Colon vs Semi-colon/Slashes vs Dashes

Emojah Haynes

Joseph Cheek

Contractions

A contraction is a shortened version of the written and spoken forms of a word, syllable, or word group, created by omission of internal letters.

Colon VS Semi-colon / Slashes VS Dashes

examples:

Can't = Can not

Don't = Do not

I'm = I am

Note: for any essays or homework assignments, do not use contractions in your writing.

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Nouns

Example

Here are a few fine independent clauses, standing on their own as complete sentences:

• I went to the grocery store today. I bought a ton of fruit. Apples, grapes, and pears were on sale.

Inserting Semi-colons Correctly

• I went to the grocery store today; I bought a ton of fruit. Apples, grapes, and pears were all on sale.

OR

• I went to the grocery store today. I bought a ton of fruit; apples, grapes, and pears were all on sale.

Inserting Semi-colons Incorrectly

• I went to the grocery store today; I bought a ton of fruit; apples, grapes, and pears were all on sale.

Semi-colons

Adverbs

Colons

Colons follow independent clauses (clauses that could stand alone as sentences) and can be used to present an explanation, draw attention to something, or join ideas together.

• Lists/series example: We covered many of the fundamentals in our writing class: grammar, punctuation, style, and voice.
• Noun/noun phrase example: My roommate gave me the things I needed most: companionship and quiet.
• Quotation example: Shakespeare said it best: “To thine own self be true.”

Colons

In bibliography entries. Many citation styles use a colon to separate information in bibliography entries.

• Example: Kurlansky, M. (2002). Salt: A world history. New York, NY: Walker and Co.

With subtitles. Colons are used to separate titles from subtitles.

• Example: Everest: The Last Frontier

After the salutation in a formal business letter. A colon can be used immediately after the greeting in a formal letter (less-formal letters tend to use a comma in this location).

• Example: To Whom it May Concern:

Please accept my application for the position advertised in the News and Observer.

• Example/explanation example: Many graduate students discover that there is a dark side to academia: late nights, high stress, and a crippling addiction to caffeinated beverages.

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Clichés vs. Jargon

Clichés are phrases, expressions, or ideas that have been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty.

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away

Jargon is terminology that relates to a specific activity, profession, or group.

• Noon at bdubs is a great place to find a duke.

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Contractions

Conjunction Junction

what's your function...

pronouns

conjunctions

abstract

Using a colon between a preposition and its object

• Example (incorrect): My favorite cake is made of: carrots, flour, butter, eggs, and cream cheese icing.

To correct this, simply remove the colon.

Using a colon after “such as,” “including,” “especially,” and similar phrases. This violates the rule that the material preceding the colon must be a complete thought. Look, for example, at the following sentence:

• Example (incorrect): There are many different types of paper, including: college ruled, wide ruled, and plain copy paper.

You can see that “There are many different types of paper, including” is not a complete sentence. The colon should simply be removed.

Incorrect Ways To Use Colons

DEFINITIONS

Slashes vs. Dashes

Use a slash to indicate that a choice can be made between paired or multiple terms. Do not use a space before or after the slash.

• Example: Catherine is taking the course pass/fail.
• Example: I am acting as the secretary/treasurer/social chairman since there are only two of us on the board.

Use a dash to indicate an abruptly unfinished thought or remark. Do not include a period or comma after the dash.

• Example: She is a wonderful girl, but–

"Please help me before I–" she cried.

Use a dash to set off appositives that contain commas. (An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that immediately follows and renames a noun or pronoun and is usually surrounded by commas.)

• Example:Learning the mechanics–the complex, detailed structural components–of the English language is very difficult because the rules are often so inconsistent.

QUESTIONS

Prepositions

adjectives

Split Infinitives

• To boldly go
• To quickly run
• To highly recommend

A split infinitive is a grammatical construction in the English language where a word or phrase, usually an adverb, occurs between the marker “to” and the infinitive form of the verb.

ADJECTIVES

Words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence

Often identified through articles such as:

a, an, and the

Examples:

• The short professor
• A solid commitment
• A month’s pay
• A six-year old child
• The unhappiest, rich man

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Sentences

Grammar

Semi-colon

To Join Two Sentences

a punctuation mark (;) indicating a pause, typically between two main clauses, that is more pronounced than that indicated by a comma.

An independent clause is a group of words that can stand on its own (independently)—it is a complete sentence. Semi-colons can be used between two independent clauses. The semi-colon keeps the clauses somewhat separate, like a period would do, so we can easily tell which ideas belong to which clause.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Interjections!

Singular subjects need singular verbs

• The mayor, as well as his brothers, is going to prison.

Plural subjects need plural verbs

• The major and his brothers are going to prison.

INTERJECTIONS

A part of speech that usually has no grammatical connection with the rest of the sentence and simply expresses emotion on the part of the speaker

• Wow! That was amazing.
• Oh my gosh! Did you see that?

past

ENGLISH

punctuation

infinitives

present

articles

conditionals

word usage

modifiers

VERBS

future