we mention something general in the
first part, one rule.
Then we say what it is, specifically, in the
second part of the sentence.
A good way to remember this is that we put
a general idea before the colon and then give
a specific example or a more detailed explanation
after the colon.
You can also use colons to introduce a list
of items.
For example, “We’ve invited a small number
of people: Bill, Emma, Rachel,” and so on.
Or, “Tolstoy wrote several books, other than
‘War and Peace’: ‘Anna Karenina’, ‘The Cossacks’,
‘Resurrection’,” and so on.
Finally, you can use colons to introduce speech
in quotes, like, “He said: ‘Don’t talk to
me about this again,'” or, “They shouted:
‘Be careful.
Don’t get too close to the edge.'”
In this case, it’s not necessary to use a
colon.
You can also use a comma.
There’s no difference in which you use.
It’s mostly a question of personal style.
After a colon, it’s possible to use a small
letter or a capital letter.
If you use a colon to introduce what someone
said, you should generally use a capital letter.
If you use a colon to introduce an example
or an explanation, you can choose to use a
small letter or a capital.
Using a capital letter is more common in American
English, while in UK English, we almost always
use a small letter.
Next, let’s look at when not to use a colon.
We said that a colon has one main job: introducing
specific examples or specific explanations.
We also said that a colon has one possible
use, which is introducing what someone said.
It’s also important to know when not to use
a colon.
Here are some common mistakes which English
learners sometimes make with colon use.
First, don’t use a colon at the beginning
of a letter or an email, for example, after
someone’s name.
Use a comma instead.
Also, don’t use a colon after a title or a
heading, for example, at the top of an essay
or an article or anything like that.
You don’t normally need any punctuation at
the end of the title.
Next, let’s look at using a semicolon.
Like a colon, a semicolon has one main use.
We use it to show a connection between two
complete sentences.
A semicolon is actually similar to a full
stop.
It’s generally the writer’s choice whether
to use a full stop or a semicolon.
A semicolon is used instead of a full stop
because the writer wants to show that two
ideas are more closely connected.
For example, “The population of Shanghai is
around 24 million; Beijing has around 22 million
people.”
Our second example, “We knew he was guilty;
There was no evidence, however.”
You can see in both of these examples that
the parts before and after the semicolon could
both be full sentences.
So we could use a full stop in the first sentence,
after 24 million, and then start a new sentence
with the word “Beijing.”
That would be possible.
Also, in the second sentence, we could use
a full stop after “guilty,” and then start
a new sentence.
The second important point is that both parts
of the sentence, before and after the semicolon,
are talking about a related topic.
In the first example, both parts of the sentence
are about the population of Chinese cities.
In the second, both parts are obviously about
the same criminal case and the same person.
So we use a semicolon to show that two ideas
or two sentences are very closely related
or talking about the same topic.
Often, when we want to join two sentences
in English, we use a connecting word, like
“and” or “but” or “therefore,” for example.
When you join two sentences using a semicolon,
you don’t need to use a connecting word.
However, if you use a connecting word to join
two sentences, you sometimes need to use a
semicolon and sometimes a comma.
It depends what the connecting word is.
To join sentences using “and,” “or,” “but,”
“yet,” or “while,” you should use a comma.
To join two sentences using “however,” “therefore,”
“nevertheless,” or “meanwhile,” you should
use a semicolon.
These lists are not complete.
There are other connecting words which require
a comma or a semicolon.
However, these are the most common, and the
most important thing is to remember that for
some connecting words, you need to use a comma,
and for others, you have to use a semicolon.
So here’s our example from before, about the
population of Shanghai or Beijing.
In this case, there’s no connecting word.
There’s no word like “but” or “and” or “however.”
So we use a semicolon.
OK, here’s the same sentence, but a little
bit different.
In this case, we’re using the connecting word
“while.”
With “while,” we need to use a comma.
We can’t use a semicolon in this case.
Another example.
This time, we use the connecting word “however.”
“However” is used with a semicolon.
A full stop would also be possible.
Semicolons have one other use: they can be
used in lists when the items on the lists
contain commas.
Usually when we make a list, we use commas
to separate the items on the list.
For example, “We need milk, eggs, sugar, and
flour.”
We put a comma after each item, after milk,
after eggs, and so on.
But if the items on your list are not just
words, but phrases which include commas, we
use semicolons to separate the items on the
list.
Let’s take a look.
“We traveled to four cities: Santa Fe, which
is in New Mexico; Denver, Colorado; Las Vegas,
Nevada; and finally, Los Angeles in California.”
In this case, we use semicolons to separate
the items on the list because the items on
the list already include commas.
If we used commas to separate the items, it
would be very confusing and difficult to read.
Let’s look at one more example.
“Only three people showed up: Tom, the head
of accounting; Maria, who works in the sales
department; and Ellie, who’s doing an internship
here.”
Again, the items on the list are phrases which
include commas.
So it’s much clearer to use semicolons to
separate the parts of the list.
So both the colon and the semicolon are used
to show a connection between two ideas, but
they operate in a very different way.
Let’s finish by comparing the colon and the
semicolon directly.
So in these three examples, the only difference
is the punctuation, but it does make a big
difference to the meaning.
In the first case, the full stop shows that
there is no necessary connection between these
two ideas.
We have a problem, and he isn’t doing enough
to help me.
These could be totally separate things.
In the second case, with the semicolon, it
shows that the ideas are related somehow.
I’m talking about the same topic.
In the third sentence with the colon, we mean
that the problem is his attitude.
The problem is that he isn’t doing enough
to help.
To make this clearer, let’s put these sentences
in other words.
In the first case, with the semicolon, we
could also say, “We have a problem, and he
isn’t doing enough to help me with this problem.”
In the sentence with the colon, we could also
say, “We have a problem, which is that he
isn’t doing enough to help me.”
If you can understand the difference here,
that’s a good sign.
It means you really understand the difference
between colons and semicolons.
OK, that’s the end of the lesson.
I hope it was useful.
If you’re watching on YouTube, I suggest you
see the full version of this lesson on our
website.
The full version includes text and exercises,
so you can read and review the lesson.
You can also practice to check that you’ve
understood.
That’s all, thank you again for watching,
and I’ll see you next time.
Bye bye!