HOW TO USE SEMICOLON (;) Posted by Jacob 9NOVA ENGLISH CAMPUS.)

Semi-colon (;) is, perhaps, one of the most confusing punctuation marks even for an advanced learner of English, let alone the basic users of the language. So, let's take a brief glance at its correct usege.

1. Semicolon instead of full stop

If two sentences are grammatically independent but the meaning is closely connected, a semi-colon can be used to combine them.
E.g., Some people work best in the mornings; others do better in the evenings.
In fact, this sentence contains two separate meaningful sentences in it.
i.e. (1)Some people work best in the mornings.
      (2)Others do better in the evenings.
The two sentences are grammatically separate but the topic of discussion (i.e. best time to work) is the sme. Therefore they can be joined tegether to make a single sentence with the help of a semi-colon. Remember: commas are not possible in athis case.

More examples:
It's a fine idea; let's hope that it's going to work.

To err is human; to forgive, divine.

In the north of the city there is an old fort; further east is the newly-built shopping mall.

While writing an essay, ertain words should not be used so repeatedly; structure should not be vague.

2. Semi-colons can also be used to separate items in a list, particularly when these are grammatically complex.

E.g., You may use my computer everyday on condition that you use it carefully; that you never open my personal folders; that you don't let it get overheated;...

3. Semicolons are also used in long, catalogue type lists of names or other items, to indicate a stronger division.

E.g.,
The decision was taken by Mr Obama, the U S President; business tycoons, both Eurpoean and US-based; and a number of social workers from different parts of the world.
(To use merely commas as dividers would produce chaos here, because commas already exist within some of the listed items.)

In short, the main role of semi-colon is to mark a grammatical separation that is stronger in effect than a comma but less strong than a full stop.


Posted by Jacob (Nova English Campus)
I'm waiting for ur valuable comments and suggestions...