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Semicolon Usage
View this presentation to learn more about how to use semicolons, an awesome piece of punctuation.
Let’s start by looking at why we might need a semicolon.
First, we will look at a simple sentence: – Mary doesn’t like to miss anything.
Independent Clause
Mary doesn’t like to miss anything is a complete sentence – or you can use the fancy term and call it an independent clause. It has a subject (Mary) and a predicate (like).
What happens when you want to add more?
What if we want to add more details? – Mary doesn’t like to miss anything.
She stays up very late.
Can we combine these into one sentence? Now we have two independent
clauses about the same topic: – Mary doesn’t like to miss anything.
She stays up very late. Let’s learn a new way to combine
sentences:– Mary doesn’t like to miss anything;
she stays up very late.
Ways to use Semicolons: There are three main ways to use
semicolons: – To join two independent clauses
without any connecting terms– To join two independent clauses with
a conjunctive adverb and a comma– To separate items in a complicated
list that already has commas.
To join two independent clauses without any connecting terms:
I want to go to the store; mom wants to go to the movies.
Ralph hates school; Fred thinks it is a great place to spend the day.
The cat went to climb the tree; the dog chased it away.
To join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb and a comma
I like to swim; however, I like to bike even more.
The sky looks grey; as a result, it might rain.
Sarah is studying; meanwhile, Jenny is at ball practice.
To separate items in a complicated
list that already has commas.
We need to take a tent, a sleeping bag, and a compass; a cook stove, a cooler, and some plates; and some boots, a coat, and rain gear when we go camping.
For more information about how to use semicolons, please read the notes in the semicolon folder.