Punctuation errors can alter the meaning of your words. Use a question mark, and you’ve asked a question; use an exclamation mark, and you’ve added excitement to a statement. While these two particular punctuation marks seem fairly self-explanatory, others are downright confusing to beginning writers. Commas, semi-colons, and colons indicate sentence structure. Apostrophes connect words or indicate possession. Dashes and parentheses might indicate emphasis or optional information. When do you use these punctuation marks?
To begin with, you’ll want to master commas, semi-colons, and colons. Commas connect two clauses, such as when you want to express connected information. “I wanted to visit the museum, but it was closed.” The comma and conjunction connect relevant information without writing short, choppy sentences. Commas also function as a connection for dependent clauses preceding the independent clause. “Because the museum was closed, we could not visit.” Obviously, you could say “we could not visit because the museum was closed,” but this changes the flow of your words. Commas also show lists. “The water was bright, blue, and clear.” The water was each of the items in this list, and the commas act as “and.” These are just a few examples of comma usage in a sentence. Excluding a comma can lead to a run-on sentence.
Next, we have the semi-colon, which is used for two independent clauses that are linked and for longer lists. “I have two dogs; I also have two cats.” If you are choosing to omit a conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, yet, so), you may opt to use the semi-colon to link your sentence and indicate a stronger pause. Additionally, the semi-colon functions as a “super comma” for more complex lists. “We visited New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; and Washington, D.C.” They also help with lists that require a colon, which we will discuss next.
Colons indicate a list most often, but they are also used to setup a block quotation. “This recipe requires: a stand mixer with a paddle attachment; dry, active yeast; and lukewarm water.” Another example might include more information. “On our European vacation, we visited: the Lourve in Paris, France; the Parthenon in Athens, Greece; and the canals in Venice, Italy.” When using colons for block quotations, you’ll want to setup your lead in phrase, end it with a colon, then create in indented sections specifically for quotes of four or more lines.
Next week, we will discuss apostrophes, dashes, and parentheses.
