RULES FOR SEMICOLONS
1. Use a semicolon to link two
independent clauses.
To give a good party, you must
consider the lighting; no one feels comfortable under the bright
glare of fluorescent lights.
Note that the two clauses are connected
in thought, but are each independent grammatically. A comma with a conjunction can stand in place
of the semicolon, like this:
To give a good party, you must consider the lighting, since no one feels comfortable under the bright glare of fluorescent lights.
2. Use a semicolon to separate
elements in a list if the elements are long - or if the elements
themselves have commas in them.
To get completely ready for
your party, you should clean your house; make sure your old,
decrepit stereo works; prepare a lot of delicious, strange food;
and expect odd, antisocial, and frivolous behavior on the part
of your guests.
3. Unlike commas, semicolons belong outside quotation marks.
One man at the party sat in a corner
and read "The Adventures of Bob"; he may have been shy,
or he may have found "The Adventures of Bob" too exciting
to put down.
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