Semicolons: How important are they? NEC FACET Center

Don’t be afraid of semicolons; they can improve your writing!

Semicolons

make me

nervous. I

don’t know how

to use them.

Have no fear,

“Punky” is here! I fight the forces of bad

punctuation.

What can semicolons do?

Semicolons can:• add sentence variety.

• correct run-on sentences.

• rid your writing of short, choppy sentences.

• eliminate confusion in lists of details.

ADD SENTENCE VARIETY

We like to construct sentences with

similar structure, but sometimes we need a

little variety.

Semicolons can connect two complete sentences that share similar thoughts; they

can also connect short, choppy sentences and separate items in a list

when the items themselves also

contain commas.

EXAMPLE

My 7th birthday party was the best party I’ve ever had. There were pony rides and a clown. There were red and orange balloons. There were streamers hanging from the ceiling. A giant banner with “Happy Birthday” ran the length of the dining room wall. The cake was chocolate with white icing. The ice-cream was my favorite flavor: Neapolitan. I remember the day of the party was beautiful, sunny and bright, cloudless, breezy, and no rain, and everyone wore shorts and t-shirts. The best part, however, was my gift. My parents gave me a bicycle.

This paragraph contains short,

choppy sentences and long lists of items. It’s too

confusing!

PARAGRAPH REVISEDMy 7th birthday party was the best party I’ve ever had. There were pony rides and a clown. In addition to the red and orange balloons, there were streamers hanging from the ceiling; and a giant banner with “Happy Birthday” ran the length of the dining room wall. The cake was chocolate with white icing; furthermore, the ice-cream was my favorite flavor: Neapolitan. I remember the day of the party was beautiful, sunny and bright; cloudless, breezy, and no rain; and everyone wore shorts and t-shirts. The best part, however, was my gift. My parents gave me a bicycle.

This revisio

n is much

better!

Let’s practice using

semicolons to break up

run-on sentences.

Hey, wait a minute! I

don’t know what a run-

on sentence

is.

That’s okay. I’ll

show you!

Rule #1

What is a run-on sentence? When two independent clauses are

joined together without proper punctuation between them. Ex: The suspicious man walked down the

street humming to himself he knew people were watching his every move.

What is an independent

clause?

Independent Clause

Independent Clause

I’m glad you

asked; come on, I’ll show

you!

There are two types of clauses: Independent and Dependent.

Independent Clause Contains a subject, a verb, and makes

a complete thought.

Can stand alone as a sentence.

Ex: The sun rises in the east.

Clause = a group of words containing a subject and a

verb.

Subject: person or

thing doing the action

Verb: action/what is being done by the

subject

Complete thought

Dependent Clause Contains a subject and a verb but is missing a complete

thought.

Cannot stand alone as a sentence.

Depends on an independent clause to complete the thought.

Is subordinate to an independent clause.

Ex: Although we went to the movies yesterday.

This clause does not have a complete thought; therefore, it’s a fragment rather than a complete sentence.

subject verb

subordinating word

Helps show the sentence as

subordinate to an independent

clause.

Wait a minute! What is subordination?

SUBORDINATION

Egyptian kings are powerful,

…but not as powerful as

Egyptian gods.

Subordination is when one thought in a sentence is less important

than another thought.

Egyptian kings are

subordinate to Egyptian

gods.

CORRECTING DEPENDENT CLAUSE FRAGMENTS

Ex: Although we went to the movies yesterday,

Because a dependent clause cannot stand alone, combine it with an independent clause

to complete the thought and produce a complete sentence.

Dependent Clause

Independent Clause

Now we have a

complete sentence!

we still feel as though we have done nothing during spring break. Use a comma

only if the dependent

clause is at the beginning of the

sentence.

CORRECTING RUN-ON SENTENCES

The suspicious man walked down the street humming to himself he knew people were watching his every move.

This is a run-on sentence. There

needs to be a sentence break.

Okay, I understand run-ons, but how do I fix

them?

Add a semicolon

between the two

independent clauses!

CORRECT RUN-ONS WITH A SEMICOLON

Ex: The suspicious man walked down the street humming to himself he knew people were watching his every move.

This rule is used when the subjects of the two clauses are closely related. Think of it as a continuation of your thoughts,

but they need to be broken into 2 sentences.

;

Use a semicolon to indicate a break between two independent clauses.

MORE EXAMPLES

1. The computer technician said my hard drive is fried; it will cost hundreds of dollars to retrieve the stored information.

2. There’s a plane in the sky pulling a banner; it says “FREE FLYING LESSONS TODAY!”

3. My brother, the musician, broke his foot last night; he jumped off the stage during a concert, but no one caught him!

FREE FLYING LESSONS TODAY!

Fix the following run-ons by inserting a semicolon where necessary

Yesterday, my sister borrowed my car without asking then she ran over a nail and popped one of the tires.

Sylvester won the pie eating contest he ate 10 whole pies in 3 minutes.

My favorite book as a child was Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing it was so funny that I read it over and over. The gel inserts in my shoes are starting to rub against my toes, I should replace them with new inserts

Yesterday, my sister borrowed my car without

asking; then she ran over a nail and popped one of the tires.

Sylvester won the pie eating contest; he ate 10 whole pies in 3 minutes.

My favorite book as a child was Tales of a Fourth

Grade Nothing; it was so funny that I read it over and over. The gel inserts in my shoes are starting to rub

against my toes; I should replace them with new inserts.

Sometimes our essays are filled

with short, choppy

sentences. Let’s talk about how to

fix them using semicolons.

Rule #2

SHORT, CHOPPY SENTENCES

But I like short sentences. They’re

safe. They make me feel like a big man. I like to knock out long sentences. Everyone

should speak and write in short sentences!

Not so fast Strongman! I’m going to knock out your short,

choppy sentences!

They break up your writing,

add confusion,

and bore your reader.

SEMICOLONS AND TRANSITION WORDS.

Use a semicolon with a transition word to connect two closely related sentences.

Ex: The baker burnt the loaves of bread this morning; therefore, he must start over from scratch.

When using a semicolon and a transition, you must use a comma

after the transition.

A transition can do many things,

such as add additional

information, change direction,

show contrast, etc.

OTHER TRANSITION WORDS

ConsequentlyOn the other handFurthermoreMoreoverThusStillIn additionAs a result

Ex: Joel went to school without his homework; consequently, he had to stay late to make up the assignment.

Ex: Miranda left the beauty shop feeling like a queen; furthermore, her friends raved all night about her new style.

Ex: The Springfield Cardinals lost their game against the Tulsa Drillers; as a result, their 6-week losing streak continues.

FIX THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES BY ADDING A SEMICOLON, A TRANSITION WORD, AND A

COMMA.1. Jackie’s brother wants to see the new Pixar animation

movie she will take him to see it tomorrow.

2. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced and sang together in 10 films they won the hearts of millions of Americans during the early 20th century.

3. “Soda” and “pop” are used interchangeably to describe sweetened, carbonated beverages the terms are generally regional in their usage.

4. Everyday, Sam rides home on the city bus he enjoys the ride because he gets to “people-watch.”

Jackie’s brother wants to see the new Pixar animation movie; therefore, she will take him to see it tomorrow.Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced and sang together in 10 films; thus, they won the hearts of millions of Americans during the early 20th century.“Soda” and “pop” are used interchangeably to describe sweetened, carbonated beverages; however, the terms are generally regional in their usage. Everyday, Sam rides home on the city bus; as a result, he enjoys the ride because he gets to “people-watch.”

Short, choppy sentences

hurt the flow of your writing.

It’s better to combine

phrases and thoughts into

longer, cohesive, correctly

punctuated sentences.

This way your reader won’t feel bogged down or disinterested in disconnected thoughts and

ideas.

Okay, I understand how

to fix short, choppy

sentences, but tell me again why they’re

bad.

Sometimes when we

create lists of items (like a grocery list), we also have

extra detail we need to give

about the items.

We don’t want to confuse the reader by using too many commas. So, we

can use semicolons to separate each

item.

Rule #3

ITEMS IN A LIST

Hey ma, give me a PBJ with grape jelly, purple and jiggly, no crusts, soft middles only, and none of that

wheat bread stuff, all course

and grainy!

Hey kid, your sentence is

crowded with too many

commas. Use semicolons to separate the items in your

list

Oh yeah! Respect your ma,

too!

USE SEMICOLONS TO SEPARATE LISTS OF ITEMS ALSO CONTAINING COMMAS.

Hey ma, give me a PBJ with grape jelly, purple and jiggly, no crusts, soft middles only, and none of that wheat bread stuff, all course and grainy!

1st item uses a comma

2nd item uses a comma

3rd item uses a comma

Well Mr. Know-it-All,

how should I fix this? And be quick. I gotta meet my gang!

Who’s your gang, the

jungle-gym kids? And, the name’s

Punky!

You can fix this

sentence by

separating each item

with a semicolon!

Hey ma, give me a PBJ with grape jelly, purple and jiggly no crusts, soft middles only and none of that wheat bread stuff, all course and grainy!

; ;

Aw shucks,

that wasn’t

so hard!

Also, the name of my gang is the “Green T’s” ‘cause we only wear green t-shirts!

More Examples

The hot-air balloon soared above the trees,

touching the leaves as it passed; floated below the

clouds, catching the mist that dropped; and swept past mountains, knocking snow off their tops.

The duck on the pushcart sped down the sidewalk, squawking at on-lookers; wheeled into the open streets, honking its nose at on-coming cars; and splashed into the cool pond, catching air as it raced down the boat ramp.

Fix the following sentences by adding semicolons to separate the items in the list.

The semi-annual millionaire’s skydiving exhibition will be held in several locations across the U.S., including Greenville, South Carolina, Joplin, Missouri, and Normal, Illinois.

The semi-annual millionaire’s skydiving exhibition will be held in several locations across the U.S., including Greenville, South

Carolina; Joplin,

Missouri; and Normal, Illinois.

Martin walked through the pumpkin patch searching for the perfect pumpkin. His ideal pumpkin would be very large, as big as his arms

could hold; a gorgeous color, bright orange with

no blemishes; and the right shape, perfectly round with no dents.

Martin walked through the pumpkin patch searching for the perfect pumpkin. His ideal pumpkin would be very large, as big as his arms could hold, a gorgeous color, bright orange with no blemishes, and the right shape, perfectly round with no dents.

Additional Rule You may want to use a

semicolon with long sentences that contain other commas and a

coordinating conjunction. Off with

his head!

Halt! Who brings me this rule?

It is I, Punky, the protector

of punctuation.

Tell me what this means, or I’ll have your head!

Settle down little guy; I’ll explain it to

you!

Remember how you must use a comma to combine a dependent with an independent

clause if the dependent clause is at the beginning of the

sentence?

We talked about

independent and

dependent clauses, right?

Well, sometimes we like to combine this

sentence with another complete

sentence by using a coordinating conjunction.

Even though Paul loves to swim, the water was simply to cold today.

Dependent Clause

Comma because the dependent clause is at the beginning of the

sentence.

Independent Clause

Even though Paul likes to swim, the water was simply too cold today, so he will visit the neighborhood pool tomorrow.

This sentence may be too

confusing with this many commas!

Let’s use a semicolon

before “so.” This will

make the sentence

less confusing.

“So” is a coordinati

ng conjunctio

n

Even though Paul likes to swim, the water was simply too cold today so he will visit the neighborhood pool tomorrow.

;

Unlike the rule with semicolons and transition words,

don’t use a comma after a coordinating

conjunction!

There are 7 coordinating conjunctions:

And ForBut YetOr SoNor

More Examples:

While I am at the store, please vacuum the living

room; and then I want you to clean the bathroom.

Since I became president of the cooking club, we

have created 6 new recipes; yet we still don’t know which one to enter in the annual amateur chef contest. Unless we join some extracurricular organizations, neither of us will be receiving any awards; nor will we be allowed to attend the banquet.

Before next season, the team will need to raise

funds for new uniforms; or they may have to play in mismatched jerseys.

Fix the following sentences by using a semicolon.Whenever Don’s grandmother buys him new clothes, she often buys them two sizes too big, so he is unable to wear them before they go out of style!

Since the theme of Molly’s birthday party is pinwheels, everyone will be making their very own pinwheel to take home, and the birthday cake will be shaped like a pinwheel.

Whenever Don’s grandmother buys him new

clothes, she often buys them two sizes too big; so he is unable to wear them before they go out of style!

Since the theme of Molly’s birthday party is pinwheels, everyone will be making their very own

pinwheel to take home; and the birthday cake will be shaped like a pinwheel.

Fix the following sentences by using a semicolon.

Although Jimmy was enjoying the ice-cream cone, it melted all over his new t-shirt, but his mother wasn’t upset because the look on Jimmy’s face was nothing but delight.

Since becoming independently wealthy, Lucy stays in the sun all afternoon reading books, for she enjoys not having to work a full-time job.

Since becoming independently wealthy, Lucy stays

in the sun all afternoon reading books; for she enjoys not having to work a full-time job.

Although Jimmy was enjoying the ice-cream cone, it

melted all over his new t-shirt; but his mother wasn’t upset because the look on Jimmy’s face was nothing but delight.

Remember, semicolons can:

• add sentence variety.

• correct run-on sentences.

• rid your writing of short, choppy sentences.

• eliminate confusion in lists of details.

Following the simple rules we discussed

for semicolon usage will help improve

your writing!

Thanks Punky, I’m not afraid anymore!