Punctuation: colons (:) and semi-colons (;)
####Colons (:)
We use colons to introduce lists:
There are three main reasons for the success of the government: economic, social and political.
We also use colons to indicate a subtitle or to indicate a subdivision of a topic:
Life in Provence: A Personal View
We often use colons to introduce direct speech:
Then he said: ‘I really cannot help you in any way.’
We commonly use a colon between sentences when the second sentence explains or justifies the first sentence:
Try to keep your flat clean and tidy: it will sell more easily.
####Semi-colons (;)
We use semi-colons instead of full stops to separate two main clauses. In such cases, the clauses are related in meaning but are separated grammatically:
Spanish is spoken throughout South America; in Brazil the main language is Portuguese.
####Colons (:)
We use colons to introduce lists:
There are three main reasons for the success of the government: economic, social and political.
We also use colons to indicate a subtitle or to indicate a subdivision of a topic:
Life in Provence: A Personal View
We often use colons to introduce direct speech:
Then he said: ‘I really cannot help you in any way.’
We commonly use a colon between sentences when the second sentence explains or justifies the first sentence:
Try to keep your flat clean and tidy: it will sell more easily.
####Semi-colons (;)
We use semi-colons instead of full stops to separate two main clauses. In such cases, the clauses are related in meaning but are separated grammatically:
Spanish is spoken throughout South America; in Brazil the main language is Portuguese.
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