Page 129 - SREENARAYANAGURU OPEN UNIVERSITY

Seldom used, braces are used to essentially create a list within a list.

Eg: Jack (the man who owns the shop in the street) is Janet’s brother.

The woman claims, “He [the actor in the movie] is an example of a versatile

actor.”
Before leaving the building I need to check it {the doors, windows, and the

gas connection}, unplug all the electronics, and give the key to the security

Officer.

Ellipsis: Ellipsis indicates that a word or words have been omitted. The symbol features

four dots (....) rather than three if the omission also takes place the end of a sentence.

Colon: The statement “consider what follows” is made with colons. The text that comes after
the colon must somehow justify, validate, or characterise what came before it. Make sure the
clause that follows the mark can stand on its own in order to use a colon effectively (unless it is
a list). Your writing does not have to be a complete sentence after the colon because everything
that comes before it must be.

Eg: The policeman asked me three questions: what is your name, what are your doing here,
where is your house .

Semicolon: Two related main clauses can be linked with a semicolon.

Eg: The baby dirtied the whole after after her play; her mother had to clean it up.

You can also use a conjunctive adverb, such as however, moreover, nevertheless, further-
more, consequently, or thus to unite two related main clauses. Moreover, conjunctive adverbs
can be used after a comma.

Eg:The baby dirtied the whole after after her play; consequently, her mother had to clean
it up.

SGOU - FYUGP - SLM - English for Communication 123