Grammar

Punctuation Image result

Commas

  • after an introductory phrase or word 
    • After a long day of rest, the owl flew into the night.
  • to offset parenthetical phrase or an appositive 
    • Owls, in my opinion, are the best bird.
  • to separate two identical clauses in a compound sentence 
    • The owl hurried after the mouse, but he failed to catch it.
  • to introduce a quote 
    • Wilson the owl exclaimed, “the Write Place is so helpful!”.
  • to separate a list of three or more 
    • Owls are better than blue jays, chickens, and doves.

For more helpful tips with commas check out Purdue Owl 

 Semicolons

  •  join two complete sentences
    • Owls fly fast; blue jays fly slowly.
  • join lists of items that previously included commas
    • Owls live in the freezing Arctic deserts; or thick forests.

For more helpful tips with semicolons check out Grammar Bytes 

Colons

  • to include a list 
    • Owls eat many invertebrates: insects, spiders, and earthworms.
  • join complete sentences when the second expands on the first 
    • Owls love writing: in fact, they wrote the first ever book.
  • create emphasis 
    • Owls sleep so long: all day long.

For more help with colons check out Grammar Book