Understanding the Mystery of Semicolon Usage

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Understanding the Mystery of Semicolon Usage

• By
• Alfred Taylor

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Semicolon Usage

• Semicolon usage is actually quite simple when
  students take the time to learn the rules.
• What causes most peoples head to spin
• is they tend to overuse the semicolon.

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Semicolon Usage

• The most common use for the semicolon is to join
  two independent clauses. This is also the most
  abused use of the semicolon, since most writers
  dont realize the two independent clauses must be
  closely related and the clauses must be parallel
  to each other. If the independent clauses are
  not closely related,
• the semicolon has been used incorrectly.

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Semicolon Usage

• For example
• The chicken got well we had salad for lunch.
• In this case joining the two sentences, or
  independent clauses, with a semicolon gains the
  writer nothing. The relationship between the two
  ideas is not enhanced by the semicolon. This is
  improper usage of the semicolon.

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Semicolon Usage

• Simply joining sentences, or independent
  clauses, together with semicolons produces weak
  sentences. The better way to join sentences is
  with
• Coordinating Conjunctions
• Conjunctive Adverbs
• Complex Sentences

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Semicolon Usage

• If the two independent clauses are joined by a
  coordinating conjunction, then the relationship
  becomes clear.
• The chicken got well, so we had salad for lunch.
• (If the chicken hadnt gotten well, we would
  have had chicken. When a chicken stops laying
  eggs on a farm it is no longer an asset, but a
  liability.)

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Semicolon Usage

• The independent clauses may also be joined by a
  conjunctive adverb
• The chicken got well hence, we had salad for
  lunch.
• (It is okay to use a semicolon with a
  conjunctive adverb because the conjunctive adverb
  is modifying the relationship between the
  independent clauses.)

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Semicolon Usage

• A complex sentence is another choice the writer
  may use
• Because the chicken got well, we had salad for
  lunch.
• (A complex sentence is a dependent clause and an
  independent clause joined together. See my
  PowerPoint on Sentence Variety.)

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Semicolon Usage

• The semicolon does have some legitimate uses.
  The semicolon is less powerful than a period, but
  it is more powerful than a comma. So utilizing a
  semicolon with a conjunctive adverb can greatly
  enhance the impact of a sentence.

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Semicolon Usage

• Spock drank a Pepsi however, Captain Kirk drank
  a Coke.
• The semicolon causes the reader to pause for a
  second and think about the first sentence. Then
  the reader pauses again at the comma to consider
  the conjunctive adverb and its relationship to
  the first sentence. Then the reader completes
  the thought.

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Semicolon Usage

• This is a wonderful method for getting the
  readers attention. It is greatly preferable to
  using exclamation marks! Exclamation marks mean
  that the writer is shouting. Most instructors
  dont want their students shouting at them
  however, using conjunctive adverbs is a great
  deal like crying wolf. If they are overused,
  they lose their impact on the reader.

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Semicolon Usage

• Another use for the semicolon is breaking up
  items in a series that contain commas. For
  example, how many people did I have lunch with?
  (Dogs are people.)
• I had lunch with my wife, Thuy, my boss, Guy, my
  moms dog, Missy, and Spock, a scientist.

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Semicolon Usage

• At first glance the reader may not realize that
  my moms dog is Missy, or that Thuy is my wife.
  It is necessary to utilize the semicolon to break
  up the sentence.
• I had lunch with my wife, Thuy my boss, Guy my
  moms dog, Missy and Spock, a Vulcan scientist.
• Now it is clear I had lunch with four people.

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Semicolon Usage

• Another example of items in a series that
  contain commas would be
• Cassandra telephoned boys in Orlando, Florida
  Sioux City, Iowa and Yosemite, California.

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Semicolon Usage

• When a compound sentence contains a numerous
  commas, it is sometimes necessary to use a
  semicolon in front of the coordinating
  conjunction to make it clear where the clauses
  are being joined.
• Spock, thinking about girls, drove his car, a
  1977 Ford Pinto, into a tree and he swallowed
  his gum, cracked the windshield, and dented the
  fender.

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Semicolon Usage

• Summary
• Use a semicolon with a conjunctive adverb,
  between items in a series that contain commas,
  and sometimes between coordinate sentences that
  contain excessive commas.

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Semicolon Usage

• Do not use a semicolon
• between a phrase and a clause. (use a comma)
• between a dependent clause and an independent
  clause. (use a comma)
• to introduce a list. (use a colon or a comma)
• to introduce a quotation. (use a colon or a
  comma)

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Semicolon Usage

• My best advice is to simply avoid using the
  semicolon as much as possible. The semicolon is
  a highly over-rated piece of punctuation.

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Semicolon Usage

• The End