Grammar and vocabulary, Year 8: colons, commas and tense

A colon

HintThe same mark separates the hours from the minutes on a digital clock.

The whyFor example: 'Pack three things: a torch, a map and a whistle.' The words before the mark must make a complete sentence without the list.

A semicolon

HintIt is built from two other marks, one above the other.

The whyFor example: 'The rain eased; the match went on.' It is stronger than a comma and weaker than a full stop, and shows that the two ideas belong together.

A colon, to introduce the explanation

HintIt is the mark that says 'and here is why'.

The whyA colon says 'and here it is'. What follows explains, proves or gives an example of what came before.

Each side is a complete sentence

HintTry putting a full stop there instead, and see whether both halves still stand.

The whyThat is the test: if a full stop would work, a semicolon can. It is chosen when the two statements are too closely linked to separate.

No — 'I packed' is not a complete sentence followed by another

HintCheck whether the words after the mark could stand alone.

The why'A torch, a map and a whistle' is not a sentence, so a semicolon cannot stand before it. The sentence needs no mark at all after 'packed'.

It shows Grandma is being spoken to

HintWithout it, she becomes the meal.

The whyThe comma separates the person addressed from the rest of the sentence. Remove it and 'Grandma' becomes the object of 'eat'.

After 'passed'

HintFind where the opening clause ends and the main one begins.

The why'After the storm passed' is a subordinate clause placed first, so a comma marks where it ends. Without it, the eye reads 'passed the children'.

'Time travellers'

HintRead the sentence aloud with no pause after the fourth word.

The whyThe comma shows that 'Most of the time' is a unit and 'travellers' begins the main clause. Without it, the reader briefly sees a different phrase.

'Looks'

HintTwo of the three verbs are in the past.

The why'Opened' and 'gasped' are past tense, so the middle verb should be 'looked'. Drifting between tenses by accident confuses the reader about when things happen.

No — it is a deliberate shift to the present

Hint'Even now' signals that the writer means it.

The whyThe story happened then; its effect on the narrator continues today. The change of tense carries that meaning, and the phrase 'Even now' flags it.