>> Michael: A semicolon? Isn’t that half a winky face?
[happy intro music]
What is a semicolon?
>> Michael: Alright, people, it’s time we talked about the semicolon. We get tons of
questions about this tricky punctuation mark, so it’s time to clear the air.
The semicolon exists in the gray area between a comma and a period.
Think of it like a stoplight. If a period is a red light, which makes you stop completely,
and a comma is a green light, which you look at, but don’t stop for, the semicolon is
a yellow light. And just like in traffic, it’s sometimes hard to know when to stop
with semicolons!
[Car screech noise]
>> Michael: It’s no wonder the value of the semicolon has been hotly debated.
The first semicolon was used in 1494 by a monk named Aldus...who is not to be confused
with Albus… Dumbledore!
So who’s In the pro-semicolon camp? Famous authors like Herman Melville and E. E. Cummings.
As for the semicolon haters, we have heavy hitters like George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut,
who once said “all semicolons do is show you’ve been to college.”
So how do you use a semicolon? There are three main ways.
First, semicolons are used indicate that two sentences are a part of the same thought.
For example, you could combine
“For lunch, I ordered a cheeseburger.” and “life’s too short to count calories.”
To make: “For lunch, I ordered a cheeseburger;
life’s too short to count calories. ”
Isn’t that nice.
Semicolons are also used to avoid confusion in serial lists. Try this sentence on for size:
For breakfast, I like to have three bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, or
Cinnamon Toast Crunch; 10 pieces of bacon, sausage, or ham; and five pancakes, waffles,
or crepes.
What?! It’s a breakfast of champions.
Now for one you’ve probably seen. Online, semicolons are used for one thing…
wink emojis!
You could go through your whole life without using a semicolon. Vonnegut did.
But if we have the tools, why limit ourselves? Plus, wink emojis are here to stay.
What do you think about semicolons? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
https://www.grammarly.com