Semicolon question - Writers Forum

jmsx521 · 07-24-2006, 11:54 PM

1.
Isn't the semicolon separated by two independent clauses? Then, from http://www.drgrammar.org/faqs/#14 how can this be right:
I interviewed Debbie Rios, the attorney; Rhonda Marron, the accountant; and the financial director.

2.
Again from the same page:
"RULE: Although an independent clause following a semicolon is essentially a complete sentence, it never begins with a capital letter."
What if the sentence finishes with a question mark or exclamation point... still no capital letter?

Banzai · 07-25-2006, 03:12 AM

I don't have a real answer for you, but I've seen this done before quite a few times. I think it's done in lists or similar, and as a probably unrelated idea, if you use Microsoft Outlook for your emails (God, how I wish I didn't!) and you send an email to more than one address, the adresses in the send line are seperated by, you guessed it, semicolons. And in regards to your second question I have never seen (or known of) any occasion to use a capital after a semicolon, save for propper nouns.

Hope that confusing spiel was of some help at least

aspiring · 07-25-2006, 03:24 AM

1. the clauses are separated by semicolons purely to make it easier to read and to avoid confusion with commas. If you wrote: I interviewed Debbie Rios, the attorney, Rhonda Marron, the accountant, and the financial director, then the reader would be confused as to whether three people or five people were interviewed. The use of the semicolon is correct here.

2. Your second question makes no sense. If the previous clause ended with an exclamation or question mark, then it wouldn't be ending with a semicolon, would it?

jmsx521 · 07-25-2006, 10:34 AM

For my second question, the rule from http://www.drgrammar.org/faqs/#14 is "Although an independent clause following a semicolon is essentially a complete sentence, it never begins with a capital letter."

So, following the rule, would this sentence be incorrect:
John needed to go immediately; It was very urgent!

Would the correct way be:
John needed to go immediately; it was very urgent!

Kane · 07-25-2006, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Would the correct way be:
John needed to go immediately; it was very urgent!

Yes.

aspiring · 07-25-2006, 11:53 AM

You have misunderstood this rule:

Quote:

For my second question, the rule from http://www.drgrammar.org/faqs/#14 is "Although an independent clause following a semicolon is essentially a complete sentence, it never begins with a capital letter."

It says quite clearly that an independent clause never starts with a capital letter FOLLOWING a semicolon. The addition of a question or exclamation mark at the END of the sentence makes no difference to the BEGINNING.

mammamaia · 07-25-2006, 07:15 PM

jm... there are two major uses of a semicolon...

1. to separate the items in a series... such as the example given in your #1 above...

2. to separate two independent clauses when something more definite than a comma is needed/wanted [your #2 example]...

aspiring and kane have given you good advice on other aspects of your questions... here's a great site to keep in your 'favorites' for handy reference when stumped on matters of grammar or punctuation:

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/index.html

ButteredKazoo · 07-26-2006, 02:17 AM

Also, the reason why people use semicolons when combining two independent clauses is so that there is more emphasis on the first clause. For example:

I was panting heavily. I had been running to catch the ice cream truck.
I was panting heavily; I had been running to catch the ice cream truck.

Also, a semicolon can be used as a substitute for "because":

I was panting heavily because I had been running to catch the ice cream truck.
I was panting heavily; I had been running to catch the ice cream truck.

aspiring · 07-26-2006, 03:12 AM

In ButteredKazoo's example however I would use a colon rather than a semicolon

suzakugaiden · 07-26-2006, 04:03 AM

Semi-colons are used in lists if you're listing full sentences/clauses/longer phrases. If, like, they're not sequential in time.

"I was panting heavily because I had been running to catch the ice cream truck.
I was panting heavily; I had been running to catch the ice cream truck."

That works, but it's sort of ugly. The semi-colon is rather abrupt. You could use a period there, which seems a bit more gradual, I guess, but in both cases, the lack of because makes you anticipate something AFTER the last clause, there.

Assuming that IS the end of the sentece, or jsut some stand alone thing, it could work, too, but I still think it sounds odd. It draws too much attention to itself. Maybe it's just the subject matter. It sounds grandiose with the semi-colons or without the because, and, well, it's an ice cream truck

you're making something really trivial sound like the biggest thing ever.

Then again, if you were doing that to, say, highlight innocence (maybe the icecream chase WAS the biggest thing ever to a kid) or for humor... well, the pomp WOULD work (assuming that the rest of your story didn't suck, but that sort of goes without saying

)

Fantasy of You · 07-26-2006, 09:33 AM

When they did, the cheers and shouts that followed ran throughout the ship; those on the upper deck climbed nimbly in the ships rigging, eager for a better view; those below flooded from the companionways and gathered in an eager mass.

Is THAT correct, lol?

Mike C · 07-26-2006, 09:35 AM

It's not incorrect, but (my opinion only) two sc's in a sentence is excessive. To the tune of 2.

aspiring · 07-26-2006, 10:15 AM

I don't have a problem with Fantasy's example (I happen to like semicolons, lol). Personal preference though - if I had written the example, I would have replaced the first semicolon with a full stop and kept the second one.

ButteredKazoo · 07-26-2006, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suzakugaiden

Semi-colons are used in lists if you're listing full sentences/clauses/longer phrases. If, like, they're not sequential in time.

"I was panting heavily because I had been running to catch the ice cream truck.
I was panting heavily; I had been running to catch the ice cream truck."

That works, but it's sort of ugly. The semi-colon is rather abrupt. You could use a period there, which seems a bit more gradual, I guess, but in both cases, the lack of because makes you anticipate something AFTER the last clause, there.

Assuming that IS the end of the sentece, or jsut some stand alone thing, it could work, too, but I still think it sounds odd. It draws too much attention to itself. Maybe it's just the subject matter. It sounds grandiose with the semi-colons or without the because, and, well, it's an ice cream truck

you're making something really trivial sound like the biggest thing ever.

Then again, if you were doing that to, say, highlight innocence (maybe the icecream chase WAS the biggest thing ever to a kid) or for humor... well, the pomp WOULD work (assuming that the rest of your story didn't suck, but that sort of goes without saying

)

It may have been a bad example, but my point should have been clear enough.

aspiring · 07-27-2006, 04:30 AM

Quote:

It may have been a bad example, but my point should have been clear enough.

It was. Hence the wink in my reply to show that I wasn't being deliberately offensive.