Semicolons, colons, Italics, Quotation Marks and Hyphens English 11 ACT/MME Prep

Use a Semicolon Between the clauses of a compound sentence if they are NOT joined by a conjunction. These clauses must be closely related. My sister is prize figure skater; she will compete in Tokyo next week. Between clauses that are joined by certain transitional words and phrases in a compound sentence. These words are accordingly, consequently, for example, for instance, furthermore, however, instead, moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, and therefore. The movie director wanted to start filming; however, the weather prevented her from doing so. Between the items in a series if the items contain commas. This avoids a confusing number of commas. He presented his book to publishers in Detroit, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; and Helena, Montana.

Use a colon To introduce a list of items. Our English teacher introduced us to the following writers: Mark Twain, Lorraine Hansberry, and Arthur Miller. After the salutation of a business letter. Dr. Mr. Williams: To divide hours from minutes 3:01pm To separate chapter from verse in Biblical references. John 3:22

Italics (or an underline) for: Book titles: To Kill a Mockingbird Full-length play titles: Death of a Salesman Long poems: The Odyssey Magazine title: Sports Illustrated Newspaper titles: New York Times Movie titles: Rocky Television programs: The Tonight Show Paintings and sculptures: The Last Supper (painting), The Thinker (sculpture) Ships and planes: USS Intrepid (ship), Air Force One (plane)

Quotation marks Indicate a speaker’s exact words. (Tizzy remarked, “I have lost my appetite.” “I think,” Jeff said, “I will miss him.”) Indicate exact words from a quoted source. In the play Macbeth, the witches say, “Double, Double toil and trouble.” Punctuate the titles of songs, poems, short stories, newspaper or magazine articles, a television episode, or a chapter in a book. (Who sings “Cat’s in the Cradle”?) Emphasize a specific word. I have heard him say “yowza” about a hundred times.

Punctuating Quotation Marks Place periods and commas inside the quotation marks. Mark said, “I want ice cream.” “I want ice cream,” said Mark. If a question mark or an exclamation mark punctuates a quotation, the mark belongs inside the quotation marks. His sister asked, “May I go with you?” If the question mark or exclamation mark punctuates the main sentence, place it outside. Was it Romeo who said, “I am fortune’s fool”? Semicolons and colons should be placed outside the quotation marks. Our speaker concluded with the famous line: “To thine own self be true.”

Use a hyphen: To separate parts of certain compound nouns. Example: She is the editor-in-chief of the magazine. Between two words that comprise a single adjective only when the adjective precedes the noun it modifies. Example: The bramble-covered path was not a popular one for the tourists. You do not have to use a hyphen if the first word of the two-word adjective ends in –ly.

Use a hyphen: When writing out the numbers twenty-one to ninety-nine inclusive. Example: There are fifty-five people wanting to see this movie. To syllabicate words at the end of the line of typing or writing. Divide words of two or more syllables only between syllables. Single-syllable words should not be divided.