English grammar explained in plain language simple enough to be understood.
When writing a business letter, the greeting is followed by a colon instead of a comma. If you know the name of the person to whom you are addressing the business letter, use their name with a colon, like this:Dear… Read more408. Use the Colon in a Business Letter Greeting
In writing, we use a colon to signal the coming of a list and after the greeting of a business letter, but there are three other uses for the colon. Writing Time: We use a colon between the hour and… Read more409. Other Uses for the Colon
Section A: Insert a colon into the proper place in each sentence below. Write NO if the sentence needs no comma.1. The movie starts at 815 tonight.2. I’m going to the show with my three best friends Jan, Laura, and… Read more410. Practice with the Colon
The semicolon (;) is a form of stop punctuation. We use a semicolon at the end of a complete thought, just as we do with a period. A period comes at the end of a sentence. A semicolon goes in… Read more411. Using the Semi-colon
Coordinating conjunctions are sometimes referred to as the FANBOYS – For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.We use coordinating conjunctions to join together two complete thoughts.It is raining, so practice is canceled. One complete thought: It is raining.Second complete thought:… Read more412. Semicolon Replaces a Coordinating Conjunction
When you make a list of cities, you should place commas between the cities, like this:On my summer vacation, I visited Rome, Paris, and London. However, if you choose to make a list of locations with commas already inside the… Read more413. Use Semicolons in a List of Locations
Use a dash to set off a series of items when the sentence might be confusing otherwise.The three boys – Sam, John, and Bill – were eager to get to the beach.My four cousins – ranging in age from 13… Read more414. Using the Dash
Section A: Insert a semicolon into each sentence below. 1. I bought a new house it’s right down the street from my mother.2. Don’t touch the railing it was just painted.3. I’ve got an idea I’m just not sure it… Read more415. Practice with with Semicolon and the Dash
Parentheses ( ) are a type of punctuation. Parentheses are always used as a set of two. Put parentheses around words and information that are not of major importance. The words that are inside a parentheses could be left out and the… Read more416. Parentheses
When you are writing the words that someone speaks, you must put quotation marks around the words. Quotation marks always come in pairs, and they look like this: ” “. We put one set of quotation marks before the start… Read more417. Use Quotation Marks Around Spoken Words