Self-Edit Tips Pt 4: Semicolons, the middle child of punctuation

Hello again, my wonderful word wizards!

Today, I want to talk to you about semicolons. You know, those little misunderstood marks that sit

somewhere between a comma and a period; the ultimate middle child of punctuation.

It's just so versatile, isn't it?

When I was young and immature, I turned my nose up at them but as I gotten older I’ve learned to

love  them and you should too!

How Should Semicolons be used?

It’s main uses are to:

1. To combine two related but independent clauses.
2. To give a dramatic pause. 
3. Or to separate lists of items that contain other punctuation, like dashes and commas.

(A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a predicate.)


Examples of each:

1. I ordered a cheeseburger for lunch; life's too short for counting calories.
2. We were out of milk; fortunately Fred stole a cow from a nearby farmer.
3. The film was shot in many stunning locations, including a castle in Heidelberg, Germany; the Great Mosque—also known as the Mezquita—in Cordoba, Spain; and a quaint village in Undredal, Norway

And that’s all there is to it!

The semicolon tells your readers that the two clauses are related to the same idea.

It's like a period, but not as final.

It's like a comma, but with more significance.

 Of course, it should only be used when absolutely necessary; otherwise, it can be pretty pretentious.

(Author note: I’m something of a semicolon aficionado; my household accounts for 42.6% all semicolon

​ usage on the East Coast. Therefore I do acknowledge that I may be a little bit biased.)