Writing With Semicolons
The dog chased cars; he never caught one.
The two clauses are independent, meaning each could stand alone and make sense. The semicolon creates a pause, much as a comma does. Because the two clauses are joined in one sentence; however, the semicolon's function is more like that of a full stop, a.k.a. in the U.S. as a period. This use holds true even if a transitional adverb is used to introduce the second clause:
The dog chased cars; indeed, he caught one, but didn't know what to do with it.
Another semicolon use that I seldom see is to take the place of a serial comma when punctuation appears within items in the series:
The dog, in an effort to appear mighty, chased cars; ran after cats, sometimes several at the same time; and caught no cars, a few cats, birds, and insects. This use is often found in long, complex sentences. Breaking down the example: the dog chased, ran, and caught. This is a series of actions. Within those three active verb elements are modifying phrases containing commas; hence, the need for a serial semicolon.
All right (notice it's not 'alright') all you other nitpicking editors, find the mistakes in this post and tell the world in a comment.










3 Comments:
Georganna,
You sneaked in a comma that doesn't belong:
"The dog chased cars; indeed, he caught one, but didn't know what to do with it."
There should be no comma before but.
Ah, Lillie. I knew I could count on you! But don't leave us hangin' here, what's wrong with that comma? What if I'd written " ... but he didn't know what to do with it"?
Leaving the comma out looks and feels odd to me, but I'm Lady Bountiful with commas. If I read the clause aloud I find the need for a brief pause between "one" and "but".
You would need the comma if you added he because that would make two complete sentences.
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