Good Monday morning! It’s time for another quiz, this time on using colons and semicolons — the American way. About half of my connections live outside the United States, and they likely follow a different grammar system. But for those who want or need to write the way Americans do, it’s wise to know the rules . . . before you decide to break them.
Two refresher posts that can help are 3 Rules for Using Colons in Lists and Pity the Poor Semicolon!
In each group below, one sentence is punctuated correctly. Can you spot it?
Group A
- John needs: his backpack, his glasses, and his books.
- John needs his backpack, his glasses, and his books.
- John needs; his backpack, his glass, and his books.
Group B
- Karthik’s shopping list includes: coffee, tea, eggs, and milk.
- Karthik’s shopping list includes; coffee, tea, eggs, and milk.
- Karthik’s shopping list includes coffee, tea, eggs, and milk.
Group C
- Sarah asked Jim to call Phil: Jim said he would.
- Sarah asked Jim to call Phil; Jim said he would.
- Sarah asked Jim to call Phil, Jim said he would.
Group D
- Dear Mr. Loader:
- Dear Mr. Loader;
- Dear Mr. Loader,
Group E
- Maggi needs the following items for her party; ice cream, cola, and candy.
- Maggi needs the following items for her party: ice cream, cola, and candy.
- Maggi needs the following items for her party, ice cream, cola, and candy
Why do I give quizzes? Because I think it’s easy to just hit “like” on a post without reading it, and my goal is to help my connections learn these rules. And most of us are challenged and/or amused by quizzes; we do like to see if we know the subject, almost no matter what it is.
Am I right?
So, here are the answers:
Group A: 2 Group B: 3 Group C: 2 Group D: 1 Group E: 2
How did you do? If you have any questions, please ask me. I’m here to help.