Punctuation Markers

Less-familiar punctuation marks:

 Semi-colon (;)
 Colon (:)
 Dash (-)
 Double-dash (--)

SEMI-COLON
Functions of Semi-colon
 To separate and mark the unity of two or more sentences that are either closely
related or complementary

Example:

“It was the man’s third attempt to get a visa at the U.S. embassy; always he would
break into a sweat when the consular officer called his name.”
“That was the dream job he had long waited for, something he had prepared for these
past many years, and he was so happy that it was now within his reach; but alas, when
the recruitment officer handed him the recruitment test, he saw that he had to write a
500-word English essay on the value of foreign travel, and he just knew he couldn’t
hack it.”

 To emphasize or dramatize the special relatedness of two or more sentences.

COLON

Major Function
 To separate two main clauses where the first introduces the second

As an external sentence-marker
 To show that the statement made by one sentence, through complete in itself,
also introduces the statement to be made by the next sentence

Example:

“Please explain something that bothers me: why is it that you keep on opening and
closing your umbrella every five minutes?”

 Connecting statements that are not necessarily sentences in what is called the
aphoristic sequence

Example:

“To put it simply: I don’t really care what happens.”

“To make a guess: The queen herself is the thief.”

DASH

 The dash functions in exactly the same way as the colon.

DOUBLE-DASH

 An excellent alternative to the comma and parenthesis, the double-dash neatly

allows for inserting aside or other parenthetical information to sentences.

Example:
“In 1990, petitioner Stephen Kimble obtained a patent on a toy that allows children (and
young-at-heart adults) to role-play as “a spider person” by shooting webs – really,
pressurized foam string – “from the palm of [the] hand.”