Starter quiz
- Which punctuation marks have been used in the following detailed list? 'I bought a number of items: soft, white bread; thick, creamy butter; and fresh, brown eggs.'
- colon ✓
- commas ✓
- semi-colons ✓
- exclamation marks
-
- When does a list need semi-colons?
- when the items are very long
- when the items don't contain commas
- when the items contain commas ✓
- when the items contain adjectives
-
- Which of these items might have come from a detailed list that uses semi-colons?
- bread
- warm, crusty bread ✓
- warm bread, dripping with melted butter ✓
- warm bread, which is coated in butter ✓
-
- For what reasons are there commas in the following list? 'She saw incredible creatures: tiny ants, scuttling around; huge, hairy insects; and small, fast-moving bats.'
- to demarcate a non-finite (-ing) clause ✓
- to demarcate a relative clause
- between two adjectives in an expanded noun phrase ✓
- to introduce the list
-
- What are the problems in the following detailed list? 'He saw some beautiful creatures: tiny, bright birds, flying around, big, lumbering wombats, and enormous, colourful butterflies.'
- there are no commas
- there are no semi-colons ✓
- it is clear what the list items are
- it is not clear what the list items are ✓
-
- Which language features are used in the following list item? 'a vast, snow-covered iceberg, which bobbed in the ocean'
- an expanded noun phrase with two listed adjectives ✓
- a relative clause ✓
- a non-finite (-ing) clause
- an adverbial clause
-
+