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Category : Punctuation Rules

Connecting Ideas with a Semicolon (;)

The semicolon (;) is a sensible punctuation mark that connects two complete sentences and forms lists.

Looking at the semicolon (;), you will see it consists of a period (.) and a comma (,). Therefore, you could gather that when you reach a semicolon, you pause a bit longer than you would at a comma, but not quite as long as you would at a period.

Semicolon use #1: When using the semicolon to connect two complete sentences, you need to remember that the ideas must relate to one another.

Take a look at the examples below that show you how to correctly use a semicolon and how it is used incorrectly:

Correct: My kids love when I make peanut butter and banana sandwiches; my oldest son asks that he has one in his school lunch nearly every day.

Incorrect: Summer is my favorite time of year; I enjoy reading books.

Correct: Her first granddaughter inspired her to knit baby blankets; it led her to open a children’s boutique selling handmade baby items.

Incorrect: Gardening makes me relax and take in the fresh air; my 30^th birthday is around the corner.

The semicolon lets the reader know that more information is about to follow, which relates to what they just read.

Semicolon use #2: When using the semicolon to form lists, you need to remember that the semicolon separates the items listed.

Take a look at the examples below that show you how to correctly use a semicolon within a list of items:

Correct Example A: To have a successful marriage, both partners must keep in mind the following: 1) Respect each other; 2) Always be willing to compromise; 3) Share thoughts and feelings regularly; 4) Never be mad at the same time; and 5) Remember to do the little things that make your partner smile.

Correct Example B: I need to prepare a lot for my trip including packing my luggage, which is at my mom’s house; filling my gas tank before heading to the airport; cleaning out my refrigerator, to avoid coming back to spoiled food; and, making sure I have my passport and plane ticket.

Notice in Correct Example B that because commas were used within the listed items, semicolons were used to separate each specific listed item. Commas (,) would be used if it read like the following:

I need to prepare a lot for my trip including packing my luggage, filling my gas tank befored heading to the airport, cleaning out my refrigerator and making sure I have my passport and plane ticket.

The semicolon allows the reader to clearly distinguish the items within a list.

Tags : Lists, Semicolons

Posted under : Punctuation Rules

Dashes

by Jane | 40 Comments

For the uninitiated, a dash is often thought to be a hyphen mark. Well, it is not so. Hyphens and dashes have different significance in English grammar. Moreover, there are different types of dashes, used for different grammatical situations.

Check out the minus key (-) on your keyboard: that is the width of a hyphen mark. Hyphen is used to write twin words, compound verbs, adverbs and adjectives.

Examples:

He is a hanky-panky guy.

Poor Joe is in a love-hate relationship.

We are working towards becoming a carbon-neutral nation.

The use of hyphen marks is rather limited. Dashes, however, are wider than hyphens and even have wider usages. Dashes are categorized into two types: En dash and Em dash. Both get their names from the width of the alphabet (`n’ and `m’) they are associated with. So, Em dash is twice longer than En dash.

En Dash is used to represent a range of values or distances. On the computer, it can be typed by inserting the “dash” symbol from the symbols column.

Examples with En Dash:

According to the CEO, 2009−10 was the best year for the company so far.

We covered Delhi−Bangalore in just one hour.

Women in the age group of 45−55 years are most prone to osteoporosis.

Em Dash is used to represent more complex elements. It is used to insert an additional piece of information that needs adequate emphasis in the sentence. On the computer, type a double hyphen between two letters without a gap and you’ll get an Em Dash.

Examples with Em Dash:

My colleague—also a product of MIT—participated in the conference.

The children—the bedrock of our society—must be groomed well.

My aunt—a famous writer herself—attended the book launch.

Note that there is no space on either side of the em dash.

An em dash could also be used to separate the last part of the sentence.

Example:

Can I borrow some money?—oh no, it’s alright.

Many celebrities attended the function—cricketers, film stars, politicians and businessmen and so on.

Tags : Dashes

Posted under : Punctuation Rules

Commas vs. Semicolons in Compound Sentences

by Jane | 32 Comments

To start with, let us understand what makes a compound sentence. A sentence is called a compound sentence when two independent clauses are linked together in some form to make one complete sentence.

Examples:

We are inviting the Marshalls home. We want them to have lunch with us.

The above two sentences can be linked together to form one complete sentence. That can happen in two ways:

We are inviting the Marshalls home, and we want them to have lunch with us. Or,

We are inviting the Marshalls home; we want them to have lunch with us.

It’s just begun to rain. I am happy that I am home.

The sentence can be written as:

It’s just begun to rain, but I am happy that I am home.

It’s just begun to rain; I am happy that I am home.

Notice that, in most cases, two independent clauses/ sentences can be linked with a “,” or a “;” punctuation mark to make it a compound sentence. A compound sentence with a “,” link is accompanied by a connecting conjunction such as “but,” “and,” “for,” “because,” “nor,” “or,” “yet,” etc. A compound sentence with a “;” link does not include any connecting words.

There is another kind of compound sentence that involves both a comma and a semicolon. After the two independent clauses are linked with a semicolon, the conjuctive adverb following the semicolon (if any) should be followed with a comma. Conjuctive adverbs are words such as “however,” “moreover,” “consequently,” “nevertheless,” “meanwhile,” “therefore,” etc.

Examples:

We are inviting the Marshalls home; subsequently, we want them to have lunch with us.

It’s just begun to rain; however, I am happy that I am home.

Tags : Commas vs. Semicolons

Posted under : Punctuation Rules