The Apostrophe

[playwiththewind1st]

When do you use a colon : or a semi colon ; ?

You should use it every day - it's part of your guts.

[mountainboii]

When do you use a colon : or a semi colon ; ?

when microsoft word tells you. 

I use too many commas too

And too few full stops.

[Niall Quinn]

I use too many commas too

with too many words between them.

[A Quinn Martin Production]

When do you use a colon : or a semi colon ; ?

Sad to say but I am genuinely interested in knowing

Use a colon

before a list, summary or quote

1) Before a list.
I could only find three of the ingredients: sugar, flour and coconut.

2) Before a summary.
To summarise: we found the camp, set up our tent and then the bears attacked.

3) Before a quote.
As Jane Austen wrote: it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

To complete a statement of fact where the colon is used in place of the following or thus.

There are only three kinds of people: the good, the bad and the ugly.

Use a semi-colon

To link two separate sentences that are closely related

The children came home today; they had been away for a week.

In a list that already contains commas

Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry; Babylon 5, by JMS; Buffy, by Joss Whedon; and Farscape, from the Henson Company.

[Denn Forever]

thank QM

[armaghniac]

Punctuation is important.

Charlie Haughey said "i have done the State some service"
it should have been written "I have done the State. Some service!"

[redhugh]

My punctuation since joining this board has become very lazy.Apostrophiez and comaz and spaces is important tough.

The pen is mightier than the sword.
The penis, mightier than the sword?

[RogerMilla]

It's annoying alright, but it's not quite up there with the there / their / they're or the your / you're.

and yous or as I've seen on occasion use as the plural for you.

Ye is the only acceptable plural for you...

[Tony Baloney]

It's annoying alright, but it's not quite up there with the there / their / they're or the your / you're.

and yous or as I've seen on occasion use as the plural for you.

Ye is the only acceptable plural for you...

Youse in N. Antrim - yousun's the odd time.

Ye or yis for the Mexicans.

[pintsofguinness]

It's annoying alright, but it's not quite up there with the there / their / they're or the your / you're.

and yous or as I've seen on occasion use as the plural for you.

Ye is the only acceptable plural for you...

No, it's yous.

[redhugh]

It's annoying alright, but it's not quite up there with the there / their / they're or the your / you're.

and yous or as I've seen on occasion use as the plural for you.

Ye is the only acceptable plural for you...

No, it's yous.

It would be yins in parts.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

The use of the apostrophe in the anglicized Irish names is an incorrect application as far as I understand, another example of the English not checking with the natives first. I also hate when Mac (Mc) & O names applied as such O'neill, Mac'donald, Mcdonald. The Neill or Donald is separate words from the O or Mac/Mc.

[Treasurer]

I've spent about two days in the last week proof reading short articles written by teachers for a newsletter and my god the punctuation (or lack of) is pretty scary!

[Billys Boots]

I get the impression (from my kids homework etc.) that there's a comparative lack (with my own recollections) of emphasis on spellings nowadays. 

[A Quinn Martin Production]

Billy you're sailing close to the apostrophe wind with that user name...Billy's?