LEARN THREE USES FOR THE SEMICOLON (;) Like a comma, a semicolon (;) tells the reader to pause. However, the semicolon is a stronger mark of punctuation. It separates clauses and phrases that are closely related or that receive the same emphasis. Use a semicolon between - Independent (main) clauses.
- Independent (main) clauses joined by transitional
words and phrases.
- A series of items that contain commas.
NOTE: | Unlike periods, question marks, and exclamation points, semicolons always appear within, not at the end of, sentences. |
THE SEMICOLON BETWEEN INDEPENDENT (MAIN) CLAUSES Use a semicolon to connect two independent clauses that are closely related
and are not connected with a coordinating conjunctions. An independent clause has a subject and a verb and expresses
a complete idea. The coordinating conjunctions are and, or, but, nor, for,
so, yet. Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States; he
followed William Howard Taft. NOTE: | Don't capitalize a word that follows a semicolon unless it is a proper noun. |
Guadeloupe is in the Leeward Islands; Guatemala is in Central
America. THE SEMICOLON BETWEEN INDEPENDENT (MAIN) CLAUSES JOINED BY TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES In the middle of sentences, transitions come in two forms: conjunctive adverbs and transitional phrases. Both emphasize and clarify the relationship between the independent clauses they join. Conjunctive Adverb: It's a good thing Columbus came to America; otherwise, the Italians
would never have learned about the tomato. Transitional Phrase: People before Columbus knew the world wasn't flat; in fact, Eratosthenes
accurately measured the earth's circumference in the third century B.C. NOTE: | Use a comma after a conjunctive adverb or transitional phrase. |
THE SEMICOLON BETWEEN A SERIES OF ITEMS THAT CONTAIN COMMAS Use semicolons to separate items in a series when some or all of the items in that series contain commas. Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-–1204) was the daughter of William X, duke of Aquitaine; the wife of Louis VII, king of France; and later the wife of Henry of Normandy, who became Henry II of England. There are three items in this list: (1) the daughter of . . . ; (2) the wife of . . . ; and (3) later the wife of . . . . If the semicolons were replaced by commas, readers might not be able to tell where one item ends and the next begins. After all, each item already contains a comma of its own.
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