What this lesson covers
- Gate one: is the LEFT side a whole sentence?
- Gate two: is the RIGHT side a whole sentence, or an announcement?
- Why the semicolon dies first, and what survives
- The whole decision on one table, including the comma fallback
- A practice question with the clock running
Chapters
- 0:04Two questions decide it
- 0:17The setup
- 0:49The two gates
- 1:45The whole decision
- 2:15Your turn
- 2:49Three ways this goes wrong
- 3:19Left side, right side
Lesson transcript
The narration of the video, word for word, under its chapter headings.
0:17The setup
Three heavy marks, and most students pick between them by feel. There is no feel. There are two questions, asked in order, and they decide it every time. Is the left side a whole sentence? Is the right side a whole sentence, or an announcement?
0:49The two gates
Question one. Is the left side a whole sentence? The restoration crew faced the same obstacle at every site. Subject, verb, stands alone. Yes. So all three marks are still live. Question two. Is the right side a sentence? Silt. One word. No. That kills the semicolon, which needs a full sentence on both sides. A colon does not. And the left side promised something that the right side delivers. That is B. A is that semicolon, and it is the most common version of this mistake: a semicolon in front of a fragment. C leaves the gap empty, so the sentence runs into itself. D adds the word and, which is a coordinating conjunction, and those need a whole sentence on the right as well. Silt is not one.
1:45The whole decision
Here is the whole decision. All three need a complete sentence on the left. Only the semicolon needs one on the right as well. The colon announces: what follows is the payoff, a list, a definition, an example. The dash does the colon's job in a louder voice, and it is the only one of the three that can also come in a pair and fence off an interruption.
2:15Your turn
Your turn. Ask the two questions in order. Ten seconds. C. Question one already fails. Because the storm knocked out power for six days is not a sentence. It is a dependent clause waiting for the rest. All three heavy marks are out at the first gate. A comma is what an opening clause like that takes.
2:49Three ways this goes wrong
Three ways this goes wrong. Putting a colon straight after a verb, like the kit includes, when the verb is still waiting for its object. Putting a semicolon in front of a list. And picking the mark by how long the pause feels, instead of asking the two questions.
3:19Left side, right side
Left side a sentence? Right side a sentence, or an announcement? That is the whole decision.
Read the written version: the Boundaries (Punctuation) strategy guide, then try 25 hard Boundaries (Punctuation) questions with full explanations. Both are free, no account needed.