The Semicolon and

the Colon 30
30.1 USING THE SEMICOLON

1. You may use a semicolon to join two independent clauses that are
closely related in meaning:
Insist on yourself; never imitate. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. You may use a semicolon to join two independent clauses when the
second begins with or includes a conjunctive adverb:
Shakespeare’s plays are four hundred years old; nevertheless, they still
speak to us.

Many of his characters resemble people we encounter or read about daily;

a few, in fact, remind us of ourselves.

For more on semicolons and conjunctive adverbs, see 15.5.

3. You may use a semicolon before a conjunction to join two indepen-

dent clauses that contain commas:
By laughing at our faults, we can learn to acknowledge them graciously;
and we can try to overcome them in a positive, even cheerful way, not
grimly and disagreeably.

4. Use semicolons to emphasize the division between items that include

commas:
There were three new delegates at the meeting: Ms. Barbara Smith from
Boulder, Colorado; Ms. Beth Waters from Omaha, Nebraska; and Mr. James
Papson from Greenwood, Arkansas.

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30.2 semi The Semicolon and the Colon

30.2 MISUSING THE SEMICOLON

1. Do not use a semicolon between a phrase and the clause to which it

belongs:

£ The climbers carried an extra nylon rope; to ensure their safe descent

from the cliff.

£ Proceeding cautiously down the rock face; they neared the floor of the

canyon.

2. Do not use a semicolon between a subordinate clause and the main

clause:

£ Most of the crowd had left; before the concert ended.

£ Although the hall was almost empty;, she came out for a second bow.
^
£ Ticket sales had been good;, which made both her agent and her man-
^
ager happy.

3. Do not use a semicolon to introduce a list. Use a colon:

:
£ The prophets denounced three types of wrongdoing; idolatry, injustice,
^
and neglect of the needy.

For more on colons, see the next section.

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 The Semicolon and the Colon colon 30.3

30.3 USING THE COLON

1. Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list:

Success depends on three things: talent, determination, and luck.

2. Use a colon to introduce an example or an explanation related to

something just mentioned:
The animals have a good many of our practical skills: some insects make
pretty fair architects, and beavers know quite a lot about engineering.
—Northrop Frye

3. Use a colon to introduce one or more complete sentences quoted from

formal speech or writing:
In the opening sentence of his novel Scaramouche, Rafael Sabatini says of
his hero: “He was born with the gift of laughter, and a sense that the world
was mad.”

4. Use a colon to follow the salutation in a formal letter:

Dear Mr. Mayor:

Dear Ms. Watson:

To Whom It May Concern:

5. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes when the time of day is
shown in numerals:
8:40 6:30 11:15

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30.4 colon The Semicolon and the Colon

30.4 MISUSING THE COLON

1. Do not use a colon after such as, including, or a form of the verb be:

£ On rainy days at camp, we played board games such as: Monopoly,

Scrabble, and Trivial Pursuit.

£ One morning I woke up to find that someone had taken all of my valu-

ables, including: my watch, my camera, and my money.

£ Still in my locker were: my toilet kit, my flashlight, and my wallet—

now empty.

2. Do not use a colon between a verb and its object or between a preposi-
tion and its object:

£ Before heading home, we stopped at: the supermarket, the hardware

store, and the gas station.

£ We needed: pasta, a window screen, and a tank of gasoline.

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