Question

What is the correct punctuation when I use the phrase “such as” in a sentence?

Answer 1

Hint: This question is from the topic of punctuations. Punctuations are the use of signs and symbols used for better understanding of a text.

Complete answer:
While using the phrase “such as”, we use the punctuation mark ‘comma (,)’. It is used just before the phrase. It is not used after the phrase when the number of objects after ‘such as’ is more than one.
For e.g: There are many kinds of animals in this zoo, such as lions, tigers, giraffes, etc.
When there is only a single object after ‘such as’, we need not use a comma. For e.g.
An animal such as a lion can kill a prey almost twice its size.

In certain cases, when the number of objects after the phrase ‘such as’ is large and they are needed to be listed, we can also use a semicolon after ‘such as’. For e.g.

There are many kinds of animals in the zoo, such as;
- Lion
- Tiger
- Giraffe
- Rhinoceros


Note:
- The words ‘such’ and ‘as’ are used together in the phrase. We cannot use ‘as’ alone. For e.g. There are many animals, such as lions, tigers, etc. This sentence is grammatically incorrect. ‘Such as’ can also be used in place of ‘like’. For e.g. I have been to different places, like Brazil, Russia, Italy, etc. has the same meaning and is equally correct as I have been to different places, such as Brazil, Russia, Italy, etc.

But the phrase ‘such as’ is not used when we are comparing two things. For e.g.
- This lake is very hostile, like an ocean. This sentence is correct.
- This lake is very hostile, such as an ocean. This sentence is incorrect.