The Serviceable Semicolon
Although most people probably don't get as excited over semicolons as award-winning author and scientist Mr. Thomas did, these punctuation marks can be very useful in their own way.
Semicolons signal a pause greater than one indicated by a comma but less than one indicated by a period. The most common use for a semicolon is joining two complete thoughts (independent clauses) into one sentence.
Look at the following sentences:
Each of these sentences stands alone, but they could be joined by using a semicolon:
Often semicolons are used with conjunctive adverbs and other transitional words or phrases, such as
Right:
Wrong:
In English, many transitional words and phrases are commonly used. Here are a few of them:
first |
second |
third |
next |
finally |
then |
moreover |
likewise |
similarly |
Semicolons are sometimes used at the end of bulleted or numbered lists, depending on the style and the sentence construction. (Sometimes commas or periods are used, and sometimes there's no punctuation at all.)A list may appear like this:
verify that you have been a member for at least three years; submit copies of civic or charitable work done in the name of the club; have at least three letters of recommendation .
Now it's time to break a rule about semicolons. Sometimes you use a semicolon when a comma might seem to be the correct punctuation mark. Look at this sentence:
Commas came after the name of each city and each state, as the rule on commas says they should. However, readers will probably be confused about the true meaning of the sentence. Consider that a semicolon is a “notch above” a comma. By substituting a semicolon in places where you'd ordinarily use a comma, you make the material clearer for readers by showing which cities go with which states. Look at how the sentence should be punctuated:
Reading the sentence with semicolons used in this way, readers can tell that the manhunt took place in Nashville, Indiana, as opposed to Nashville, Tennessee. Also, readers can identify that Enid is located in Oklahoma.
When Semicolons Won't Work
Semicolons won't work if the two thoughts aren't on the same playing field (that is, if they're not logically connected). Look at these two sentences:
Although both are sentences, they have no logical link. If a semicolon were used between these two sentences, readers would be scratching their heads, thinking they were missing something.
Semicolons also won't work if one of the thoughts isn't a complete sentence. Look at this example:
The first part of the sentence is a complete thought (
