What does semicolon mean?
Word: Semicolon
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Semicolon means the punctuation mark ; used to join two closely linked parts of a sentence.
How do you spell semicolon?
Syllables: sem - i - co - lon
Tricky part: The second half is the punctuation word colon: one l with an o on each side of it. Children often double the l or change the second o.
Watch out for: semicollon, semicolan, semicolen
Memory tip: Say se-mi-co-lon in four beats and picture the two o's at the end as the round dots of a colon.
Semicolon in a sentence
Example 1: Our teacher showed us how a semicolon can join two short sentences.
Example 2: I wrote: It was raining; we stayed indoors.
Example 3: Kavya added a semicolon instead of a full stop in her story.
Fun Fact
The semicolon was first used in print in Venice in the 1490s by the printer Aldus Manutius.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the prefix that completes the word:
____colon
a) sem
b) semee
c) semi
d) semmy
Show answer
c) semi. The same semi starts semicircle and semi-final.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) exclamasion
b) semicolon
c) apostrophy
d) brackit
Show answer
b) semicolon. Apostrophe ends in phe, exclamation ends in tion and bracket ends in et.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
lomecoins
a) colonies
b) semicolon
c) monocles
d) economist
Show answer
b) semicolon. Economist needs a t, while colonies and monocles each leave one letter unused.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Put a semicolon between the two parts of this sentance.
a) between
b) sentance
c) parts
d) semicolon
Show answer
b) sentance. Sentence has an e after the t, the same as in the word sense.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In which sentence is the semicolon in the right place?
a) The bell rang we; ran to class.
b) The; bell rang we ran to class.
c) The bell; rang we ran to class.
d) The bell rang; we ran to class.
Show answer
d) The bell rang; we ran to class.
2. A semicolon looks like ____.
a) a comma lying on its side
b) two full stops, one above the other
c) a short line between two words
d) a full stop above a comma
Show answer
d) a full stop above a comma
