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USAGE/MECHANICSEXAMPLE:The warranty on the car covered extensive repairsto the electrical system, front end, transmission,fuel injection system, and valves; but the amount oftime and Inconvenience involved in returning eachtime to the dealer cannot be ignored.3D Use a semicolon to separate items in aseries when the items themselves containinternal punctuationNormally, three or more items in a series are set off bycommas; however, when they are made more complex bycommas and other punctuation, they are separated bysemicolons.EXAMPLE:The trio was composed of a cellist named Grosz,who had been a European virtuoso for manyyears; a pianist who had won a major musicfestival in 1954, 1955, and 1958; and a violinistwho had studied in Budapest, Vienna, andMunich.4 THE COLON, HYPHEN, ANDAPOSTROPHE4A ColonThe colon is a signal that something is to follow: arephrased statement, a list or series, or a formal quotation.Use a colon in a sentence if you can logically insertnamely after it.Use a colon at the end of a complete statement to showanticipation—that is, to show that amplifying details follow,such as a list, a series of items, a formal quotation,or an explanation.EXAMPLES:Of all the gauges in an airplane cockpit, three arecrucial: the altimeter, the gas gauge, and thecrash-warning indicator.After five minutes of silence, the actor uttered thosefamous words: "To be or not to be; that is thequestion."A popover has four common ingredients: flour,milk, salt, and butter.Problems that occur in the use of the colon usually resultfrom lapses in the following rules:l.Only a complete statement (independent clause)should precede the colon.INCORRECT:Tasks that I must complete today: mow the lawn,read two chapters of history, and tidy my room.CORRECT:I must complete several tasks today: mow the lawn,read two chapters of history, and tidy my room.2. A colon should not separate essential parts of a sentence.INCORRECT:In updating my computer, I added: a hard disk, alaser printer, and a fine-resolution monitor. (Thecolon separates the verb from its direct objects.}CORRECT:In updating my computer, I added some newcomponents: a hard disk, a laser printer, and afine-resolution monitor.ALSO CORRECT:In updating my computer, I added a hard disk, alaser printer, and a fine-resolution monitor.3. There should not be more than one colon in a sentence.INCORRECT:The success of the action depended upon threevariables: that the weather would hold out, that thesupplies would arrive on time, and that the enemywould be short on three things: planes,ammunition, and food.CORRECT:The success of the action depended upon threevariables: that the weather would hold out, that thesupplies would arrive on time, and that the enemywould be short on planes, ammunition, and food.4B HyphenThe hyphen has two main uses: to divide syllables at theend of a line and to link words in certain combinations. Itis also used in compound numbers from twenty-one toninety-nine.Hyphenate a compound adjective (an adjective made upof two or more words) when it precedes the noun it modifies.The hyphen is ordinarily not used when the wordsfollow the noun.EXAMPLES:She wore a well-used raincoat.BUTHer raincoat was well used.The past-due bill lay unnoticed behind the couch.BUTThe bill, past due, lay unnoticed behind the couch.NOTE:A compound adjective with an adverbial -ly modifier isnever hyphenated: the poorly designed interchange.When the -ly modifier is an adjective, a hyphen is properlyused: a friendly-looking dog.'^