obvious  break.  Examples  of  various  uses  of  the semicolon  are  shown  below. I  do  not  believe  he  is  guilty;  no  one  who knows  him  could  believe  it. Mary decided to leave early; therefore, she set the alarm. We  cannot  hope  to  win  with  so  little preparation;  nevertheless,  we  must  try. These   command followed  exactly; plan  will  fail. Colon instructions  must  be otherwise   our   chapel A colon is a punctuation mark that indicates anticipation  or  that  directs  attention  to  what follows.  It  serves  primarily  to  introduce  certain ideas such as a list of items or phrases in a series, clauses  in  a  series,  a  summary,  or  a  direct  or indirect  quotation.  The  words  that  precede  the colon  suggest  to  the  reader  what  is  to  follow. Examples of various uses of the colon are shown below. Before  a  series  of  items. The  chapel  council  officials  to  be  chosen are  as  follows:  president,  vice  president, and secretary. The normal order of a sentence is always: subject,  verb,  and  object. Between  independent  clauses  when  the second clause explains or restates the idea in the first. These  chapel  pew  covers  are  the  most durable   kind:   they   are   reinforced   with stitching  and  covered  with  a  plastic coating. Before  a  long  formal  statement. Petty  Officer  Rankin  made  the  following observation: The  time  is  coming  when  .  .  . Between  the  hour  and  minute. 4:30  P.M. Between chapter and verse in reference to passages  from  the  Bible. John  3:16 Between  volume  and  page  number  of  a periodical  or  manual. Library  Quarterly  29:82 Question  Mark The  question  mark  is  used  to  indicate  that  the sentence preceding it is a direct question. In some instances the question mark is the only means of distinguishing between a statement and a question. Examples  of  various  uses  of  the  question  mark are  shown  below. A  sentence  which  asks  a  question. Do  you  know  where  RP3  Jones  went? A  statement  containing  an  indirect question. “What   did   you   say   about   the   chapel bulletin?”  she  asked. Exclamation Point An  exclamation  point  is  used  as  a  mark  of punctuation   after   an   exclamatory   word   or sentence  to  express  strong  sentiments  of various  types.  Generally,  the  exclamation  point is   not   used   in   Government   correspondence. Examples  of  various  uses  of  the  exclamation  point are  shown  below. A  sentence  showing  strong  emotion. How  about  that! An  interjection  at  the  beginning  of  a sentence.  NOTE:  The  interjection  is  usually followed  by  a  comma. Oh,  there  you  have  me! 5-25