
Central and East European Studies
2. Colons and semi-colons
Colons and semi-colons, best thought of as lying between a comma (small pause) and a full stop (major pause), have distinct, non-interchangeable functions.
Colons have two major uses:
- to introduce a list (as here)
- to separate two parts of a sentence, the second part explaining or expanding on the first part.
Examples:
- Organised crime in the Balkan region flourished for two main reasons: state weakness and unchecked criminality.
- This was also the case in the three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
- For Lithuania, domination by a larger country was not unusual: an alliance with Poland in the middle ages was important in its history.
Colons should never be followed by a hyphen, and the first word that follows the colon is not capitalised in British English unless capitalised anyway, for example an acronym like EU (European Union), or a proper noun (i.e. a name).
If you wonder whether a colon is appropriate, it sometimes helps to ask if it could be substituted with 'that is or for example':
- For Lithuania, domination by a larger country was not unusual (that is) an alliance with Poland in the middle ages was important in its history.
Semi-colons have two major uses: to link two complete sentences that are closely related (i.e. both parts of the sentence have subjects and verbs); and to separate items in a list if the items are long.
- The ruling elites were largely intact; the Baltic peoples were largely supressed.
- The state exercised monopoly power over foreign trade; it also controlled the banking system.
- When marking an essay, a tutor looks for a tightly written abstract; a detailed introduction which includes specific aims; correctly cited evidence; a valid conclusion; and correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.
N.B. Semi-colons which link sentences together could often be replaced by a full stop.
Task | Task Type | Difficulty |
---|---|---|
Task 1 | Multiple choice | More Challenging |
Task 2 | Multiple choice | Easier |
Task 3 | Multiple choice | More Challenging |
Task 4 | Free text | Moderate |
Task 5 | Free text | Easier |
Task 6 | Multiple choice | Easier |