Full stops and commas do most of the work, but a few extra marks let a writer be more exact. A colon points forward to what comes next; a semicolon links two sentences that belong together; brackets and dashes tuck in extra information; a hyphen joins words.
What your child will learn
- Use a colon to introduce a list or an explanation
- Use a semicolon to join two closely linked sentences
- Use brackets or dashes for extra information
- Use a hyphen to join words and avoid confusion
Introduce or link?
A colon says “here it comes”: You will need: a pencil, a ruler and an eraser. A semicolon sits between two complete sentences that are closely related: It was late; we went home. A comma can’t do that job alone. A hyphen can change the meaning: a man-eating shark is very different from a man eating shark.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Which mark shows a long pause or a sudden change — like this?
- A bracket
- A hyphen
- A dash
- A semicolon
Show answer
Answer: A dash. A dash is longer than a hyphen and sits between words with spaces.
2. True or false? A colon can be used before a list.
Show answer
Answer: True. For example — Bring three things: a hat, a coat and gloves.
3. Which punctuation mark introduces a list?
- A hyphen ( - )
- A question mark ( ? )
- A colon ( : )
- A semicolon ( ; )
Show answer
Answer: A colon ( : ). A colon points forward to the list that follows.
Tips for grown-ups
- Find colons and semicolons in a newspaper and say what job each is doing.
- Join two short, related sentences with a semicolon.
- Collect phrases where a hyphen changes the meaning.