Grammar & Punctuation : When to Use a Semicolon

Use a semicolon to connect two separate sentences that are related to each other, or if a series of items is being listed and includes internal punctuation within sections of the list. Avoid overuse of semicolons with advice from a writer and English tutor in this free video on grammar and punctuation.

Expert: Heather Kamins
Bio: Heather Kamins was diagnosed with lupus when she was 14 years old, and has dealt with kidney involvement, joint problems, medication side effects and other lupus-related issues.
Filmmaker: Dimitri LaBarge

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• grammar
• punctuation
• commas
• quotation marks
• semicolons
• dashes
• hyphens
• writing

[anthonyturner2k]

@Biohazard931 "In these ancient times, magic was in common use; it was a cherished and power thing."

I'm no where near an english master, but your first part of the sentence is a transition. "In these ancient times" transitions always get a comma after them. Your independent clause ( The second sentence after the semicolon "it was a cherised thing, a powerful thing." ) is repetitive with the use of "thing". The sentence can be combined with a conjuction ( and ).

[Biohazard931]

Hello, everyone. Is this usage of a semi-colon correct?

"In these ancient times magic was in common use; it was a cherished thing, a powerful thing."

Here I wish to add emphisis and a connection between the two sentence.

[MrStrangler999]

It is a fullstop, not a period.

[arellanochrisatgmail]

I would knock the dust off that ass; grammatically speaking. She does it for me. 

[beecee151]

Derwos, im 40 and had so much help from you. Thanks for your time. I'm trying to get a new job. My last English class was in 1989. Again, thanks. Brian M.

[beecee151]

Thank you for the feedback, I appreciate it.

(wrong?) I wont bother again. No I take charge. There should be a period or a semicolon if not overused and "i" should always be capatilized. Thanks Derwos. You are an excellent teacher! (just trying- way cool teacher) Slang.

[derwos]

@beecee151 yeah it's correct, you can always use a semicolon to connect two sentences, assuming they're related of course

[beecee151]

Cool teach. I'll tell Paula Poundstone to visit; she may learn something.

(Don't know if it's correct, but I tried.)

[misticaleman]

hey u should really think about selling this material in videos.

[Achilles94627]

@becca1441 Yes, a semicolon and a dash are similar but the dash can be used as a substitute for almost any punctuation mark; it is horribly overused. It's threatening the semicolon with extinction, so please use the semicolon instead of the dash whenever you can!