Semicolons

[kev67]

Kurt Vonnegut was famously very hostile to them. George Orwell once boasted he wrote a book only using one of them. Should semicolons still be used? I noticed in a book I read recently, Solar by Ian McEwan, that the author used commas in places where I thought there should have been semicolons. For example, "He was baffled, he had no answer." Personally, I have never felt comfortable using them. I would rather use a dash.

[Silas Thorne]

Yes. I'm almost finished writing a thesis, and I'm still not comfortable with semicolons. I mean, I've read all about semicolons and what they are for, read a lot of books where semicolons are used well, but I just don't consider using them that much when I'm writing.

Sometimes Word will tell me when to use semicolons. Maybe after listening to the software's instructions for many more years, they will some more easily to me. I don't know.

Perhaps a propensity to liberally use dashes is instilled by reading too much Romantic period fiction in ones formative years. Those now brought up on a reading diet of George R.R. Martin will probably learn to use semicolons well. :)

[Charles Darnay]

I was so dash happy when I was younger - using them in place of commas and semicolons - and colons too - and just everywhere. one of my teachers called me out on it, and I have cut back.

I used to be terrified of the semicolon (by which I mean, I had no idea how to use them), but I've gotten over that. Just don't listen to Word; it is far too semicolon happy.

[AuntShecky]

There are specific uses for the various types of punctuation, which is one of the four main aspects of the structure
of the English Language. There is a section on semi-colons in this thread:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56601&highlight=Dirty+Guide+Punctuation


The Semi-Colon

Use a semi-colon to separate two independent clauses. You do not need to use a conjunction.
Lance creates; his auntie criticizes.

He wrote a short story; he forgot to include the punctuation.

The semi-colon is useful in a series in which the items themselves already have commas:

Jeopardy contestants came from Saranac Lake, New York; Tacoma, Washington; Altoona, Pennsylvania, and Portland, Maine.

Auditions will be on December 9, 2010; January 29, 2011, and February 12, 2011.