Colons & Semicolons

clause noun In the sentence "Jen was upset, so she ran to her room," "Jen was upset" is the first clause.

a part of a sentence that includes a subject and a verb.

comma noun Don't forget to put a comma before the word "so" to separate the clauses in that sentence.

a punctuation mark (,). It is used to indicate a pause or link between parts of a sentence, or to separate items in a list.

period noun I couldn't tell where the sentences were supposed to end because the author did not use a single period or question mark in the whole essay.

a punctuation mark (.) that is used to show the end of a telling sentence or abbreviation.

semicolon noun A semicolon links two connected independent clauses, like in the sentence "I am really hungry; I would love some pizza."

a punctuation mark (;) used to separate two clauses in a sentence.

conjunction noun In the sentence "My favorite foods are pizza and broccoli," "and" is a conjunction that connects "pizza" and "broccoli."

a word that connects clauses, sentences, phrases or words.

independent clause noun In the sentence "After I put on my sneakers, I walked to the park," "I walked to the park" is an independent clause because it could be a sentence on its own.

in grammar, a group of words that has a subject and a verb and can stand on its own as a complete sentence; main clause.

illustrate verb I used a chart to illustrate one way to solve the problem.

to clarify by using examples, pictures, etc.

emphasize verb To emphasize her point, the writer underlined the most important phrase.

to give special attention to; to stress.

colon noun In the sentence "I want the following items: butter, sugar, flour," a colon is used to introduce a series of things.

the punctuation mark (:) used to draw attention to what comes after it and can introduce a list or a long quote.

link verb They linked hands and walked across the street together. Synonyms attach, bond, connect Antonyms separate, split

to join or connect.