Colons and semicolons are the indie rock of punctuation marks. They’re not mainstream-popular like the period. They aren’t obvious and eager-to-please like the exclamation mark. They’re not ...

Dominique James/iStock via Getty Images Plus Despite what its name suggests, a semicolon isn’t exactly just half a colon—it has its own set of punctuational purposes. But since there is some ...

Semicolons must combine similar elements and are either used ... and the office manager handles customer complaints. Colons are used mostly to introduce or emphasize a word, list, phrase, or sentence.

The words on either side of the colon should be able to stand on their own. (He wrote "Crisis Management by Apology: Corporate Response to Allegations of Wrongdoing.") A semicolon has two general uses ...

But I must say that I have a great respect for the semi-colon; it’s a very useful little chap.” 7. You could bet on a semicolon. “Semicolon is the best,” proclaimed the Chicago Daily ...