Year 6 English · Key Stage 2 · Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation – English Appendix 2

Year 6 punctuation: semi-colons, colons, dashes and hyphens

By the end of primary school, children are expected to use a wider range of punctuation than the full stop and comma. In Year 6 they learn to use a semi-colon, colon or dash to join two closely related main clauses, a colon to introduce a list, semi-colons inside longer lists, bullet points to set information out, and hyphens to stop a phrase being misread.

Semi-colons, colons, dashes, bullets and hyphens, explained

The first idea is the independent clause, also called a main clause: a group of words that makes complete sense on its own and could be a sentence. Year 6 children learn three marks that can sit between two of these when the ideas are closely connected. A semi-colon joins them as equals: “It’s raining; I’m fed up.” A colon is used when the second clause explains or follows from the first: “The weather was awful: it rained all day.” A dash does a similar job with a more casual, spoken feel: “It’s raining – I’m fed up.” In each case, both sides have to be able to stand alone. A comma on its own is not strong enough.

The colon has a second job: introducing a list. “You will need three things: a pencil, a ruler and an eraser.” The words before the colon should form a complete statement on their own. Semi-colons have a second job too. When the items in a list are long, or contain commas of their own, commas would be confusing, so semi-colons separate the items: “I packed a torch, which had new batteries; a map of the park; and a flask of hot soup.”

Bullet points are another way of listing information, and the rule that matters is consistency. A lead-in sentence usually ends in a colon. If each bullet is a complete sentence, each starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. If the bullets are short phrases, they follow one style throughout, either all starting with capital letters or all with lower-case, and usually with no full stops. Schools teach slightly different house styles, so follow the one your child’s teacher uses; what matters most is one style within a list.

Hyphens are the shortest of the marks. A hyphen joins words or parts of words, and it can change the meaning of a phrase. A man-eating shark is dangerous; a man eating shark might be having his dinner. To recover from an illness is not the same as to re-cover a sofa. The hyphen is also used in compound adjectives such as well-known author, and in numbers such as thirty-one. Do not confuse it with the dash, which is longer and separates clauses or adds an aside.

Questions on these marks may appear in the national grammar, punctuation and spelling test in May of Year 6, but the point of learning them is to use them in writing, sparingly and well. A page full of semi-colons is no better than a page full of commas. A few marks used correctly, in the right places, show far more control.

Words your child will hear

Independent clause: A group of words that makes complete sense on its own, also called a main clause.
Semi-colon: A mark (;) that joins two closely related main clauses, or separates longer items in a list.
Colon: A mark (:) that introduces a list or an explanation, or joins two main clauses where the second explains the first.
Dash: A mark (–) used between two main clauses or around an aside, with a more casual feel than a semi-colon.
Bullet points: A list of items, each on its own line and marked with a dot, used to set information out clearly.
Hyphen: A short mark (-) that joins words or parts of words, such as man-eating or re-enter.
Ambiguity: When a phrase could mean two different things. Hyphens are often used to remove it.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Year 6 says:

Pupils should be taught use of the semi-colon, colon and dash to mark the boundary between independent clauses
Pupils should be taught use of the colon to introduce a list and use of semi-colons within lists
Pupils should be taught punctuation of bullet points to list information
Pupils should be taught how hyphens can be used to avoid ambiguity
Pupils should be taught to recognise and use the grammatical terminology: hyphen, colon, semi-colon, bullet points

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: punctuating a packing list

Punctuate this: “I packed three things for the walk a torch which had new batteries a map of the park and a flask of hot soup the forecast was awful I went anyway”

Find the boundaries. The words up to “soup” make one complete statement. After that comes “the forecast was awful” and “I went anyway”, which are two main clauses that need something between them.
Add a colon. “I packed three things for the walk” could stand alone as a sentence and announces a list, so a colon goes after “walk”.
Choose between commas and semi-colons for the list. The first item already needs a comma (“a torch, which had new batteries”), so separating items with commas would be confusing. Use semi-colons between the items: “…batteries; a map of the park; and a flask of hot soup.” Then end the sentence with a full stop after “soup”, and start the next with a capital letter.
Join the last two clauses. Both “The forecast was awful” and “I went anyway” are complete, and the ideas are linked, so a semi-colon is right. A dash would also work in a less formal piece.
Check each mark by its job. The colon follows a complete statement and introduces the list. The semi-colons in the list separate long items. The semi-colon between the last two clauses passes the two-sided test: cover either half and the other still stands as a sentence.

I packed three things for the walk: a torch, which had new batteries; a map of the park; and a flask of hot soup. The forecast was awful; I went anyway.

Common mistakes and how to help

Using a semi-colon as a stronger comma in the wrong place

Children learn that a semi-colon is “bigger” than a comma and use it before words like because or after an opening such as “Although it was late;”.

What helps: Apply the two-sided test. Cover each side of the semi-colon in turn: if either half cannot stand as a sentence, a comma (or no mark) is needed instead.

Joining two main clauses with just a comma

Children hear a pause in their head and write a comma, giving “It’s raining, I’m fed up.” This mistake is called a comma splice.

What helps: Ask whether both halves could be sentences. If so, replace the comma with a full stop, semi-colon, colon or dash, or add a joining word such as but.

Putting a colon in the middle of an unfinished phrase

Children see that a colon introduces a list and put it in as soon as a list begins, as in “My favourite colours are: red and blue.”

What helps: Teach that the words before the colon should make a complete statement. “My favourite colours are red and blue” needs no colon. “I have two favourite colours: red and blue” does.

Mixing up the hyphen and the dash, or adding hyphens everywhere

On a keyboard the two marks look alike, and children who learn hyphens in spelling may then put one into any two-word phrase.

What helps: Remember the jobs. A hyphen joins and changes meaning, as in re-cover or man-eating. A dash is longer, separates, and usually has a space on each side. Only add a hyphen when it helps the reader.

How to help at home

Join two sentences three ways. Say “I was tired. I stayed up late.” and ask your child to join it with a semi-colon, a colon and a dash. Which sounds best, and does the colon work for this pair?
Write a list with a colon. Pack for an imaginary trip with a lead-in such as “I will need these things:”. First write the items on one line, then as bullet points, keeping the same style for every item.
Collect hyphen puzzles. Try man-eating shark and man eating shark, re-cover and recover, or re-sign and resign. Ask your child to draw each meaning. The silly pictures make the point very quickly.
Hunt for the marks in a real book. Look through a novel or an information book for a semi-colon, a colon and a dash. Read the sentence aloud and ask why the author chose that mark.

Updated 20 October 2026.