More Advanced Punctuation

Which of these correctly uses a colon?

• My favorite cake is make of: chocolate, butter, and flour.

• The very best apples are: Gala, Fuji, and Granny Smith.

• We studied all of the genres on the list: argumentative, informative, and narrative.

• My favorite novels are by: J.K. Rowling.

Which of these is NOT the correct use of a colon?

• Shakespeare said it best: "To thine own self be true.",

• Life is like a puzzle: half the fun is in trying to work it out.

• To Whom it May Concern: 
  Please consider this application. 

• There are so many different flavors of jelly beans, including: popcorn, fruit punch, and kiwi.

Sometimes you can use semicolons in a list, when some of those items already have commas.

• True

• False

If you were to make a list that included:
- rotten, brown apples
- stinky, blue cheese
- moldy, green bread
What might be the best punctuation?

• After forgetting to take out the trash before vacation, I came home to rotten, brown apples, stinky, blue cheese, and moldy, green bread.

• After forgetting to take out the trash before vacation, I came home to rotten, brown apples; stinky, blue cheese; and moldy, green bread.

Which is the correct use of a semicolon?

• I went on vacation last week; I forgot to take the trash out before I left.

• I went on vacation last week; I forgot to take the trash out; my house smelled bad.

• I went on vacation last week; because it was spring break.

• Spring break; a week off in April; is the last big vacation before summer break.

It is rarely necessary to use ellipsis at the beginning of a quotation, even if the quotation begins mid-sentence.

• True

• False

You can use a dash instead of a comma to emphasize a point. 

• True

• False

Select the sentence that uses the semicolon correctly.

• The garden contained; vegetables they will harvest them in fall.

• The garden contained vegetables; they will harvest them in fall.

• The garden contained vegetables they will; harvest them in fall.

• The garden contained vegetables, they will harvest them in fall.

Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?

• A) I have a big test tomorrow; I can't go out tonight.

• B) I have a big test tomorrow, I can't go out tonight.

• C) I have a big test tomorrow; because I can't go out tonight.

• D) I have a big test tomorrow; and I can't go out tonight.

Identify the sentence with the correct use of a colon.

• A) She had three pets: a dog, a cat, and a rabbit.

• B) She had: three pets, a dog, a cat, and a rabbit.

• C) She had three: pets a dog, a cat, and a rabbit.

• D) She had three pets a dog, a cat, and a rabbit.