The Colon. The Dash.

Exercise 1. Comment on the use of the colon and the dash in the following sentences.

1. There is an old saying about law school: in the first year, they scare you to death; in the second year, they work you to death; and in the third year, they bore you to death. 2. I remember but little of the journey: I only knew that the day seemed to me of a preternatural length. 3. My clothes were my Sunday best: a light grey suit that had cost fourteen guineas, a plain grey tie, plain grey socks, and brown shoes. 4. I kept watching him roll along with the waves: up and down, up and down. 5. I remember the exact day: it was Sunday, the first of March. 6. But you think that I – 7. He will return – can you believe it? – a major. 8. We shall need – let’s see, what we shall need. 9. The night passed rapidly: I was too tired even to dream. 10. Pain is life – the sharper, the more evidence of life. 11. A communist is like a crocodile: when it opens its mouth you cannot tell whether it is trying to smile or is preparing to eat you up. (W. Churchill) 12. People who talk of outlawing the atomic bomb are mistaken – what needs to be outlawed is war. 13. My little brother has three hobbies: playing video games, racing his cars all over the floor, and driving me crazy. 14. A meaningful job, a loving wife, and a car that wouldn’t break down all the time – these are the things he wanted in life. 15. At any rate, this much can be said: the Council is not the vital organ it is supposed to be.

Exercise 2. Place colons and dashes where needed.

1. Goldie’s Cafeʹ serves my favourite dish Hungarian goulash. 2. You will need two tools to assemble the wagon a screwdriver and a wrench. 3. I suggest no, I insist that you stay for dinner. 4. Please do the following write your name at the top, mark your answers in the left column, and complete all fifty questions. 5. The car is in excellent condition except that the brakes don’t always work. 6. I can be ready in ten minutes in fact, I’m ready now. 7. Three kinds of poems are narratives, lyrics, and dramas. 8. You shall show no mercy life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. 9. And who are the greater criminals those who sell the instruments of death, or those who buy them and use them? 10. Take time for all things great haste makes great waste. (B. Franklin) 11. To fill the hour that’s happiness. 12. The difference between a rich man and a poor man is that the former eats when he pleases, and the latter when he can get it. 13. You have a choice obey the rules or get kicked out. 15. The languages that Andrea studied all three of which required that she learn new alphabets were Arabic, Hebrew, and Russian. 16. Forgiveness ought to like a cancelled note torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one. (H. Bucher) 16. Every man has three characters that which he exhibits, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has. (A. Kara)

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