JoshuaOst

I've been trying to understand semi-colons but no matter what I do I still seem to be using them improperly. Can someone explain it to me in plain and simple terms?

sanctuary

Use a semicolon when you link two independent clauses with no connecting words. For example:

I am going home; I intend to stay there. It rained heavily during the afternoon; we managed to have our picnic anyway.
They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark; they decided to camp for the night.

You can also use a semicolon when you join two independent clauses together with one of the following conjunctive adverbs (adverbs that join independent clauses): however, moreover, therefore, consequently, otherwise, nevertheless, thus, etc. For example:

I am going home; moreover, I intend to stay there. It rained heavily during the afternoon; however, we managed to have our picnic anyway.
They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark; therefore, they decided to camp for the night.

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JoshuaOst

Ok, so is this an example of proper use of a semi-colon?:
"She tried to convince herself that it was because of his intellect; she wanted to believe that she loved him because of his brain."

JoshuaOst

Ok, so is this an example of proper use of a semi-colon?:
"She tried to convince herself that it was because of his intellect; she wanted to believe that she loved him because of his brain."

sanctuary

yes

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WriteIt

In many cases, you may be able to use a comma or a period. You may hear that the 'comma is weaker than the semi-colon or that the semi-colon is weaker than a period.' That references the physical length of the pause each signifies.

The semi-colon is (a) used to separate elements when a comma is not strong enough or (b)to join elements (typically with a conjunction). I think because it can be used to separate and to join, it can be a bit tricky to master.

In the first case (a), a semi-colon is used instead of the comma for clarity. Often you will see this when the elements are themselves divided by commas (this is called containing internal punctuation). Often elements that contain internal punctuation are a series:

To assemble the frame, you need a screwdriver and drill, size 3/8- and 5/8-inch bits; electrical tape, 1/4- and 1/2-inch wide; and a level.

To make sure it is clear, you would use the semi-colon instead of the serial comma to separate the elements in a series (and if there is only one internal comma within the serial elements, use the semi-colon to separate all of them). In this type of construction, you need the semi-colons for clarity between the elements.

Where life with semi-colons gets a little more exciting and fun is when you use them to (b) join elements.

In creative writing, when joining elements, the semi-colon gives the writer a tool with which to send subtle signals to his reader. Conjunctions establish a relationship between clauses; even those words used as conjuctions that are not really conjuctions do this <g> (conjunctive adverbs).

The publisher's offer sounded too good to be true, but I decided to accept it.

The publisher's offer sounded too good to be true; however, I decided to accept it.

Essentially, there is no difference in meaning. The one with the comma "looks" more casual than the one with the semi-colon. The above is an example of when either a semi-colon or a comma would do.

Okay, so what's so fun about using the semi-colon to join elements? When you master using the semi-colon to send subtle signals to your reader. You can use the semi-colon to tighten up your writing, emphasize subtle relationships, and add sophistication to your writing style.

The publisher's offer sounded too good to be true; so I didn't take it.

Revised to read:

The publisher's offer sounded too good to be true; I didn't take it.

In the revised sentence, the semi-colon is "standing in" for the missing conjunction. The semi-colon sends a subtle signal to the reader that there is some sort of implicit and self-evident relationship between two clauses the semi-colon joins. This type of use of the semi-colon leaves a "blank" for your reader to complete as the relationship is inferred. You can also expand on this relationship later in the story. Do most readers catch it...probably not, but I admire writers who have mastered this use of the semi-colon.

You can send cues to your reader through other punctuation such as the em dash, elliptical constructions, and the suspension hyphen as well.

Don't know if this helped or added to your confusion.

Cheers,
Krys

J.E.L.M.

Think of it this way, if you don't want to add a conjunction, like and, or, or but, you can just stick a semi-colon in there.

Example:
Mark walked to the window and he gazed down into the road below.
OR
Mark walked to the window; he gazed down into the road below.

ssuchin

You may find this article interesting.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/J...issy_semicolon

And you may find this interesting and funny.

http://www.writingforums.com/showthread.php?t=67454

rydenthorne

I use semicolons when I have two complete sentences that really stem from the same thought and don't want to like them together with a conjunction.

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Mike C

Ask yourself this: Will a period or a comma work here? If it does (and it always does), use it instead. Arguably (but let's not start the argument again - just refer back to all the other semi-colon threads) ths semi-colon has no place in literature anyway. Don't use them.

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Dawnstorm

If you don't want to argue the point, don't bring it up. Advice not to use an element language has to offer is almost always bad writing advice, and in this case it defies actual usage:

"Mr Norrell laughed out loud; Mr Norrell, who rarely even smiled, laughed at them." Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

"It could not be a magician's trick; it could only have happened through the ability of one man's mind to gain access in a so far inexplicable way to another man's mind." Julian Barnes, Arthur and George.

Both examples I found on the first page I opened. I opened several pages in Doris Lessing's The Story of General Dann and Mara's Daughter, Griot and the Snow Dog and found no semicolon.

And just to demonstrate that it's not a recent developement:

"For Scotland has a double dose of the poison called heredity; the sense of blood in the aristocrat, and the sense of doom in the Calvinist." G.K. Chesterton, "The Honour of Israel Gow"

"'I think I may," he rejoined. 'Yes; I am sure I may." Charles Dickens, "The Signalman" (And don't I find this one intriguing?)

WriteIt

The semicolon was introduced in 1644. In fiction, punctuation not only satisfies the role of lending readability to a text, it also can be used to communicate subtle information to the reader. For example, Sache Guitry, the Belgian playwright, was a master at using the em dash in dialogue to signal to the audience that the words the character was saying did not correspond with what the character was thinking. She used the em dash to tell the audience "I suddenly realize the words I'm saying are not what I'm thinking." The use of the physical marker conveyed this so much better than the words would have.

The subtextual message of a period is "that's it, that's all." The subtextual message of a semicolon is "there's more to come."

John McPhee, A Sense of Where You Are
A Profile of Bill Bradley at Princeton
"I know that he greatly admires excellence in athletes, and that he would regularly become quite caught up in the evolution of a Princeton team's season, its hopes for a championship, and the kind of performance an individual might be sustaining; but these things were discernible only in highly indirect ways. He has a taciturnity celebrated in his circle, and he can watch, say, a Princeton halfback go ninety-eight yards for a touchdown without even faintly showing on the surface the excitement he feels within him."

Yes, he could have put a period after sustaining and started a new sentence with These things were discernible ... however, the passage would not have the same subtextual message. McPhee's use of the semicolon hints to the reader that there is more to come and that the significance of these things would be revealed all in due time. One could say that the use of the semicolon builds in a bit of suspense and keeps the reader reading. Using the semicolon in this passage was a subtle message to the reader that there was more to this character to come and more about these things to come.

Other authors who are noted for the use of the semicolon to hint at things to come include Madeleine L'Engle and Jorge Luis Borges. Does the semicolon have a place in literature? If it is the physical marker that will convey the subtextual message to the reader that the author wishes to convey, it is a very subtle, conversative means by which to accomplish this.

Does the semicolon belong in literature? Depends on how skilled the writer is and if the writer is using the semicolon to cue the reader that there is more to come.

Cheers,
Krys

GradysGhost

I try not to use it in fiction. That doesn't mean you shouldn't. I just think they're ugly and obtrusive. We don't see them enough in writing to be able to breeze over them. Also, the idea that a semicolon just takes the place of a period, which leaves the second sentence starting with a lower-case letter always made me uneasy. I don't like semicolons unless I'm writing a research paper or something more technical.

Dawnstorm

It's quite possible we don't notice them in fiction, because we parse them quite automatically. If I go looking for semicolons in my book case, it doesn't take long to find several.

mammamaia

i'd soften that a bit to:

semicolons are not needed in fiction and i find them intrusive there... anyplace you might use one in stories/novels, a comma, period, em dash, or parentheses would be more effective, attractive and reader-friendly...

in non-fiction, use it properly, or not at all...

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