Colons, semi-colons and hyphens
Use a colon to introduce a list or to mark the boundary between two independent clauses; semi-colons between clauses; hyphens to avoid ambiguity
What you'll learn
- 1
A colon (:) is like a little arrow that says 'Here comes the list!'
- 2
Which sentence uses a colon to introduce a list?
- 3
Drag the colon into the right place: 'I packed my bag: a book, a pencil and a snack.'
- 4
Let's add a colon to this sentence together.
- 5
Where does the colon go? 'For my birthday I want a bike a game and a cake.'
- 6
A semi-colon (;) is like a 'soft stop' — stronger than a comma, but not as strong as a full stop.
- 7
Which is the best way to join these sentences? 'The sun was shining. We went to the park.'
Practise Colons, semi-colons and hyphens with Whizlo
Free AI-tutored lessons, unlimited practice questions, and progress tracking for ages 10–11. Aligned to the UK National Curriculum.