Welcome to another 5 Minute Grammar Lesson! Today’s topic includes easy to follow rules so you can learn how to use a semicolon!
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How to Use a Semicolon
Semicolons baffle a lot of people, but they shouldn’t because they are really pretty easy. As long as you can tell the difference between a complete sentence and a fragment, semicolons are very straightforward. They have two main uses:
1. To separate items in a complex list.
Usually, when we separate items in a list, we use a comma: I like blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.
Sometimes, the list is more complicated and we use semicolons instead: When my husband was in the military we lived in Sacramento, California; Tempe, Arizona; Okinawa, Japan; and, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
2. To connect complete sentences.
Number 2 is the one that normally confuses people because they try to connect a fragment and a sentence with a semicolon, and that is WRONG.
Wrong: Although the police officer is a very big man; he wasn’t hungry and he wouldn’t eat the donuts. The first part of this sentence is a fragment. Instead of a semicolon, a comma should be used. OR, simply take the “although” off the first part of the sentence and it’s fixed:
Correct: The police officer is a very big man; he wasn’t hungry and he wouldn’t eat the donuts. Here you have two complete sentences linked by a semicolon. No problem, right!
To me, the hard part about semicolons is identifying fragments. As long as you remember that a complete sentence must have both a subject AND a verb, you should be fine!
And that’s your 5 Minute Grammar Lesson!
For more grammar help, check out these resources.
Want more grammar posts?
Top 10 Mistakes Bloggers Make {and how to stop them}
And if you’re looking for helpful grammar resources, here are my top picks:
Grammarly – Instantly fix over 250 types of errors with this free web-based grammar checker!
Strunk & White Elements of Style
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
The Grammar Girl’s Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing
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I have the funny feeling this was directed at me…..
Great post!
No, Melanie…my grammar posts are either focused on a mistake I saw while out and about or on something my students do over and over and over and over… 🙂 I'm glad you liked it, though!
Hi! I totally ripped you off. I printed this out and that was the older twos grammar lesson today. THANKS! xoxo
I’m going through this series for the first time and came across this one. The punctuation mark that seems to be the most misused is the colon “:”. When did it become acceptable to place a colon at the end of an incomplete sentence or after a verb? Just because you’re making a list, doesn’t mean you use a colon. I’m on a mission to eliminate the incorrect use of the colon! 🙂 Unfortunately, I think I might be too late. Even colleges use it incorrectly on their websites! UGH! A great series!
Hahaha, MJ! You know I had to check my post to make sure I didn’t use a colon incorrectly! 😉