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EvilpixieA — Fear Not thy Semicolon
Published: 2011-07-20 04:18:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 967; Favourites: 14; Downloads: 12
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Grammar is a force to be reckoned with, armed with such mighty weapons as: , : ; ' " . and ?. In short: quite an impressive arsenal. Unfortunately, one mighty piece of punctuation has been sadly both abused and underused over the years. I am here writing this to attempt to rectify that!Here, let me show you…
"As a child I used to jump off the roof of my house, it was all part of a fiendishly clever scheme to force my body to evolve wings and fly free around the world."
This sentence is incorrect. The comma alone isn't strong enough to hold a sentence together; I guess it hasn't spent enough time at the gym. A comma is only a breath or pause, not a transition. To put it simply, I have just violated the comma by using it in ways it should never be used and it may now require months of intensive therapy.
"As a child I used to jump off the roof of my house. It was all part of a fiendishly clever scheme to force my body to evolve wings and fly free around the world."
This is correct. But it isn't good. The full stop divides this into two separate points and loses the connection it would have if put into a single sentence. In other words, the full stop, (nickname; the end) finishes the thought. This too powerful full stop has split this sentence and separated the ideas forever… sad.
"As a child I used to jump off the roof of my house; it was all part of a fiendishly clever scheme to force my body to evolve wings and fly free around the world."
This is correct, and fantastic! The poor and neglected love child of the comma and full stop has won the day; beyond the mighty semicolon! The semicolon is both strong enough to hold the sentence together and wise enough to continue the 'thought' that the sentence is.
So… it has saved my sentence! Three cheers for semicolon!
Misused, underused and neglected by many a writer, the semicolon is in fact one of the most useful of grammar's many weapons with skills stolen from both the full stop and the comma. While not quite as subtle or soft as the comma, nor as brutish and sudden as the full stop it has its own unique purpose and use: to join like ideas into a single sentence.
And so I implore you, please do not neglect this perky little piece of punctuation.
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Comments: 24
Excellent!!
You've done a great job not only explaining the semi-colon but giving a grand example of how to use it.
The first example is improper grammar, the second is proper but doesn't give the full impact and the third is by far the way the sentence should be written.
Your idea is focused and to the point. You don't draw out your explanation and have kept your wording simple so even the novice writer can figure out the idea you're trying to get across.
I don't think I've found a better grammatically themed guide on dA.
Your 20 e.deviantart.net/emoticons/p/p… " width="20" height="14" alt="
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Thanks! I just got the points,
I'm so glad you liked it so much! And thanks extra for the critique; it means a lot to me that you would take the time to explain and put out what you think and why.
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Everyone that participated in the contest took the time to think out an aspect of writing that they're good at. It's only proper if I give feedback on those ideas/guides. I'd expect the same if the roles were reversed.
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I understand, however it still means a lot that you would take the time out to do it. And I still would like to say thankyou
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Congratulations on your win! This is brilliant- a perfect explanation.
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You're welcome! Thanks for sharing.
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Grammar has always been the weakest point for me. 
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This was a very nice entry!
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I like the style you've adopted here - it's both an entertaining and informative guide. The semicolon is indeed a much-maligned bit of punctuation, and I'm glad you've covered it
I have a couple of concerns though. For one thing, you've outlined one good example of where a semi-colon should be used (and outlined it clearly and articulately). But I don't think you've explained what a semi-colon is.
The second concern is that I think some of your uses of a semicolon in the actual guide are incorrect. I think you're confusing the colon and semi-colon. I'm going to have to study some grammar guides and clrify this for myself - but my understanding is that a semi-colon is generally used for seperating items in a list. A colon is what you've described here - a linking device which creates a bit of a pause, but really links two sentences together into a "therefore" or "because".
I'll have to do some homework and get back to you!
Oh, there's some
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Some people do use the semicolon as a 'listing' tool but to my knowledge this is no correct (or, more accurately is correct but is considered sloppy or 'old English' by most modern sources. Really, I would avoid using it as such).
And the semicolon is to connect two like ideas together that would otherwise have to be divided into two different sentences due to a distinction between the subject matter of the sentences. Here is a really quick example:
I hate monkey's crawling through train carriages; a man once told me they can be trained as pickpockets.
This is correct because these two sentences both tell different stories by themselves but are directly related to each other.
Potatoes make my nose itch. Tomatoes, on the other hand, make my eyes water.
Though these two sentences are synced into the same story they aren't directly related to one another and so are divided quite correctly into two different sentences.
I hope that helped clear it up. I thought I made it clear in the actual piece.
And cheers for the points.
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Interestingly, I agree with most of what you've written here (except the listing, it's a perfectly valid and modern use when commas aren't clear enough) - I just disagree with a lot of the usage in your guide.
For example, this line:
To put it simply; I have just violated the comma by using...
Should use a colon (or perhaps a dash), not a semi-colon. This ([link] ) matches my understanding of the two punctutors. The colon is used more to show that the first half of a sentence is a prelude to the second; the semicolon is more about concatenating sentences. It's this apprent mis-use (to my understanding) which I'm concerned with in my initial comment.
Regarding clarity: you've defined the semi-colon well in your response, but not so well in the guide proper. You do mention that it "connects like ideas", but that's an afterthought at the end of a paragraph. I think a clearer and more detailed definition early on would really benefit the tutorial
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I do understand where you are coming from but I really must despite this once again.
Firstly, listing with semicolons really is not something one uses in modern writing. The only cases it reasonably shows up are in fantasy setting which in itself is often a throwback. If things are too complicated to be listed in the same sentence without the use of a semicolon they realistically shouldn't be used in that sentence, not as we write today. It's simply not as effective as it could be if phrased differently. (We are talking more creative writing here so if you are thinking more about report writing then this use of listing is more acceptable.)
And in the example you gave I have used the ; in place of :. It is generally accepted that the semicolon can preform this task as well though it is not the primary function of the semicolon. I should have mentioned that in the tutorial itself. But, as you said, a colon or dash would also have been acceptable, if not read a little differently.
But thank you anyway for this response. I understand how you believe the piece itself could have been structured a bit better; and in some ways I do think I agree with you. All part of the learning process isn't it.
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Hi
Before I add this to #WritersInk 's Writing Resources folder, can I request a couple of small edits? I know the contest is still going, but frankly they're tiny changes and I think we've had about all the votes we're going to get anyway
A number of our admins are concerned about inappropriate semicolon use in the actual text of the piece. I think you've tried a little too hard to squeeze as many examples into the guide as possible, with the result that these two are contrived at best, wrong at worst:
Both of these examples should really use a colon, not a semicolon. The use here is misleading to someone trying to study the ways in which a semicolon can be used. You argue that the semi-colon is appropriate, but I really think the semicolon puts the wrong inflection on the sentences. You're making a stronger association than a semi-colon gives. It's not just two related sentences, but one sentence which directly prefaces another.
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Very well, I have gone through it again and adjusted it. Hope it is more to your liking, and thanks for hosting the contest. Was quite fun, and quite educational
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Thank you
I'll move this over at once.
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Witty as well as informative.
Poor, poor underrated semicolon.
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Haha, thanks.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thanks again for the faves by the way. It means something that you enjoy my writing.
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I have just violated the comma by using it in ways it should never be used and it may now require months of intensive therapy. For the lines like these, I think this is very possibly one of the best tutorials ever.
I like - I like it a lot, especially as a writer who wants to use semicolons but is usually to afraid of using them wrong to ever actually use them. *is ashamed.
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Wow, thanks! It's my first tutorial so I wasn't sure how it would come across. It's great to get some positive feedback; participially if it helped you.
Just remember: sentences with subjects that connect, can connect.
Writing is one of the best ways to learn; well, learn writing that is.
Thrilled you enjoyed it.
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Ah, semicolons... 
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Thank you! And I agree; semicolons are simply the most feared punctuation on the planet; odd considering how useful they are. And like you, I may be accused to overusing them. But, overusing is better than under-using, yes?
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