The Semicolon: Not a Fancy Comma
By Keira, Textbroker Editor
It isn't bold like the exclamation mark or straightforward like the period, but the semicolon is more than just the eyes of your smiley. It's a subtle form of punctuation, but it does not have to be difficult. The main purpose of a semicolon is to join two complete and similar sentences. When two thoughts are tied strongly to one another, you may find a period too great a separation. Using a semicolon visibly increases the link between these thoughts.
Our rule with semicolons then becomes as follows: If you can use a period, you can use a semicolon.
This does not mean that you should abolish periods from your work. Using a semicolon is like sprinkling spices on a dish; you want the spices to enhance the flavor, not dominate the dish. Here are a few examples:
"This coffee maker doesn't just make coffee; it also greets you personally."
"A zombie eats brains; a shotgun fixes that."
"I like the thought of an underwater bear; however, I wouldn't want to meet one."
"There were four survivors on this island; only two remain."
Don't use a semicolon with a coordinating conjunction. If you already have one of the FANBOYS linking your thoughts, use a comma instead. For example:
"There were four survivors on this island, but only two remain."
Here are a few instances where you would not want to use a semicolon.
"Zombies eat brains; the history of zombies predates the dawn of time because everyone knows that zombies are night creatures, and darkness existed before light."
These two ideas are only vaguely related. Use a period to show a greater sense of separation.
"Bears are mentioned in 'The Wizard of Oz'; the blue whale is over 100 feet in length."
Unless you're encountering one of my fabulous underwater bears, these two ideas are completely unrelated. Grouping them as one thought would be silly.
"Four of us washed ashore a small island; cannibalism is also called anthropophagy."
While certainly ominous, you should probably save that semicolon for a more obvious link.
There are other uses for a semicolon, such as clarifying a series. Look for rules on that and more in future posts.
posted on 05/07/2010 - 06.03 | grammar and style | comments: 14
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Thank you, Keira!
I need all the help I can get with commas and semicolons. I appreciate the time you put into writing these blogs!
Your methods of showing grammar tips are a lot easier than the ones I found on the web. :-)
Have a great weekend!
Mary-Anneadded by: author Maryanne on 05/07/2010 - 09.19
You make things so easy to do, so I wonder why I have had such difficulty doing it. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy life, to teach us how to write correctly and make more money.
You really are great!added by: author SondraC on 05/07/2010 - 10.57
My instructor in freshman english in college (I won't tell you how long ago that was) used to count off heavily for use of semicolons. I got so used to not using them that I'd practically forgotten they were punctuation. I may need to reexamine their use.added by: author A-036288 on 05/07/2010 - 11.53
This series is really helpful. Since I read your first entry regarding the use of commas and coordinating conjunctions, I have been going back and attempting to correct the errors I've plastered all over the internet... Next, I'll be working on the semicolon.
Thank you so much for these little works of art!added by: author A-039117 on 05/08/2010 - 11.23
Keira? Could you please provide a tutorial for the proper use of apostrophes? It seems as though the social rules for using these things have changed in the last 30 years. Any help would be most helpful!
(P.S., thanks for the nice insight on the use of the semicolon too!)
Gabriel.added by: author abqwriter on 05/08/2010 - 01.51
Keira, thank you for another enlightening and very helpful blog. You are the Grammar Queen!added by: author A-024704 on 05/10/2010 - 04.09
I haven't used a semicolon since college. I'm going to have a semicolon revival in my articles. Time to take a good thing too far.added by: author C. Price on 05/12/2010 - 12.56
Here is another way to explain proper semicolon usage.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolonadded by: author A-031350 on 05/14/2010 - 11.13
Oh how I love semicolons; they are the nicest, most subtly beautiful punctuation- though dashes and colons are rather nice as well. :Dadded by: author Rosa Lyn on 05/17/2010 - 06.41
@Keira - I think all of us are wishing that we had listened in our high school grammar classes.
BTW, you have underwater bears? Sweet... Web site, please?
Nealadded by: author Neal on 05/18/2010 - 04.53
Thanks for traking the time to post this.
I did not know a semicolon could be used to join 2 complete sentences if they were strongly tied to one thought.
added by: author A-046610 on 08/09/2010 - 10.20
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