All About Semicolons: How to Use Them in Your Writing

Despite its reputation though, the semicolon is a wonderfully versatile piece of punctuation that writers of all stripes can use to draw connections between their thoughts—and make their sentences easier to read—in ways that other punctuation marks, like dashes, simply can’t. Use this guide to employing semicolons correctly and learn how to bring out the best in your own writing.

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How to Use Semicolons

A semicolon, true to its appearance, combines some of the uses of a comma and a period into one convenient punctuation mark. In its main use, the semicolon both separates distinct ideas (as a period does) and enables those ideas to be connected within the same sentence (like a comma can):

Using a Semicolon to Connect Independent Clauses

An independent clause is a clause that’s capable of standing on its own. That is, it’s a complete thought and a complete, grammatically correct sentence. Typically, to join independent clauses within the same sentence, you would need to use a conjunction (e.g., and, but, or). A semicolon eliminates the need for the conjunction (and the comma that might come with that conjunction):

• Example: The dog is getting old; the gray hairs on her snout are becoming more pronounced.
• Example: Some diners prefer still water; others prefer sparkling water.

Note how the ideas on either side of the semicolon are clearly connected. In the first example, it’s easy to understand that age is the likely cause of the dog’s graying fur. Meanwhile, in the second example, a general description of diners’ differing water preferences is captured within a single sentence. While some writers may be tempted to connect these independent clauses using a comma, this is actually a common grammatical error known as a comma splice.

Similarly, semicolons can be used to connect independent clauses when they use a transitional phrase (e.g., as a result, for example, or in addition) or conjunctive adverbs (e.g., however, similarly, or meanwhile).

• Example: The dog is getting old; as a result, the gray hairs on her snout are becoming more pronounced.
• Example: Many diners prefer still water; however, I prefer sparkling water with my meals.

Using Semicolons to Simplify Complex Lists and Series

Semicolons are also particularly useful for simplifying sentences that contain long lists of items or complex punctuation:

• Example: She sent me to the grocery store to pick up both sparkling and still water; ingredients for a soup that uses tomatoes, carrots, and celery; and some staples like flour, olive oil, and black pepper.

In this example, the semicolons make it possible to list everything that was needed from this particular shopping trip; meanwhile, they make it easy to provide further information about certain segments of the shopping list.

In the end, semicolons aren’t quite as complex as they are sometimes made out to be. With the help of these semicolon examples and guidelines, you can start using semicolons in your own writing with confidence.