TEAS ReadyOpen the app

📝 English and Language Usage · Conventions of Standard English · Lesson 3 of 6 · 6 min

Semicolons, colons, apostrophes and quotation marks

🧩 These four marks each have a short job description. Test questions reward knowing exactly what each one is allowed to do.

💡 Key idea

Semicolon = two full sentences; colon = after a full sentence to introduce; apostrophe = possession or contraction, never possessive pronouns.

🧠 The idea

A SEMICOLON joins two related independent clauses with no conjunction ("The lab closed; the samples waited") or before a conjunctive adverb such as however or therefore, followed by a comma ("It rained; however, we played"). It also separates list items that already contain commas. A COLON comes after a complete sentence to introduce a list, an explanation or a quotation: "Bring three items: a pen, a badge and a watch." Do not use a colon after a verb or preposition ("The kit includes gauze and tape"). APOSTROPHES show possession (the nurse's chart; two nurses' charts; the children's toys) and mark contractions (it's = it is). Possessive pronouns never take one: its, yours, theirs, whose. A HYPHEN joins a compound adjective before a noun: a well-known nurse. QUOTATION MARKS in American style: periods and commas go INSIDE the closing quotation mark; colons and semicolons go outside; question marks and exclamation points go inside only if they belong to the quotation.

✏️ Worked example

Fix this: "The patients chart was missing it's last page; so the nurse asked: 'Who has it'?" Step 1: one patient owns the chart, so patient's. Step 2: "it's" means "it is"; the possessive is its. Step 3: a semicolon is not followed by a plain "so"; use a comma before "so." Step 4: "asked" is a verb, so no colon; use a comma. Step 5: the question belongs to the quote, so the question mark goes inside. Result: "The patient's chart was missing its last page, so the nurse asked, 'Who has it?'" (A quotation inside a quotation takes single quotation marks.)

📌 Takeaways

  • A semicolon needs a complete sentence on both sides.
  • A colon must follow a complete sentence, not a verb like "includes."
  • US style: periods and commas always go inside quotation marks.

✅ Check yourself

Question 1 of 3

Which sentence uses the semicolon correctly?

  1. The power went out; the generator started at once.
  2. The power went out; but the generator started.
  3. When the power went out; the generator started.
  4. The power went out; and then.
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: A

A semicolon joins two independent clauses, and "the generator started at once" can stand alone. A semicolon before "but" should be a comma, "and then" is not a clause, and "When the power went out" is a dependent clause.

Question 2 of 3

Which phrase shows possession by more than one nurse?

  1. the nurses' lounge
  2. the nurses's lounge
  3. the nurse's lounge
  4. the nurses lounge
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: A

For a plural noun that already ends in s, add only an apostrophe: nurses'. "Nurse's" shows one nurse, "nurses" with no apostrophe is just a plural, and "nurses's" adds an extra s.

Question 3 of 3

Which sentence follows American rules for quotation marks?

  1. "Please sit down.", the nurse said.
  2. "Please sit down" the nurse said.
  3. "Please sit down", the nurse said.
  4. "Please sit down," the nurse said.
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: D

In American style the comma goes inside the closing quotation mark. Putting it outside, leaving it out, or using both a period and a comma are all incorrect.

Start this lesson free →

The full lesson with XP and a streak in the app. No account needed.

More in Conventions of Standard English

📝 Free TEAS grammar and punctuation practice questions