Unit 2: Semicolons and Colons Guided Web viewUnit 2: Semicolons and Colons Guided Notes. ... Semicolons and Colons Guided Notes. ENG II B. 14. KMH- RCSHS- ENG II B. ... Circle the

Unit 2: Semicolons and Colons Guided Notes ENG II B

Understanding clauses is a necessary component of using semicolons effectively and correctly.

A clause is a group of ____________________ that contains a ____________________ and its

____________________ and is use as ____________________ of a sentence.

Although every clause has a subject and verb, not all clauses express a complete thought. Those

that do express a complete thought are called ____________________ clauses. Such clauses could be

written as separate ____________________. We think of them as clauses instead of sentences when

they are____________________ with one additional clause or more in a single larger sentence. Clauses

that do not make complete sense by themselves are called ____________________ or

____________________ clauses. These clauses do the job of ____________________,

____________________, or ____________________ just as phrases do.

KINDS OF CLAUSES

An independent clause (or main) clause expresses a complete thought and can stand by itself.

To see how independent clauses can be written as separate sentences, consider the following example

(independent clauses are underlined).

EXAMPLE Ms. Santana works in one of the law offices in downtown Concord, and she has a successful practice.

Each clause has its own subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. In this example, the clauses are joined by a comma and the coordinating conjunction and. They could also be written with a semicolon between them:

Ms. Santana works in one of the law offices in downtown Concord; she has a successful practice.

Or as separate sentences:

Ms. Santana works in one of the law offices in downtown Concord. She has a successful practice.


A dependent or subordinate clause does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone.

Dependent means “relying on something else for support.” Subordinate means “lesser in rank or importance.” These clauses are so described because they need an independent clause to complete their meaning.

SUBORDINATE CLAUSES before you know it

because I told him

after the show is over

Underline the subject and the verb in each of the clauses above. Circle the word that makes it not a complete thought.

Most dependent clauses are introduced by a word like when, if, until, or because that makes them

dependent. When we hear a clause that starts with one of these words we know that there has to be

___________________________________________________ in the sentence, and that at least one of

the other clauses must be an ______________________________________.

Words that Help You Recognize Dependent Clauses

What

Whatever

Who

Whoever

Whom

Whomever

Whose

Which

That

After

Although

As

As if

As long as

As soon as

Because

Before

If

In order that

Since

So that

Than

Though

Unless

Until

When

Whenever

Where

Wherever

While

NOTE: Remember that after, before, since, until and as may also be used as prepositions and begin prepositional phrases.


Formative Assessment 1

Directions: Identify each clause in italics by writing independent or dependent after the corresponding

number. Circle the word that shows you a clause is dependent.

1. When my family went to New Your last summer, we visited the Theodore Roosevelt museum.

______________________________________________________________________________

2. The museum has been established in the house where Roosevelt was born.

______________________________________________________________________________

3. It is located on the basement floor of Roosevelt’s birthplace, which is on East Twentieth Street.

______________________________________________________________________________

4. The museum contains books, letters, and documents that pertain to Roosevelt’s public life.

______________________________________________________________________________

5. There are mounted heads of animals, a stuffed lion, and zebra skins from the days when

Roosevelt was hunting big game in Africa. ___________________________________________

6. Because Roosevelt was once a cowboy, there are also branding irons and chaps.

______________________________________________________________________________

7. Before Theodore Roosevelt became President, he gained fame in the Spanish-American War.

______________________________________________________________________________

8. During that war he led the Rough Riders, who made the famous charge up San Juan Hill.

______________________________________________________________________________

9. Trophies that Roosevelt received during his life are on exhibit in the museum.

______________________________________________________________________________

10. The Roosevelt Memorial Association, which established the museum, charges a nominal

admission fee to visitors. _________________________________________________________

3 KMH- RCSHS- ENG II BTaken from Warriner’s English and Composition, Third Course, Chapter 23, pp. 622-637.


Formative Assessment 2

Directions: Identify each clause by writing independent or dependent over the clause. Circle the word

that shows you a clause is dependent.

1. Anne, who enjoys watching baseball, is a loyal fan of the Chicago Cubs.

2. The burglar easily picked the lock; next, he carefully cut the wires to the alarm system.

3. Mr. Wilson always waves to us whenever we drive past his house.

4. As soon as the movie begins, you should stop talking.

5. We played croquet in the back yard until the mosquitoes began to attack us.

6. The cat that jumped through my bedroom window is a stray.

7. Since the tropical storm is gathering force, it may become a hurricane.

8. Donna sang ten beautiful songs, but the audience wanted to hear many more.



9. He assumed that we had already met.

10. People who belong to tenants’ organizations usually get better service from their landlords.



A semicolon looks like what it is: part period and part comma. It says to the reader, “Stop here a little longer than you stop for a comma but not so long as you stop for a period.”

Semicolons ae used primarily in compound sentences .

A compound sentence is . . .

Since most writers depend largely upon simple and complex sentences to express ideas, the semicolon is not often used. As you study the uses of semicolons, follow the lead of professional writers; use the semicolon correctly and effectively but sparingly.

Learning Target 1

Semicolon Rule 1:

Underline independent clause in the rule above.

An independent clause is:

Notice in the examples that the semicolon takes the place of the comma and the conjunction joining the independent clauses.

EXAMPLES First I had a sandwich and a glass of milk, and then I call you for the homework assignment.

First I had a sandwich and a glass of milk; then I call you for the homework assignment.

Patty likes to act, but her sister gets stage fright.



Patty likes to act; her sister gets stage fright.

Similarly, a semicolon can take the place of a period between two independent clauses that areclosely related.

EXAMPLE Sarah looked out at the downpour. Then she put on her raincoat and boots. [two simple sentences]

Sarah looked out at the downpour; then she put on her raincoat and boots.

As you study the following sentences (taken from the works of professional writers), observe that a complete thought appears on BOTH sides of each semicolon and that the two independent clauses are not joined by and, but, or, not, for, or yet. Since the thoughts in the independent clauses in eachsentence are closely related, a semicolon is better than a period.

Read the paragraph above and underline or highlight the most important information. Number the Three things you are looking for. Let’s make a list of steps we might use to help us determine when to use a semicolon.

EXAMPLES Echoes of the anthem shivered in the air; the tears that slipped down many faces were not wiped away in shame.

MAYA ANGELOU

The late pears mellow on a sunny shelf; smoked hams hang to the warped barn

rafters; the pantry shelves are loaded with 300 jars of fruit.THOMAS WOLFE

Knowledge without commitment is wasteful; commitment without knowledge is dangerous.

HUBERT H. HUMPHREY



EXERCISE 1. CORRECTING SENTENCES BY ADDING SEMICOLONS BETWEEN INDEPENDENT CLAUSES

For each sentence below, write the word before each needed semicolon, the semicolon, and the word that comes after it on the line that follows. In some cases, you may prefer to use a period. If so, write the word before the period, the period, and the word (capitalized) following it.

EXAMPLES 1. Great earthquakes usually begin gently only one or two slight shocks move the earth.1. gently; only ___________________________________________________________2. In minutes, however, violent shocks begin to tear the earth apart there are few

natural forces with the destructive potential of earthquakes.2. apart. There__________________________________________________________

1. Pressure often builds along faults, or cracks, in the earth’s crust the weight of this pressure causes earthquakes.______________________________________________________________________________

2. The San Andreas fault extends the entire length of California earthquakes often occur at various points along this fault.______________________________________________________________________________

3. During an earthquake, huge chunks of the earth’s crust begin to move the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was one of the most destructive earthquakes recorded in history.______________________________________________________________________________

4. Energy released during an earthquake is tremendous it can equal the explosive force of 180 metric tons of TNT.______________________________________________________________________________

5. Scientists study the force of the earthquakes they measure this force on a scale of numbers called the Richter scale.______________________________________________________________________________

6. An earthquake measuring less than 5 on the Richter scale is not serious more than 1,000 earthquakes measuring 2 or less occur daily.______________________________________________________________________________

7. In 1906 one of the most powerful earthquakes in history occurred in the Pacific Ocean near Ecuador its Richter measurement was 8.9______________________________________________________________________________

8. Tidal waves are a dangerous result of earthquakes geologists use the Japanese word tsunami for these destructive waves.______________________________________________________________________________

Turn Over 9. Predicting when earthquakes will occur is not yet possible predicting where they will occur is

somewhat more certain.



______________________________________________________________________________10. Earthquakes seem to strike in a regular time sequence in California, for example, a major

earthquake usually occurs every fifty to one hundred years.______________________________________________________________________________

Learning Target 1

Semicolon Rule 2:



These words are often ____________________ ____________________ linking independent

clauses. When used in this way, they are ____________________ by a semicolon. They are, however,

usually followed by a ____________________.

INCORRECT Emma felt shy, however, she soon made some friends.

CORRECT Emma felt shy; however, she soon made some friends.

INCORRECT My parents are strict, for example, I can watch TV only on weekends.

Write the above sentence correctly, using the rule.

CORRECT

CAUTION: When the expressions listed in the rule appear ____________________ one of the clauses,

_____ as a transition ____________________clauses, they are usually punctuated as interrupters (set

off by commas). The two clauses are still separated by a semicolon:

Our student council voted to have a Crazy Clothes Day; the principal, however, vetoed the idea.

Learning Target 1

Semicolon Rule 3:



The use of a semicolon often helps to make a sentence clear.

CONFUSING Alan, Eric, and Kim voted for her, and Scott and Vanessa voted for Jason.

CLEAR Alan, Eric, and Kim voted for her; and Scott and Vanessa voted for Jason.

CONFUSING Scanning the horizon for the source of the whirring sound, Leo saw a huge, green cloud

traveling in his direction, and, suddenly recognizing what it was, he knew that the crops

would soon be eaten by a horde of grasshoppers.

Write the above sentence correctly, using the rule.

CLEAR Scanning the horizon for the source of the whirring sound, Leo saw a huge, green cloud

traveling in his direction and, suddenly recognizing what it was, he knew that the crops

would soon be eaten by a horde of grasshoppers.

Formative #_____, Rules 2 and 3

DIRECTIONS



For each sentence, write the word before each needed semicolon, the semicolon, and the word that

comes after it. In some instances you may prefer to use a period. If so, write the word before the

needed period, the period and the word (capitalized) following it.

1. My mother and I usually fly to Massachusetts just before school starts, however, last year we

flew there in July. _______________________________________________________________

2. My grandparents live near Cape Cod, that is why we go there so often.

______________________________________________________________________________

3. I miss my friends and sometimes find the yearly trip to Cape Cod boring, besides, my cousins in

Massachusetts are all older than I am. _____________________________________________

4. To my great surprise, we had a good time last year, we even did some sightseeing in Boston,

Plymouth, and Marblehead. _______________________________________________________

5. One hot day my mother, grandparents, and I went to the beach, and my grandfather

immediately went down to the water for a swim. ______________________________________

6. My grandfather, who is sixty-seven, loves the water and is a strong swimmer, nevertheless, we

worried when we saw that he was swimming out farther and farther.

______________________________________________________________________________

7. Grandpa, to our great relief, finally turned around and swam back to shore, he was astonished

that we had been worried about him. _______________________________________________

8. While he was in the water, Mother had gathered driftwood, dug a shallow pit in the sand, and

built a fire in it, and Grandma had put lobster, corn, and potatoes on the coals to roast.

______________________________________________________________________________



9. By the time we had finished eating, it was quite late, consequently, everyone else on the beach

had gone home. ________________________________________________________________

10. We didn’t leave for home right away, instead, we spent the evening watching the darkening

ocean, listening to the whispering waves, and watching the stars come out.

______________________________________________________________________________



Learning Target 1

Semicolon Rule 3:

EXAMPLES I have post cards from Paris, France; Rome, Italy; Lisbon, Portugal; and London,

England.

The photography Club will meet on Wednesday, September 12; Wednesday,

September 19; Tuesday, September 25; and Tuesday, October 2.



Formative #_____, Rule 4

DIRECTIONS

All of the following sentences contain items in a series. Copy each incorrectly putuated sentence,

adding the needed semicolons. If a sentence needs no semicolons, write C after the corresponding

sentence.

1. In the fifteenth century, the kings of France, England, and Spain grew stronger as they united in

power.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Africa’s then-powerful kingdom included Mali, on the Niger River, Benin, in Nigeria, and

Karanga, in southern Africa.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

3. The Incas in Peru planted crops, such as corn, domesticated animals, such as the llama, and

developed crafts, such as weaving.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4. The Mohawks, Senecas, Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas baded together in about 1400 to

advance peace, civil authority, and righteousness.



______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5. Mrs. Gillis said that we could choose to write about Dehanawidah, the Huron founder of the

Iroquois League, Mansa Musa, the great Muslim emperor of Mali, Tamerlane, the cruel Mongol

conqueror of the Ottoman Turks, or Alexander the Great, the Macedonian conqueror of Greece

and the Persian Empire.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


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Unit 2: Semicolons and Colons Guided Web viewUnit 2: Semicolons and Colons Guided Notes. ... Semicolons and Colons Guided Notes. ENG II B. 14. KMH- RCSHS- ENG II B. ... Circle the