Semicolons

I get questions about semicolons a lot, so it's time to clear up some confusion.

Use semicolons to separate things and add variety

Semicolons separate things. Most commonly, they separate two main clauses that are closely related to each other but that could stand on their own as sentences if you wanted them to.

Here's an example: "Squiggly loves chocolate; he even put it on his tacos once." The two parts of that long sentence that are separated by a semicolon could be sentences on their own if you put a period between them: Squiggly loves chocolate. He even put it on his tacos once.

One reason you might choose to use a semicolon instead of a period is if you want to add variety to your sentence structure, for example, if you thought you had too many short, choppy sentences in a row. But when you use a semicolon, the main clauses should be closely related to each other. You wouldn't write, “It was below zero outside; Squiggly loves chocolate,” because those two main clauses have nothing to do with each other. In fact, the other reason to use a semicolon instead of a period is if you want to draw attention to the relationship between the two clauses.

Now let's talk about the two forms of punctuation that are most commonly misused in place of semicolons: 

1. Semicolons versus colons
2. Semicolons versus commas

Semicolons versus colons

People often ask me what the difference is between a semicolon and a colon, and there are a couple of differences. 

First, the purpose of a colon is to introduce or define something. For example, you could write, “Squiggly checked the temperature: it was -20 degrees outside.” I'll admit that these differences can be subtle, but I would use a colon in that sentence instead of a semicolon because the second clause (the temperature) strongly relates back to the first clause (Squiggly checking the temperature).

Semicolons separate things. Most commonly, they separate two main clauses that are closely related to each other but could stand on their own as sentences.

The second difference between a colon and a semicolon is that when you are joining things, you use a semicolon to join things of equal weight, whereas you can use a colon to join things of equal or unequal weight. For example, you can use either a semicolon or a colon to join two main clauses, but you can only use a colon to join a main clause with a noun. Here's an example: "Squiggly has a favorite flavor: chocolate." You couldn't use a...

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