Is a colon or a semicolon used for elaboration?

1 Answer
David P
Sep 23, 2016

I would say in general no.

Explanation:

Colons and semi-colons are examples of punctuation. They are not necessarily or indeed usually used for elaboration. Instead they are used as pauses or breaks in sentences. In so doing they function as pauses where the sentence or phrase is broken down for a grammatical purpose; for example change of direction, emphasis or exemplification.

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