Colons, Dashes, Semicolons, and Three Dots to Extend Sentences

The Quick Answer

Four Essential Writing Tools

Here are four essential tools to control emphasis and reading flow and to add variety to sentence structures:

Tool	Use and Example
	Use a colon (:) to give more information about something mentioned previously in the sentence. For example: He blamed his divorce on one thing: beer. (One thing = beer)
	Use a semicolon (;) when a slight break is preferable to starting a new sentence. For example: The pilot was worried; the elevators were packed with ice. (A semicolon gives a smoother transition than a period (full stop).)
	Use three dots (...) as a pause for effect. For example: Crime does not pay ... as well as politics. (These three dots are called "ellipsis.")
	If you can't remember any of the rules above, use a dash ( — ). It covers all three.

Got it? Take a quick test.

Using Colons

• There were two pets in the house: a budgie and a cat.
(two pets: a budgie and a cat)
• He blamed his divorce on one thing: beer.
(one thing: beer)

• There was only one fish in the vicinity: a great white shark.
(In this example, "a great white shark" is in apposition to "only one fish.")
• This company has always had the same motto: Try it twice and then sack it.
(Here, "Try it twice and then sack it" is in apposition to "the same motto.")

Using Semicolons

• No one was hurt in the accident; the only real injury was a broken finger.
• Never pick a fight with an ugly person; they've got nothing to lose.

• Everybody knows he is guilty; however, it will never be proven.
• Her own guest was declined; as a result, she left.
• This business will collapse if you do not invest in the staff's well-being; of course, that is just my opinion. 

Using Three Dots

• I don't want to achieve immortality through my work...I want to achieve it through not dying. (Actor Woody Allen)
• She had a bath once a year...whether she needed it or not. (Author Mark Twain)
• Bart, with $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like...love! (Homer Simpson)
• As I moved the bushes, I was not confronted by the deer I had been tracking for two days but...a Bengal tiger.

• 
(This is real-life example from a newspaper.)

• The magazine claims: "The scene in the 1970s was...controlled by The Ramones.

Using Dashes

• He blamed his divorce on one thing – beer.
(Here, the dash replaces a colon.)
• No one was hurt – the only injury was a broken finger.
(The dash replaces a semicolon.)
• As I moved the bushes, I was not confronted by the deer I had been tracking for two days, but – a Bengal tiger.
(The desh replaces three dots.)

• 
(This is a real-life example from a magazine. A dash has been used to replace an ellipsis used as pause.)

• Julia Thomas – the 64-year-old lady from Boston who swore she would never have a facelift – removed the bandages to find...a 40-year-old version of herself.