Complex Punctuation Marks

Colons (:)

Colons serve different purposes within sentences. They can be used to introduce or emphasise information, list items or present quotations.

  • Introducing or Emphasising Information – When there’s a direct relationship between two parts of a sentence, a colon can be used to emphasise this link. It indicates that what follows expands or illustrates the part before the colon. For example: “She had one true passion: dancing.”
  • Listing Items – When listing items, a colon can precede the list, which signals to the reader that a list is about to follow. For example: “There are three types of muscle in the body: cardiac, smooth and skeletal.”
  • Presenting Quotations – If you’re introducing a quotation in your writing, you can use a colon to lead into the quoted material. For example: He ended with the words of Neil Young: “Rock and Roll can never die.”

Semicolons (;)

Semicolons link two related independent clauses or separate items in a complex list, especially when the items contain commas.

  • Linking Two Independent Clauses – Semicolons can be used to connect two closely related independent clauses, forming a single sentence in which each part could stand alone. For example: “She loves to read; her favourite genre is fantasy.”
  • Separating Items in a List – When the items in a list include additional information or internal punctuation such as commas, semicolons can be used to clearly separate the items. For example: “We invited Sarah, our next-door neighbour; James, my best friend; and Tom, the school captain.”

Dashes (—)

Dashes can be used to add emphasis, set apart information, or indicate a sudden change in thought or an abrupt break in the flow of a sentence.

  • Adding Emphasis – Dashes can emphasise a word, phrase or clause within a sentence. For example: “Her dress — a stunning red number — attracted everyone’s attention.”
  • Setting Apart Information – Similar to commas or parentheses, dashes can set off additional or parenthetical information within a sentence. However, dashes tend to create a more noticeable separation and can be really effective if you want to add emphasis. For example: “The book — filled with suspense — kept me on the edge of my seat.”
  • Indicating a Sudden Change in Thought – If a sentence abruptly changes direction in thought or syntax, a dash can signal this change to the reader. Example: “She was going to buy the dress — if only she could afford it.”