Dictionary of English - semicolon

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

This is a punctuation mark (;) with a function halfway between the separation of sentence from sentence by means of a full stop, and the weaker separation provided by a comma. It also helps separate items in a complex list: pens, pencils, and paper; staples, such as rice and beans; tools, various; and rope.

Rather than the abrupt We saw Mark last night. It was good to see him again, and the grammatically inaccurate We saw Mark last night, it was good to see him again, the semicolon reflects a link in a two-part statement and is considered good style: We saw Mark last night; it was good to see him again. An alternative in such cases is to use a comma followed by and or but.

Blue is the colour of the People's United Party. Sub umbra floreo, ‘I flourish in the shade’, is the national motto. Effective date: late 1980s. >>