If you don't understand what exactly semicolons are, they can look quite daunting. However, once you get the hang of them, semicolons are simple and easy to use.
Remember the clause? Not the guy who takes presents to good little kids on Christmas, but the grammatical one that causes people to fail English exams? We covered it in the run-on sentence chapter? Anyways, the most common use for semicolons is to combine two or more clauses. Like so:
Becky decided that she would pass on the tuna salad; Steve, however, ate it up like a garbage disposal.
Notice that both clauses relate to each other. Semicolons cannot join two unrelated clauses together--they just don't have the strength. It's like using glue to fasten together something that really ought to be hammered together with some nails. However, so long as the clauses are related in some way, a semicolon can take the place of a period. I even heard of an entire book being written in this way (although, I forget the name of the book at this moment).
A secondary way semicolons are used is in series of items. If the series has punctuation in it, then a semicolon is used instead of a comma. For instance:
Larry looked over the grocery list. It contained many items: tomatoes, grown in Mr. Todd's garden; cucumbers, with a lovely green shine; eggplants, but not the orange ones; and beef, the final ingredient to his mother's soup.
We'll take a look at colons in the next section.
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Grammar! (Like a pro!)
NonfiksiOxford commas. To use, or not to use, that is the question. This book seeks to answer that question and more, with examples and just a touch of humor. Just a touch. !!! This book is currently on hiatus for summer break. Will resume writing in August...
