Punctuation – How to Use Colons and Semicolons

By Stuart Ackerman

Colons and semicolons are easy to use once you understand the rules.
 
 
Colons - Colons are quite simple to use. 
 

·         when a list of items is to follow

        e.g. I went to the store and bought some groceries such as: milk, butter, cheese, 
        and bread.
 

·         after the greeting in a letter

        e.g.  Dear Mr. Jones:
 
 
Semicolons - Semicolons are not as simple. 
 

·         to separate two parts of a list when the individual parts include commas

        e.g.  In order to do well in school you must; study on a daily basis, pay attention in 
               class, and make sure that you seek extra help.
 

·         to connect two parts of a compound sentence when you are not using a conjunction such as 'and' or 'but' to connect two parts

        e.g.  I want to go swimming; I don't want to get my hair wet.
 
 
     Clearly, colons have more definite rules whereas semicolons take a bit more practice to learn. 

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