How to use a semicolon and a colon. Literacy Focus How to use a semicolon and a colon.

Semicolon ; You don’t need to panic about punctuation; semicolons are very easy to use.

How to use a semicolon The most common way to use a semicolon is to connect two separate sentences. I walked to school; it was raining.

Don’t use it with connectives! Connectives are words like: and but because Netball may be called off, but it depends on the weather. OR Netball may be called off; it depends on the weather.

Over to you 1) Use a semicolon to join the following sentences: I walked to school. It was raining. The restaurant was very busy. The waiters looked harassed.

How to use a colon : A colon introduces an explanation or a list. For example: When you go shopping, you will need: bananas, oranges and a lion. (List) There is one thing you need to know about coleslaw: it looks and tastes like sick. (Explanation)

To sum up… A semicolon connects two separate sentences; it is used instead of a connective. Netball may be called off; it depends on the weather. A colon is used to introduce a list or an explanation. When you go shopping, you will need: bananas, oranges and a lion. (List) L.O: to learn how to use a colon. (Explanation) Don’t get them confused!