Sentence Structure Questions Colons, Semi-Colons and Dashes

Learning Intention You are revising your knowledge of the following punctuation marks… The colon : The semi-colon ; The dash –

Quick Revision… Which punctuation mark is usually used to introduce a quotation? What do double dashes, brackets or commas do in the middle of a sentence? What is this technique called? Other than a comma, which punctuation mark can separate phrases in a list? Which two punctuation marks can be used to introduce an explanation or expansion of the previous statement?

At this time pass all the characters of the Spanish streets: the dark veiled women hurrying home from the priest; the Civil Guard whom nobody greets; gold-skinned sailors and strutting carters; goat-faced ruffians down from the hills; and old men with the hollow eyes of hermits – their skin stretched thin on chill, ascetic bones. Ascetic = rigid, stern, severe… What is the colon doing in this example? What about the semi-colons? Finally, discuss the function of the dash.

Some General Answers… The colon is introducing a list. The semi-colons are used to separate items in a list. The dash is used to introduce an extra piece of information.

Some SPECIFIC Answers! The colon introduces a list of ‘the characters’ mentioned by the writer. Each phrase describing a character is separated from the others by a semi-colon. This allows us to see the wide variety of characters present, and to note the vast differences between them, from ‘dark-veiled women’ to ‘strutting carters.’ The dash is used to add on extra descriptive information about the ‘old men,’ allowing us to gain a clearer impression of their rather sinister and unpleasant appearance. ‘Ascetic bones’ reinforces the dark, ghostly image created by ‘hollow eyes.’

There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. Where does the semi-colon appear in this sentence? What similarity between the English and French monarchs is described? What difference between the English and French monarchs is described? Do you notice a sentence pattern at work in the above example, too?

The semi-colon appearing in the middle of the sentence helps to emphasise the similarity between the English and French kings; both have ‘large jaws.’ However, it also serves to stress the contrast between the queens: the queen of France is ‘fair’ unlike the ‘plain’ English queen. Both clauses of the sentence have very similar structures too. This parallelism of words and phrases helps to further the writer’s direct comparison of both countries’ royal families.

Now it’s Your Turn! Attempt Examples 1, 4, and 7. Remember: your focus is on colons, semi-colons and dashes. Try to comment on TWO structural features in each example, eg a colon AND semi-colons.