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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Many Hands House says
April 11, 2011 at 12:44 pmI have the funny feeling this was directed at me…..
Great post!
Michelle says
April 11, 2011 at 1:16 pmNo, 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!
Larae says
April 14, 2011 at 6:33 pmHi! I totally ripped you off. I printed this out and that was the older twos grammar lesson today. THANKS! xoxo
mjskit says
July 30, 2012 at 9:43 amI’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!
Michelle says
July 30, 2012 at 3:42 pmHahaha, MJ! You know I had to check my post to make sure I didn’t use a colon incorrectly! 😉