Semicolons, Colons, and Conventions
Aligned to L.9-10.2 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Command the conventions of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling; use a semicolon to join related independent clauses and a colon to introduce a list or explanation.
Worked example
'The plan was simple: arrive early, work fast, leave clean.' The colon introduces the explanation; a semicolon could instead link two full thoughts.
Practice questions
- Write a sentence that correctly uses a semicolon to join two clauses.
- Write a sentence that uses a colon to introduce a list.
- Explain when a comma cannot replace a semicolon.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Punto y coma, dos puntos y normas
Domina las normas de mayúsculas, puntuación y ortografía; usa el punto y coma para unir oraciones relacionadas y los dos puntos para introducir listas o explicaciones.
Ejemplo: «El plan era sencillo: llegar temprano, trabajar rápido y salir sin dejar rastro.» Los dos puntos introducen la explicación; un punto y coma uniría dos ideas completas.
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