Commas,

Colons and
Semi-Colons
 Using Punctuation is like pausing

Why is words and ideas when you speak.

Punctuation
important? Imagine if you didn’t take a pause
or a breath between words or
sentences when speaking.
Commas

Commas separate items

in a series.

Commas also break

apart relating
information.
Commas

Commas separate items For example: Will there be

in a series. any drinks, snacks, and games
at the party?

Commas also break For example: Tadley, a town

apart relating in Hampshire, is home to
information. around 15 thousand people.
 Nonessential or unnecessary phrases
may come at the beginning, middle
or end of the sentence. You can use
Breaking commas, to add any information that
you may want to add but isn’t
apart needed for the sentence to make
information sense.
 On a beautiful spring day,
they had a picnic.

Picnics, an old tradition, can

For example: be a lot of fun.

Dad brought sandwiches, the

packaged ones from Tesco.
Semi- https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zsh
fdxs#zs37p9q

Colons
 Semi-colons join independent clauses, so phrases
Semi- that relate to the subject being spoken about in the
first part of the sentence. It’s a bit like adding
connecting words like ‘furthermore’ or ‘and’. It can
colons
;
also merge two sentences together if they relate to
each other.
 Semi-colons join independent clauses, so phrases
Semi- that relate to the subject being spoken about in the
first part of the sentence. It’s a bit like adding
connecting words like ‘furthermore’ or ‘and’. It can
colons also merge two sentences together if they relate to

; each other.
For Example:
My mum said I couldn’t go to the party; I didn’t want
to go anyway.
Hannah likes football; it’s her favourite sport.
Semi-colons

You can also use semi-colons

between items in a list that
make up different groups of
words. Using semi-colons in this
way makes the individual items
in the list stand out much more
clearly.
Semi-colons
You can also use semi-colons
between items in a list that
make up different groups of
words. Using semi-colons in this
way makes the individual items
in the list stand out much more
clearly.
For example:
Then Lola saw: three fishing
boats; a speedboat; two divers
in the water and someone
watching it all from the rocks.
 Colons introduce lists,
explanations, give
Colons emphasis, and to
present dialogue
: (speech). It’s also like
using the words “and
here it is” or “and
here they are”.
 Use a colon after a sentence
when introducing a list.

Colons: For example:

The School’s lunch menu: fish
fingers; chicken curry; jacket
potato; tomato pasta.
 Use a colon to give
emphasis or highlight a
statement.
Colons:
For example:
She only loved one
food: Chocolate Cake.
 Use a colon to
introduce speech.

Colons:
For example:
Miss Murray called
out: Please sit down!