How To Change Name In North Carolina

What this handout is about

This handout explains the most common uses of iii kinds of punctuation: semicolons (;), colons (:), and dashes (—). After reading the handout, y'all will be better able to decide when to apply these forms of punctuation in your own writing.

Semicolons

The semicolon looks like a comma with a period above it, and this tin be a good way to recollect what it does. A semicolon creates more separation betwixt thoughts than a comma does but less than a period does. Here are the ii nearly common uses of the semicolon:

i. To help split up items in a list, when some of those items already comprise commas.

Allow's look at an example, as that is the easiest way to understand this utilize of the semicolon. Suppose I want to list three items that I bought at the grocery store:

apples
grapes
pears

In a sentence, I would split up these items with commas:

I bought apples, grapes, and pears.

Now suppose that the three items I want to list are described in phrases that already contain some commas:

shiny, ripe apples
small-scale, sweet, juicy grapes
house pears

If I use commas to separate these items, my judgement looks similar this:

I bought shiny, ripe apples, minor, sweet, juicy grapes, and firm pears.

That middle part is a bit confusing—it doesn't requite the reader many visual cues about how many items are in the listing, or about which words should be grouped together. Here is where the semicolon can aid. The commas betwixt items can be "bumped upward" a notch and turned into semicolons, then that readers tin easily tell how many items are in the list and which words go together:

I bought shiny, ripe apples; small, sweetness, juicy grapes; and firm pears.

2. To join 2 sentences.

An independent clause is a group of words that can stand on its own (independently)—it is a complete sentence. Semicolons can exist used between 2 independent clauses. The semicolon keeps the clauses somewhat split, like a flow would do, so nosotros can easily tell which ideas vest to which clause. But it too suggests that there may be a close relationship between the two clauses—closer than y'all would wait if in that location were a catamenia between them. Let'south look at a few examples. Here are a few fine contained 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.

Now—where could semicolons fit in here? They could be used to bring together ii (but not all 3) of the independent clauses together. So either of these pairs of sentences would exist okay:

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

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

I could Non do this:

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

But why would I want to utilise a semicolon here, anyway? 1 reason might have to practice with style: the three short sentences audio kind of inclement or abrupt. A stronger reason might be if I wanted to emphasize a human relationship between two of the sentences. If I connect "I bought a ton of fruit" and "Apples, grapes, and pears were all on sale" more than closely, readers may realize that the reason why I bought so much fruit is that at that place was a not bad sale on it.

Colons

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

Common uses of colons

1. To announce, innovate, or straight attention to a list, a noun or noun phrase, a quotation, or an example/explanation. Yous can utilize a colon to draw attention to many things in your writing. The categories listed beneath often overlap, so don't worry too much about whether your intended apply of the colon fits one category perfectly.

Lists/serial instance:

We covered many of the fundamentals in our writing class: grammar, punctuation, way, and voice.

Noun/noun phrase example:

My roommate gave me the things I needed near: companionship and quiet.

Quotation example:

Shakespeare said it all-time: "To thine own self be true."

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

ii. To join sentences. You can use a colon to connect two sentences when the second sentence summarizes, sharpens, or explains the first. Both sentences should be complete, and their content should be very closely related. Note that if you use colons this style also often, it can break up the flow of your writing. So don't go carried away with your colons!

Example: Life is like a puzzle: half the fun is in trying to piece of work it out.

iii. To express time, in titles, and as office of other writing conventions. Colons appear in several standard or conventional places in writing. Here are a few examples:

With numbers. Colons are used to dissever units of time (4:45:00 expresses 4 hours, forty-5 minutes, and zero seconds); ratios (2:1), and Bible verses and chapters (Matthew ii:24).

In bibliography entries. Many commendation styles apply a colon to split 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 concern letter of the alphabet. A colon can be used immediately after the greeting in a formal letter of the alphabet (less-formal letters tend to use a comma in this location).

Instance: To Whom It May Concern: Please take my application for the position advertised in the News and Observer.

Common colon mistakes

one. Using a colon between a verb and its object or complement

Example (incorrect):The very best peaches are: those that are grown in the great country of Georgia.

To right this, but remove the colon.

2. Using a colon between a preposition and its object

Instance (wrong): My favorite cake is made of: carrots, flour, butter, eggs, and cream cheese icing.

To correct this, simply remove the colon.

iii. Using a colon subsequently "such equally," "including," "especially," and like phrases. This violates the dominion that the material preceding the colon must be a complete idea. Look, for example, at the following sentence:

Case (incorrect): There are many dissimilar types of paper, including: college ruled, wide ruled, and apparently copy newspaper.

You lot can meet that "There are many different types of paper, including" is non a complete sentence. The colon should merely be removed.

How to check for mistakes

Ask yourself a question: does the material preceding the colon stand on its own? Ane mode to tell if the colon has been properly used is to wait just at the words that come in front of the colon. Do they brand a complete thought? If non, you may be using the colon improperly. Check above to run across if you accept made one of the most common mistakes.

Should you capitalize the first letter after a colon?

Different citation styles (such as MLA, APA, Chicago, and AMA) have slightly different rules regarding whether to capitalize the outset letter afterwards a colon. If it is important that you lot follow one of these styles precisely, be certain to employ the advisable transmission to wait up the rule.

Hither'due south our suggestion: generally, the first word following the colon should be lower-cased if the words after the colon form a dependent clause (that is, if they could not stand on their own equally a consummate sentence). If the following phrase is a consummate (independent) clause, you lot may choose to capitalize it or not. Whichever approach you choose, be sure to be consistent throughout your newspaper.

Example with an contained clause, showing two unlike approaches to capitalization:
The commercials had 1 bulletin: The geeks shall inherit the earth. (right)
The commercials had one message: the geeks shall inherit the globe. (correct)

Example with a dependent clause (which is not capitalized):
In that location are iii perfect times to smiling: when I'm with friends, when I'm lonely, and when I'm with my canis familiaris. (correct)

Dashes

The offset thing to know when talking about dashes is that they are nigh never required past the laws of grammer and punctuation. Overusing dashes can break up the flow of your writing, making it choppy or even difficult to follow, so don't overdo it.

It'south also important to distinguish between dashes and hyphens. Hyphens are shorter lines (-); they are most ofttimes used to show connections between words that are working every bit a unit (for example, you lot might come across adjectives like "well-intentioned") or to spell sure words (like "email").

With that groundwork information in mind, let's take a wait at some ways to put dashes to piece of work in your writing.

1. To prepare off material for accent. Recollect of dashes equally the reverse of parentheses. Where parentheses indicate that the reader should put less accent on the enclosed material, dashes indicate that the reader should pay more attention to the material between the dashes. Dashes add drama—parentheses whisper. Dashes tin be used for accent in several ways:
A single nuance tin emphasize cloth at the starting time or cease of a judgement.

Example: After eighty years of dreaming, the elderly man realized it was fourth dimension to finally revisit the land of his youth—Ireland.

Example: "The Office"—a harmless television program or a dangerously subversive guide to malversation in the workplace?

Two dashes can emphasize material in the middle of a sentence. Some style and grammar guides even permit you to write a complete sentence within the dashes.

Example: Everything I saw in my new neighborhood—from the graceful elm trees to the stately brick buildings—reminded me of my alma mater.

Example (complete sentence): The students—they were each over the age of xviii—lined upward in the streets to vote for the presidential candidates.

Ii dashes can emphasize a modifier. Words or phrases that describe a substantive can be set off with dashes if you wish to emphasize them.

Example: The fairgrounds—common cold and wet in the October rain—were deserted.

Example: Nettie—her chin held high—walked out into the storm.

2. To indicate judgement introductions or conclusions. Y'all can sometimes use a dash to help readers see that certain words are meant as an introduction or conclusion to your sentence.

Example: Books, paper, pencils—many students lacked fifty-fifty the simplest tools for learning in nineteenth-century America.

Instance: To better their health, Americans should critically examine the foods that they swallow—fast food, fatty fried foods, junk nutrient, and sugary snacks.

3. To mark "bonus phrases." Phrases that add data or clarify only are non necessary to the pregnant of a sentence are normally set off with commas. But when the phrase itself already contains 1 or more than commas, dashes can help readers understand the judgement.

Slightly confusing instance with commas: Even the simplest tasks, washing, dressing, and going to work, were virtually impossible subsequently I bankrupt my leg.

Better example with dashes: Even the simplest tasks—washing, dressing, and going to work—were almost incommunicable subsequently I broke my leg.

4. To interruption up dialogue. In written dialogue, if a speaker suddenly or abruptly stops speaking, hesitates in oral communication, or is cutting off by some other speaker, a dash can signal the intermission or break.

Example: "I—I don't know what yous're talking nearly," denied the politico.

Example: Mimi began to explain herself, proverb, "I was thinking—" "I don't care what you were thinking," Rodolpho interrupted.

We hope that this handout has helped you improve understand colons, semicolons, and dashes! For more data most punctuation, exist sure to check out our handout on commas.

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