whenever i search it up its like “erhm actuchually??! you are supposed to use a semicolon between closely related independent clauses which are not joined by a coordinating conjunction!!🤓☝”
EXCUSE ME? I ONLY KNOW LIKE 5 WORDS IN THAT SENTENCE
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Semicolons join sentences/clauses where the relationship is more than just sequence but not specific enough for a colon, which is restricted to exactly two clauses.
Independent clauses are sections of a sentence that could stand alone. For example:
“I went to the store and Mark went to the gas station.”
That sentence could be two grammatically correct sentences if “and” was removed. “And” is the conjunction here; it joins the two phrases together.
So, by this definition, a semicolon can be used to divide two phrases that could each be their own complete sentence if the sentences are closely related.
I use semicolons the most to add context and colour to a sentence. Literally how a period might separate a pair of sentences and a comma pause.
Jim loved melons more than was healthy; fitting six in his bottom proved this.
The simplest answer is that if you can use a semi-colon, you can definitely use a period. So if you don’t want to, you don’t ever need to use one, except maybe in the list way that another poster mentioned.
Semi-colons are a stylistic choice. So are colons, for that matter: you can use a colon to connect two sentences when the second sentence is an explanation for the first one.
I think of semi-colons as nicest for the cases where you kind of want to make a comma splice. A comma splice is a writing error where you combine two complete sentences with a comma, as in (1).
(1) Almost everyone left for the day, Mary stayed behind.
To fix (1), you can always use a period, as in (2).
(2) Almost everyone left for the day. Mary stayed behind.
But often the instinct that makes you want to write that comma is actually a sign that it would be even better if you used a semicolon, as in (3).
(3) Almost everyone left for the day; Mary stayed behind.
Note that you don’t use a colon there, though, since “Mary stayed behind” isn’t an explanation/elaboration of “Almost everyone left for the day”.
I use them when i run on tangents; you know to keep the thought train going but i need to breathe
An independent clause is a piece of a sentence that can function as a complete sentence on its own. Notably, it should have both a subject (noun/pronoun) and a verb. If you have two independent clauses that are related, you can combine them with a comma, followed by a coordinating conjunction, which is a word like “and”, “or”, or “but”. However, instead of doing that, you could also choose to use a semicolon in place of it.
Bob went to the grocery store. Jane went to the pharmacy. – Two independent clauses as complete sentences.
Bob went to the store, and Jane went to the pharmacy. – Two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.
Bob went to the store; Jane went to the pharmacy. – Two independent clauses joined by a semicolon.
It’s never strictly necessary to use a semicolon, but it’s a tool in the writer’s toolbox that provides an alternate way to break up the flow of a compound sentence.
Anyone have the tl;dr?
It’s stronger than a comma, but weaker than a period. It’s mostly fallen out of fashion. “Tammy was a good woman; Trevor felt differently.” Now you would write, “Tammy was a good woman, however Trevor felt differently.” Unless you’re on a college campus writing a paper. You are discouraged from using it in a news article.
Its a full stop and a comma at the same time, so its two statements but linked together.
Thats how I read it
This is probably the best and easiest explanation on how to use semicolons.
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