Punctuation - use of colons and semicolons

[SurreyGuy]

Can someone please advise me as to the proper use of colons and semicolons?

Yes, I DID go to school, but that was a LONG time ago and I don't actually remember being taught about them in school, anyway.

I've looked on Wikipedia, but their explanations aren't quite idiot-speaky enough for me, hence why I'm looking to my fellow ABers.

[jno]

The colon: usually introduces a list or something that expands on what comes before it. These are the four apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The semi-colon is more like a break between two statements but because they are sort of linked you don't want anything as positive as a full stop; something like this, for instance.

The rules aren't all that hard and fast, especially with the semi-colon - you can almost always have a full stop or no break at all if you want; it doesn't make a huge amount of difference.

[Buenchico]

A semicolon is used for linking two sentences together when, for example, the second sentence provides an explanation for the first one.

e.g.: "I don't see much sense in going on strike; I'm the boss!"

A semicolon can also be used to separate terms in a list, particularly when the elements of that list include commas.

e.g. The following schools entered the competition: King's School, Ely ; Northgate School, Ipswich ; Silverdale School, Sheffield ; and King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds.

That example also illustrates one of the uses of a colon, i.e. to introduce a list.

Colons are often used to introduce quotations.

e.g. Mr Parker said: "The committee needs new blood."

There are several other uses for both colons and semicolons but those are probably the main ones.

Chris

[SurreyGuy]

Thanks folks - it's becoming clear :o)