Use a colon (:) to introduce a series and to separate hours and minutes when expressing time. A colon is also placed after the greeting in a business letter
Example: The student brought three things to class: the textbook, adequate writing materials, and a
willingness to learn.
Use a dash (-) to mark a sudden change or break in thought or speech.
Example: The shelter- made of branches, vegetation, and palm strips – was barely adequate for
survival.
Use parentheses ( ) around words or phrases that break into the main thought of a sentence but are not of major importance.
Example: Italian astronomer Gallileo (1564-1642) was detained and questioned during the Spanish
Inquisition.
Rewrite these sentences, adding colons, parentheses, and dashes where necessary.
1. Animals need care in the following areas shelter, food, exercise and grooming.
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2. I am responsible for these chores feeding the dog, walking him, and sweeping up the dog hair.
______
3. I have to walk our dog, Homer, at 630 every morning.
______
4. Sometimes Homer watch out can be very destructive.
______
5. Our previous dog, Cuthbert 1985-2000, was not nearly as accident-prone as Homer is.
______
6. Of course, Cuthbert was a different kind of dog about 80 pounds worth of different.
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