Page 153 - New Grammar with a Smile 8

9. after the salutation and complimentary close in a letter. For example,
• Dear Shilpa,
• Yours faithfully,

10. to mark off words used in addressing people. For example,

• How are you, Anu?
• Our hope lies in Him, the Lord, He who has made heaven and earth.

11. when writing long numbers, by bunching the digits in threes from the right.
For example: The speed of light is approximately 300,000,000 metres per second.

The Semicolon

We use a semicolon when a pause whose length is greater than that of a comma but
shorter than that of a full stop is required.

Uses
The semicolon is used

1. to join two clauses of a compound sentence when they are not joined by a
coordinating conjunction. For example,
• To err is human; to forgive, divine.
• She was a good, hard-working woman; we all respected her.

• Today we love what tomorrow we hate; today we seek what tomorrow
we shun; today we desire what tomorrow we fear.
2. To separate a series of loosely-related clauses joined by and, but, still, yet, etc.
For example,

• The circus came to an end; and the troupe was greeted heartily.
• They were very tired after the day’s march; still, none of them wanted to rest.

3. As a generalised comma, when confusion might arise by using the comma itself.
For example,
• At the party, they met Ram, the lawyer; Shyam, the doctor; and Hari, the jeweller.

The Colon

We use a colon to mark out an even longer pause than that expressed by the semicolon.
Uses

The colon is used
1. to introduce a word, phrase or clause which is hinted at in the preceding clause.
In this case, the second clause explains more fully the meaning of the first.
For example,

153