When do we use Semicolon?

By Ranjana S.

The semicolon (;) has two basic uses:

(1)The first is to join two or more closely related sentences together into one sentence.

• The bus stopped; Perry got in.
• I went to the market; I bought some groceries; I came straight home.

Please note that "The bus stopped" and "Perry got in."

"I went to the market",  "I bought some groceries" and "I came straight home" are all complete statements by themselves. It would therefore be correct to separate them by means of periods. But in each of each of the above sentences the complete statements are short and closely related. So it makes sense to tie them together with semicolons. Notice, that you could also combine the short independent clauses by means of conjunctions or by means of commas along with conjunctions.

• The bus stopped and Perry got in.
• I went to the market, bought the groceries and came straight home.

Sometimes the semicolon joins sentence parts that are not complete statements but that would be complete statements if certain words were repeated instead of being left out. The omitted words are, in effect, "carried over" from the first statement in the series and are "understood" in the later statements.

In France, we bought perfume; in Ireland, sweaters; in England, shoes.

It is also correct to use a semicolon before such words and expressions as consequently, nevertheless, accordingly, therefore, however, hence, instead, yet, thus and for example when they join two closely related independent clauses. In the following examples a period could be substituted for the semicolon, but the semicolon makes the relationship between the parts more apparent.

• We got a late start; nevertheless, we got to the party on time.
• The weather did not clear;instead, the rain increased.
• The child was bright; for example, he could do long division.

(2) A semicolon may replace a comma when a sentence is very long or already has too many commas. This does not mean that a semicolon may substitute for just any comma. The semicolon may be used to separate the items of a list; or to separate one related group of words from another group of words if there are already commas within the group; or to separate the various self-contained parts of a very long sentence.

Mr. Mark, the plumber; Gary Crompton, the painter, and Betty were at the party.

Important nutrient groups include: milk, butter, and cheese; meat, poultry, and eggs; green or yellow vegetables;cereals.

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