Semicolon and colon?

This is a good summary of the rules for colons and semi-colons.

And you may certainly use them in dialogue.

ILove2Write said:

I always get confused when to use either.

1.) For instance, is the semicolon or colon used when listing things?

Example
This is what they have gone and done( ; ) ( : ) ( . ) she's baked a cake and he's eaten it.

2.) Also, could you use a colon or semicolon in dialogue?

Click to expand...

A colon is used when you are introducing a a list.

"These I have loved:
White plates and cups, clean-gleaming,
Ringed with blue lines; and feathery, faery dust;
Wet roofs, beneath the lamp-light; the strong crust
Of friendly bread; and many-tasting food. . ."

-- Rupert Brooke

In your example, however, it would depend on the context. If you can make two sentences out of something you can also make one sentence with a semi colon -- not a colon. But reading this as a statement, "listing" what she's done, you could also use a colon here.

You can certainly use both in dialogue, although a colon is usually rather pedantic and overuse of semi colons tends to make dialoge seem forced, imo.

IceCreamEmpress said:

This is a good summary of the rules for colons and semi-colons.

And you may certainly use them in dialogue.

Click to expand...

thanks for the link

I find that a list with any entries that involve commas makes more sense to the eye if all its entries are separated with semicolons. Example:

Things I need to pack include: blue wool skirt; navy blue pants, pleated front; blue shirt, the one that matches the skirt; blue striped shirt; navy shoes; navy tights, two pairs; top hat.

Maryn, whose wardrobe includes none of the above

It's like this:

The semi-colon has three main uses:
1. to connect closely related independent clauses (The cat ate the dog; the dog ate the washing machine.)
2. to connect independent clauses around a conjuctive adverb (The cat ate the dog; however; the dog ate the washing machine.)
3. to separate items in a series when the items contain internal commas (see Maryn's example above)

The colon has four main uses (the grammatical colon, that is):
1. to introduce a short appositive at the end of a sentence (One thing drives me crazy: grammar.)
2. to introduce a list after an independent clause (I'm shopping for three things: pens, paper, and an agent.)
3. to connect two independent clauses when the second explains the first (I weigh 800 pounds: I eat cement blocks for breakfast.) [The colon works like "because."]
4. to introduce a long quote (Sam Jackson has a great line in Pulp Fiction: "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides...")

That's about it.

I hope it helps!

Cheers!