Punctuation

colons and semi-colons

Colons

Colons ( : ) are used:

•Before a list of words, phrases or clauses.

In front of him were the following: mince pies, holly and other delicious delights.

In this example the items in the list are separated by commas.

Remember:

 you do not put a comma before the word and.

Semi-colons

If the items in the list are longer than one or two words separate them with a semi-colon.

The attractions of the park included: a new roundabout; a short pony ride; a long slide and an ice-cream stall.