How to Use Colons and Semicolons in English - English Writing Lesson

Aug 24, 2023

How to Use Colons and Semicolons in English - English Writing Lesson

In this lesson, you can learn how to use colons and semicolons in English. You will also see how understanding colons and semicolons can help you improve your English writing. Learn more about punctuation and more with an OOE teacher: http://bit.ly/ooe-teachers.

This topic will be very useful for anyone who wants to write more clearly in English. Colons and semicolons may seem like a small, unimportant topic. However, colons and semicolons are powerful tools, which you can use to make your writing clearer and more focused.

You can see the full version of this lesson here: https://www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/c…

Contents:
1. Using Colons 0:22
2. Using Colons - Lists 1:05
3. Using Colons - Speech 1:31
4. Using Colons - Mistakes 2:56
5. Using Semicolons 3:21
6. Using Semicolons - Connecting Words 6:05
7. Using Semicolons - Lists 7:28
8. Review 8:33

You can learn:

- How to use colons correctly in English.
- How to avoid common mistakes with colons.
- How to use semicolons in English.
- How to use linking words with semicolons.
- How to use semicolons to replace commas.
- The difference between colons and semicolons in English.

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A big thank you to the Alphabet translation team from Syria for the Arabic captions!

Content

1.61 -> Hello.

2.61 -> I'm Oli.

3.61 -> Welcome to Oxford Online English!

4.73 -> In this lesson, you can learn about using colons and semicolons in writing.

10.34 -> First, let's look at using colons.

14.219 -> Colons have one main job: they introduce specific examples or explanations.

21.13 -> Let's look.

22.13 -> He had one problem: there was no way to get there in time.

26.91 -> So in this sentence, we mention something general in the first part of the sentence,

31.69 -> a problem.

33.03 -> Then we give specific details in the second part, after the colon.

37.97 -> There's just one rule here: do everything I tell you.

43.1 -> Again, we mention something general in the first part, one rule.

48.489 -> Then we say what it is, specifically, in the second part of the sentence.

53.24 -> A good way to remember this is that we put a general idea before the colon and then give

59.899 -> a specific example or a more detailed explanation after the colon.

66.58 -> You can also use colons to introduce a list of items.

70.68 -> For example, "We've invited a small number of people: Bill, Emma, Rachel," and so on.

78.58 -> Or, "Tolstoy wrote several books, other than 'War and Peace': 'Anna Karenina', 'The Cossacks',

87.38 -> 'Resurrection'," and so on.

90.049 -> Finally, you can use colons to introduce speech in quotes, like, "He said: 'Don't talk to

98.04 -> me about this again,'" or, "They shouted: 'Be careful.

103.97 -> Don't get too close to the edge.'"

107.32 -> In this case, it's not necessary to use a colon.

110.8 -> You can also use a comma.

113.4 -> There's no difference in which you use.

115.43 -> It's mostly a question of personal style.

120.02 -> After a colon, it's possible to use a small letter or a capital letter.

124.9 -> If you use a colon to introduce what someone said, you should generally use a capital letter.

130.84 -> If you use a colon to introduce an example or an explanation, you can choose to use a

136.15 -> small letter or a capital.

138.81 -> Using a capital letter is more common in American English, while in UK English, we almost always

145.15 -> use a small letter.

147.36 -> Next, let's look at when not to use a colon.

152.26 -> We said that a colon has one main job: introducing specific examples or specific explanations.

160.59 -> We also said that a colon has one possible use, which is introducing what someone said.

167.23 -> It's also important to know when not to use a colon.

171.19 -> Here are some common mistakes which English learners sometimes make with colon use.

176.04 -> First, don't use a colon at the beginning of a letter or an email, for example, after

181.35 -> someone's name.

182.91 -> Use a comma instead.

185 -> Also, don't use a colon after a title or a heading, for example, at the top of an essay

191.13 -> or an article or anything like that.

193.79 -> You don't normally need any punctuation at the end of the title.

198.16 -> Next, let's look at using a semicolon.

200.8 -> Like a colon, a semicolon has one main use.

205.63 -> We use it to show a connection between two complete sentences.

210.17 -> A semicolon is actually similar to a full stop.

214.05 -> It's generally the writer's choice whether to use a full stop or a semicolon.

219.48 -> A semicolon is used instead of a full stop because the writer wants to show that two

224.79 -> ideas are more closely connected.

227.84 -> For example, "The population of Shanghai is around 24 million; Beijing has around 22 million

234.76 -> people."

235.76 -> Our second example, "We knew he was guilty; There was no evidence, however."

242.909 -> You can see in both of these examples that the parts before and after the semicolon could

248.7 -> both be full sentences.

251.16 -> So we could use a full stop in the first sentence, after 24 million, and then start a new sentence

258.419 -> with the word "Beijing."

260.18 -> That would be possible.

261.329 -> Also, in the second sentence, we could use a full stop after "guilty," and then start

266.78 -> a new sentence.

269.229 -> The second important point is that both parts of the sentence, before and after the semicolon,

275.309 -> are talking about a related topic.

278.8 -> In the first example, both parts of the sentence are about the population of Chinese cities.

284.81 -> In the second, both parts are obviously about the same criminal case and the same person.

290.039 -> So we use a semicolon to show that two ideas or two sentences are very closely related

296.61 -> or talking about the same topic.

299.52 -> Often, when we want to join two sentences in English, we use a connecting word, like

305.55 -> "and" or "but" or "therefore," for example.

310.87 -> When you join two sentences using a semicolon, you don't need to use a connecting word.

316.52 -> However, if you use a connecting word to join two sentences, you sometimes need to use a

322.229 -> semicolon and sometimes a comma.

325.309 -> It depends what the connecting word is.

329.139 -> To join sentences using "and," "or," "but," "yet," or "while," you should use a comma.

337.389 -> To join two sentences using "however," "therefore," "nevertheless," or "meanwhile," you should

344.979 -> use a semicolon.

347.55 -> These lists are not complete.

349.139 -> There are other connecting words which require a comma or a semicolon.

353.789 -> However, these are the most common, and the most important thing is to remember that for

359.729 -> some connecting words, you need to use a comma, and for others, you have to use a semicolon.

365.77 -> So here's our example from before, about the population of Shanghai or Beijing.

371.039 -> In this case, there's no connecting word.

374.11 -> There's no word like "but" or "and" or "however."

376.919 -> So we use a semicolon.

379.249 -> OK, here's the same sentence, but a little bit different.

383.759 -> In this case, we're using the connecting word "while."

387.539 -> With "while," we need to use a comma.

390.059 -> We can't use a semicolon in this case.

396.259 -> Another example.

398.039 -> This time, we use the connecting word "however."

401.21 -> "However" is used with a semicolon.

406.71 -> A full stop would also be possible.

412.719 -> Semicolons have one other use: they can be used in lists when the items on the lists

418.349 -> contain commas.

420.949 -> Usually when we make a list, we use commas to separate the items on the list.

426.229 -> For example, "We need milk, eggs, sugar, and flour."

432.58 -> We put a comma after each item, after milk, after eggs, and so on.

438.349 -> But if the items on your list are not just words, but phrases which include commas, we

445.349 -> use semicolons to separate the items on the list.

449.209 -> Let's take a look.

450.209 -> "We traveled to four cities: Santa Fe, which is in New Mexico; Denver, Colorado; Las Vegas,

457.449 -> Nevada; and finally, Los Angeles in California."

461.149 -> In this case, we use semicolons to separate the items on the list because the items on

466.949 -> the list already include commas.

469.559 -> If we used commas to separate the items, it would be very confusing and difficult to read.

475.739 -> Let's look at one more example.

477.71 -> "Only three people showed up: Tom, the head of accounting; Maria, who works in the sales

484.919 -> department; and Ellie, who's doing an internship here."

489.439 -> Again, the items on the list are phrases which include commas.

494.099 -> So it's much clearer to use semicolons to separate the parts of the list.

500.08 -> So both the colon and the semicolon are used to show a connection between two ideas, but

505.339 -> they operate in a very different way.

508.149 -> Let's finish by comparing the colon and the semicolon directly.

513.039 -> So in these three examples, the only difference is the punctuation, but it does make a big

517.93 -> difference to the meaning.

519.779 -> In the first case, the full stop shows that there is no necessary connection between these

524.75 -> two ideas.

526.19 -> We have a problem, and he isn't doing enough to help me.

529.279 -> These could be totally separate things.

532.639 -> In the second case, with the semicolon, it shows that the ideas are related somehow.

537.72 -> I'm talking about the same topic.

540.86 -> In the third sentence with the colon, we mean that the problem is his attitude.

547.34 -> The problem is that he isn't doing enough to help.

550.61 -> To make this clearer, let's put these sentences in other words.

556.089 -> In the first case, with the semicolon, we could also say, "We have a problem, and he

561.759 -> isn't doing enough to help me with this problem."

566.149 -> In the sentence with the colon, we could also say, "We have a problem, which is that he

572.02 -> isn't doing enough to help me."

574.65 -> If you can understand the difference here, that's a good sign.

577.399 -> It means you really understand the difference between colons and semicolons.

581.56 -> OK, that's the end of the lesson.

583.75 -> I hope it was useful.

585.209 -> If you're watching on YouTube, I suggest you see the full version of this lesson on our

589.709 -> website.

590.709 -> The full version includes text and exercises, so you can read and review the lesson.

596.759 -> You can also practice to check that you've understood.

599.44 -> That's all, thank you again for watching, and I'll see you next time.

603.86 -> Bye bye!

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8UM5xv8644