Punctuation Lesson#3

Part A



1. I have traveled to the following places this year: Singapore; Hong Kong; Japan Rome; and London.

2. The Cowpoke Diner on the square is well known for its specialty; mountain oysters.

3. The bumblebee flew from flower to flower; his assignment today was pollination.

4. There are two ways we can fail in reaching our goal: quit or die

5. My favorite cookies have chocolate chips, sugar, and raisins. correct

6. You owe me money; namely, your part of the electricity bill.

7. You must learn to do the following: skipping through WalMart at a high rate of speed; navigating the women's clothing section without knocking down customers; hitting unsuspecting employees in the face with paintballs; and sneaking into the employee's break room.

8. He had one great passion in life: marrying me.

9. The lecture hall was quiet; we assumed everyone was asleep.

10. The following men should report to the stage at once: Arther Bates Crockett, Jr.; Delroy Edward Foster, III; Greg Haven Israel IV; and Joe Jones.


Part B
1. A colon precedes a list of items. A colon can also be used to introduce a statement, enumeration, or illustration. *NOTE: Two spaces always come after the colon.

1.These Stephen King books are my favorites:  Salem's Lot, Insomina, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Needful Things.

2.I rented the following movies:  "Troll", "Motel Hell", "Tourist Trap", and "Bay Coven".

2. A colon Introduces short quotations.

1.Suze Orman is known for the quote:  "People first, then money, then things."

2.Johnny Cash would always come out on stage and say:  "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."

3. Use a colon to introduce a quote that runs longer than one sentence. Use the colon to introduce a direct quotation that is more than three lines in length. In this situation, leave a blank line above and below the quoted material. Single space the long quotation. Some style manuals say to indent one-half inch on both the left and right margins; others say to indent only on the left margin. Quotation marks are not used.

1.The author of When the Sun Sets in Deacon, Mississippi, Penny Cockrell, wrote in the prologue:

    Tyler placed a steady hand on the .45 revolver that rested in its leather holster. "Turn yourself in, Dylan. Do something right for once!"

    He narrowed his eyes at Dylan as they stood on the rippling pasture, encompassing the Walsh family cattle ranch. A herd of gray Longhorns grazed in the distance around the oak trees under the summer sky. Strands of midnight hair escaped Dylan's dusty cowboy hat while sweat trickled down the fugitive's suntanned cheeks.

2.The same author changes up her style in this passage from chapter three:

    Samdy sat up, waking from a dream where he had a vision of his parents holding him when he was a baby. Why did they leave me with Grandmother? Was it because I look different and can't perform any kind of magic? For a moment, he stared at the blue walls trimmed with purple and stumbled out of bed. He ambled over to his mahogeny closet and pulled out a purple suit with silver stars on it and black shoes with golden buckles on top of them. I can't believe Pegland wanted to make this out of sissy silk. She doesn't get that I'm a big boy who wears flannel.

    He put the suit on and walked over to the pewter mirror. He stared into the mirror and frowned. I hate the way I look. Plain black hair, blue eyes, and tan skin. I'm so ugly! Why can't I be like everyone else?


Use a semicolon to link together two sentences closely related AND a conjunction (and, but, or, nor) is omitted.

1.I went shopping with my mother; we shopped at Belk.
2.I gave the book to my dad; I had alread read it.


To avoid confusion between list items, a semicolon is used.

1.I normally put parmasan, mozarrella, provolone, and colby on my pizza; but since I have discovered havarti, I will try that one too.

2.I normally use parsley, organo, and rosemary in my lasgana; but since I have become addicted to basil, I use that too.

It is preferable to use two sentences instead of a lot of hooking two sentences together. Readers get lost in long sentences.

1.You will want to bring your makeup. There will not be a make-up artist at the pageant to do your makeup.

2.You will want to bring rollers or a curling iron. There will not be a stylist at the pageant to style your hair.

Use the semicolon to separate units of a series when one or more of the units contain commas.

1.My father has been to Nashville, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Amityville, New York.

2.The finalist in the writting contest were Sam Wenchester, Jr.; Stephen King, and Bentley Little.

Use a semicolon to separate groups of words following a colon.

1.Owning a pet has many benefits: it takes away loneliness, lowers blood pressure, and prevents stress.

2. The pageant will consist of the following events: beauty; pro-am; casual wear; photogenic; and optional side events.