Semicolons and Colons

 Can join two sentences together.  Ex: Jimmy took my suitcase upstairs. He left his own bag in the car. Jimmy took my suitcase upstairs; he left his own bag in the car.  If a sentence has too many commas, use a semicolon to join them instead.  Ex: I wrote to Ann, Ramona, and Mai, and Jean wrote to Charles, Latoya, and Sue. I wrote to Ann, Ramona, and Mai; Jean wrote to Charles, Latoya, and Sue.

 When you are listing things, use semicolons to join items that already contain commas.  Ex: They visited Phoenix, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and San Antonio, Texas.  Ex: Mr. Schultz, my science teacher; Ms. O’Hara, my English teacher; Mrs. Gomez, my math teacher; and Mr. Jones, my social studies teacher, attended the seventh-grade picnic.

 We went home mom made us lunch.  I have lived in Long Beach, CA Durham, NC and San Antonio, TX.  Your grades have improved you will graduate.  I called Liz, Mike, and Jim and she called everyone else.

 And, but, or, for, nor, yet, so  Join two sentences together using comma  Ex: I went running. Steve went hiking. Can’t join these sentences together with only a comma; you need a conjunction too!  Ex: I went running, and Steve went hiking.  Also join to items together.  Ex: I like basketball and football.  Ex: She sings and dances.

 She left for work. She was still late.  Luke walked for three hours. He was tired.  I wanted ice cream. I went to Ben and Jerry’s.  My homework wasn’t done. I got a zero.  I hoped to go to Hawaii. It was my dream.

 Use a colon before a list of items.  Ex: You will need these items for the project: a ruler, colored pencils, and tracing paper.  Ex: Jack’s pocket contained the following items: a key, a note, and a quarter.  Note: You must have an expression like “the following” in order to use a colon.  Ex: Your heading should contain the following: your name, the date, and the title.  Your heading should contain your name, the date, and the title.

 Use a colon between the hour and the minute.  8:30AM  Use a colon after the greeting in a business letter.  Dear Sir:  When listing Bible verses and titles.  Ex: John 3:1-12  Ex: “My Biography: Life as a HSA Student”

 We have studied the following subjects math, science, and history.  I went to bed at 1100 pm.  I memorized Matthew  The name of the story is “Jackie A Girl from the South.”