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Pedants' corner
Original poster

semi colons

41 replies

hoarsewhisperer · 18/12/2007 13:10

Dear pedants,

I have never posted in this section before, as I have little faith in my ability to use the Engliash language without botching up the punctuation. I need advice. My DH and I were having a discussion about the use of semi colons last night......I confess I never use them, because I don't understand how to.

Would someone care to enlighten me?

clueless

OP posts:
Original poster
hoarsewhisperer · 18/12/2007 13:11

see...even there i was being careful with the typing and I spelled English incorrectly....

slinks off back to corner to hide

OP posts:
Original poster
hoarsewhisperer · 18/12/2007 13:11

see...even there i was being careful with the typing and I spelled English incorrectly....

slinks off back to corner to hide

OP posts:
MascaraOHara · 18/12/2007 13:12

I've just added a watch to this thread

..sits patiently..

UnquietDad · 18/12/2007 13:13

Apparently Martin Amis's "Money" avoids semicolons until the final sentence. I only found that out last night from "University Challenge".

It's not one I've read - can someone tell me what the final sentence is?

BBBee · 18/12/2007 13:13

i use them nervously at times. Don;t dare to try an explain my rationale on here though.

waits for someone brave with PhD in English language.

Original poster
hoarsewhisperer · 18/12/2007 13:13

UQD...that was exactly what started the whole discussion!

OP posts:
jura · 18/12/2007 13:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SquonkaClaus · 18/12/2007 13:15

aarggh! UD - I was just going to post that about Martin Amis's book (but I wasn't going to confess to having heard it on University Challenge - I was going to pretend to have always known it )

To answer the op, I think that you are supposed to use a semi colon when you want a pause that is slightly longer than a comma's worth, but not quite as long as a colon's worth.

Which is why most people don't bother at all, unless they are reaching for the apostrophe and miss

BBBee · 18/12/2007 13:16

last sentence in money:

"Now here's that georgian at last, moving clear of the crowd; her smile is touching and ridiculous - delighted yet austere, and powerfully confident - as she ticks towards me on heels."

Original poster
hoarsewhisperer · 18/12/2007 13:17

i Think Paxman said that it was quite a recent invention as a peice of grammar....

OP posts:
BBBee · 18/12/2007 13:17

(btw way I knew that by heart and did NOT get teh book down off the shelf.)

ChopsterRoastingOnAnOpenFire · 18/12/2007 13:19

jura is right about the clauses.

the thing that I have been wondering though is when to use '-' and ';'. The semi colon in jura's first sentance could easily be replaced by a '-'.

Original poster
hoarsewhisperer · 18/12/2007 13:21

yeah, you see I much prefer a hyphen

OP posts:
CarolSheetTurner · 18/12/2007 13:21

The text either side of a semi-colon should be a complete sentence, I know that.

vitomum · 18/12/2007 13:22

i think you can also use them when listing thigs, to divide the things listed. But, only when the things listed include phrases thar may also contain commas.

SquonkaClaus · 18/12/2007 13:22

I think that in those circumstances, a hyphen, a comma or a semi colon would all be equally correct.

CarolSheetTurner · 18/12/2007 13:23

The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors says:

'[The semicolon] separates those parts of a sentence between which there is a more distinct break than would call for a comma, but which are too closely connected to be made into separate sentences. ideally, it should separate clauses or phrases that are similar in importance and in grammatical construction, eg, 'To err is human; to firgive, divine.'

There you go then! [fmile]

jura · 18/12/2007 13:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CarolSheetTurner · 18/12/2007 13:26

I don't think a hyphe should be used instead of a semicolon. You can use an em rule parenthetically or to denote a pause, however...

CarolSheetTurner · 18/12/2007 13:27

the spirit of the extract was theirs, the typos were mine!

WanderingHolly · 18/12/2007 13:31

I love a semi colon; sometimes a hyphen just doesn't cut the mustard.

Great name, hoarsewhisperer; I love a pun.

Original poster
hoarsewhisperer · 18/12/2007 13:34

Thanks Holly....the name is just the product of a deranged mind!

OP posts:
MyEye · 18/12/2007 13:36

Hyphens work best like brackets in pairs.

Someone an English teacher once told me colons are best if you're about to launch into a list: a range of options, a variety of possibilities. Whereas semi-colons gently introduce you to the next thought; or was it the other way around?

ChopsterRoastingOnAnOpenFire · 18/12/2007 13:44

this thread is making my head spin now!

Iklboo · 18/12/2007 13:46

The poor semi colon is an endangered species.
I was told it shows the reader to wait a little while and think about what was before it. Maybe I just had a mad English teacher (who was Welsh, incidentally - ah, the irony)