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Many people suffer from secret feelings of stupidity because they don't know how to use the semi-colon. They imagine that everyone else knows just what to do with this sophisticated mark of punctuation -- and that they must have been absent or dreaming on the one day of school when the teacher explained it. Since they assume that everyone else knows the secret of the semi-colon, they are usually too embarrassed to admit their own ignorance. The truth is that: 1) Very few people know how to use the semi-colon correctly; and 2) The semi-colon is incredibly easy to use.

Semicolons: The Whole Truth

A semicolon functions as a kind of weakened period. It has three major functions:

1) It connects two independent clauses that are logically related and that are not joined by a conjunction.

Give without remembering; take without forgetting.

2) It separates items on a list, especially when the items on the list contain commas.

We visited the following cities: Paris, France; London, England; Rome, Italy; and Geneva, Switzerland.

3) It separates independent clauses if there are commas within the clauses.

We own a sailboat, a catamaran, and a motor boat; still, our favorite maritime activity is lolling around on deck.

How to Tell If You Have Used the Semi-Colon Correctly.

When you use the semi-colon within a sentence, you should be able to replace the semi-colon with a period. The words on the left and the right sides of the semi-colon must be able to meaningfully stand alone without any further revision.

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