There are a couple of uses for the slash. So, there is a forward slash and a back slash. But, we’re not worried about the back slash here, we’re concerned about the forward slash. And there are a couple of uses for the forward slash that I want to take a look at. Don’t hesitate to also check our 236 free and powerful practice tests

The next lesson: Brackets, both lessons are included in Practice Tests.

The following transcript is provided for your convenience.

I have some examples written up here on the board.

This first one says:

Bring your notebook and/or spiral.”

So, notice there’s a forward slash between “and” and “or“. That’s because the writer doesn’t know which one will apply to the reader.

So, say the reader has a notebook, and they also have a spiral, then the word “and” is more appropriate to the reader, the notebook and the spiral.

But, say there’s another reader that just has a notebook, or they just have a spiral. Then the word “or” is more appropriate here because it would say, “Bring your notebook or your spiral.”

So, the writer is just putting an “and/or” in there because it just depends on the reader in that case. And so, the writer is showing that either one is acceptable. It’s acceptable if someone just brings a notebook, or if someone just brings a spiral, and it’s also acceptable if someone brings a notebook and a spiral.

Forward slashes can also be used to separate the lines of a poem. Now, this can only be used for short poems like, you know, not poems that can make up a whole book. Just short poems and you put a forward slash in there to show that these are two different lines of a poem.


So, in a poem, you’d have one line here, “The air is filled with mist“, and the next line would say, “But I must insist“. But, in this case, we’re just writing it in one line, so there’s a forward slash to differentiate between the two lines of the poem.

So, that’s a couple of uses for the forward slash. It’s not that common in writing, so be hesitant when you use it, and use it sparingly.


Mini-test: Slash 

1. Which sentence uses the slash correctly?
2. Which choice shows the slash used correctly to rewrite the poem below?

“Hush, little sister
Please don’t cry
I wish I could be there
To sing you a lullaby…”

[by Yerzinia]




Do you have questions? Click here to contact us.